Brugmansia

[Las Palmas Norte]

Brugmansia in the sun on a late November day. Fine until we get our first frost, when ever that might be.

Cheers, Barrie.

 

 

 

[annafl]

Wow, gorgeous, Barrie!

[The Silent Seed]

Very nice! Do you replace it annually, or are you in a microhabitat where it can resprout from the base with lots of winter protection? 

[Las Palmas Norte]

Hey thanks. I will cut this back after frost nips the leaves and flowers. Plenty of cuttings for easy replacement should the mulched stump not re-sprout next spring.

Cheers, Barrie.

[Pip]

My double white is at the end of a flush of blooms. The weather has been fairly mild for spring it is unusual that the jacaranda behind should be completely covered in blue.

[Las Palmas Norte]

There are so many varieties and species ... nice one Pip.

Cheers, Barrie. 

[Palm crazy]

I think I know what plant I am going to grow next year, LOL! Great pics everyone! 

[The Silent Seed]

So, you mean to say that sometimes it DOES come back from the base, in Canada? That's impressive. 

What zome are you considered to be in? 

[Manalto]

A couple of brugmansia that I have in my yard. The orange one is a "rescue" from Connecticut that was doomed to freeze (I just took a couple of discreet cuttings, I swear) and the white one was bought at a Mom and Pop hardware store in Mobile. Brugmansia is a dieback perennial here (8B) but it can get big fast. The orange one is small because it snapped off in a storm.

That's hedychium 'Dr. Moy' in the lower left hand corner of the second picture.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Manalto

[iDesign]

_{I’ve recently gotten into brugmansia (angel trumpet) and feel they’re a wonderful mid- to upper- level option to mix in with your palms. Here’s a photo from a local yard that I find particularly inspiring...}

This one is a common yellow variety, but they also come in pink, peach or white. The newer varieties also come in double bell, mini, or unusually shaped trumpets. They’re collectible via inexpensive “cuttings” and (like bromeliads) fun to collect. Important note: All parts of the plants are toxic so may not be appropriate for homes with young kids or plant-eating dogs. I already love the ones I’m growing, and they grow FAST (compared to palms).

They are frost sensitive, but many who grow them live in cold locations. In winter they either 1) Bring into the garage and force it to go dormant, 2) Cut it to the ground and heavily mulch so it will come back from the roots each spring, or 3) Make cuttings in the fall then replant the cuttings in the Spring. I live in a warm location, so mine will grow to tree size (like the photo), except for the mini ones I bought. Anyway, just wanted to pass along my own recommendation for these plants as a colorful companion to your palms (again, assuming no plant eating kids or pets at your home).

Here are photos of two other varieties this person has in her garden. The contrast with palms is particularly attractive to me, which is why I’m adding brugmansia (in several colors) to my own yard plan...



(This variety is “painted lady” - my personal favorite)
 

 Another example of the nice contrast with Palms/Brugmansia/Bromeliads/Tropical plants... I’m going for a similar look in my own yard. Again, these photos are from the yard of someone who lives near me. Hopefully I’ll be able to show my own garden examples soon.

Edited October 16, 2021 by idesign123

[BigFrond]

Cut them back to about 1 or 2 feet off the ground every year. This way the new growth are very big.  The leaves and flower are bigger.  You can choose not to cut back but the plant will be leggy and not as vibrant.

[iDesign]

43 minutes ago, BigFrond said:

Cut them back to about 1 or 2 feet off the ground every year. This way the new growth are very big.  The leaves and flower are bigger.  You can choose not to cut back but the plant will be leggy and not as vibrant.

Thanks for the tip - I'm new to brugs and definitely want mine to look full & lush!
(most of mine are either rooted cuttings or bush-size plants)

My original thought was to grow a few of my brugs into a "tree" form (like the yellow brug in the first photo above)... but I wouldn't want to do that at the expense of the plant looking scraggly. Do you think I could achieve both a tall tree & lush growth if I slowly cut a little less off each year so that it eventually reaches tree height? Or is it better in your opinion to always cut back to 1 or 2 feet (rather than strive for tree form)? Thank you again for helping a brug newbie!

[Silas_Sancona]

55 minutes ago, BigFrond said:

Cut them back to about 1 or 2 feet off the ground every year. This way the new growth are very big.  The leaves and flower are bigger.  You can choose not to cut back but the plant will be leggy and not as vibrant.

