Brugmansia and Datura…beautiful Angel Trumpets
Finally….I have some new photos of my Angel Trumpets! For some reason this year I have had a very difficult time getting my Angel Trumpets to grow. I started three