Interesting.. Grandparents / other people i knew growing up ..that grew them, never gave their plants serious yearly haircuts ( maybe an occasional trim here and there to keep them from taking over, lol ) and the things grew perfect / flowered spectacularly every year.  A rare, serious frost/ freeze ( San Jose, CA. ) were the only thing that could cut them down to near ground level ..smaller ones anyway.  Same w/ Iochroma ..the Red/ Blue / Purple - flowered cousins of Brugs.. ( personal fav. as well )

 

[Paradise Found]

Fall blooms

 

[iDesign]

6 minutes ago, Paradise Found said:

Fall blooms...

Stunning - I personally love the visual combination of brugs + palms!

As for the "cut or don't cut" debate, I was lucky enough to obtain multiple cuttings of my favorite brug types, so maybe I'll try trimming some yearly as a science experiment. I do love how the short/full ones look... but have a couple spots where a tree form one would be ideal. I'll go ahead and give it a shot, and make sure to give them lots of fertilizer, water & sunshine. Worst case I'll just cut them down if they get too scraggly.

Love how fast these guys grow... much more forgiving than palms (though I love them both of course).

[iDesign]

56 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Same w/ Iochroma ..the Red/ Blue / Purple - flowered cousins of Brugs.. ( personal fav. as well )

Thanks Silas! I ordered a few iochroma seedlings as well (to add a nice purple to the color mix).

Do you happen to know if iochroma can be pruned to stay small & "bushy"?

The following mockup show a "layering" concept I was toying with. The idea was to put a couple "tree form" brugs on the back row, and an iochroma and shorter brug on the front row. I'm just not sure whether the iochroma can be kept small like that? Not a lot of iochroma info that I could find online.

[BigFrond]

I cut it back 2 months ago and the new growth was attacked by horn worms.  Then I cut back all the new growth a month ago.  Here is today.

 

[BigFrond]

Underneath look

 

 

[BigFrond]

Hong Kong orchid tree get this same treatment every year too except I topped it off at five feet.  I removed the year's growth in the fall.  The leaves and bloom are yuge.  This way I control the tree size and form

One of the main reason for this decapitation is to bypass leaf raking.

[Silas_Sancona]

36 minutes ago, idesign123 said:

Thanks Silas! I ordered a few iochroma seedlings as well (to add a nice purple to the color mix).

Do you happen to know if iochroma can be pruned to stay small & "bushy"?

The following mockup show a "layering" concept I was toying with. The idea was to put a couple "tree form" brugs on the back row, and an iochroma and shorter brug on the front row. I'm just not sure whether the iochroma can be kept small like that? Not a lot of iochroma info that I could find online.

Most of the ones i recall seeing were larger ..say in the 8-12 ft height range  but think they're a bit easier to keep shorter / denser than Brugs.. You might sacrifice some flowers for that shorter stature though.  Had a few myself that bloomed regularly in pots, but lost them while living in FL.

Veering for a second,  Semi- related,  Brunfelsia ( Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow ) handle light trimming well ( and look pretty good when cultivated a little dense too )  Don't think there is one sp. that isn't extremely fragrant as well.  B. grandiflora has the biggest flowers ..and they're HUGE.. Much bigger than the common purple / blue flowered Brunfelsia you see in many nurseries.

Have had a less common, white- flowered species in the same pot for about 8 years.  When it flowers, ( A few, occasionally here, due to our heat ) you can smell it from across the yard. Really nice treat on those warm and slightly humid evenings.

[iDesign]

14 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Veering for a second,  Semi- related,  Brunfelsia ( Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow ) handle light trimming well ( and look pretty good when cultivated a little dense too )  Don't think there is one sp. that isn't extremely fragrant as well.  B. grandiflora has the biggest flowers ..and they're HUGE.. Much bigger than the common purple / blue flowered Brunfelsia you see in many nurseries.

Fun! Those would look great in the "bushy front row plant" spot.  Time for more research 

Sounds like I could force the iochroma to stay small, but if they inherently want to grow to 8-12ft I'll just find a different spot for them.  Thanks!

Edited October 16, 2021 by idesign123

[Manalto]

Nice! The orange-blue-white color combination is a favorite of mine, and suits a tropical look yet isn't too hot.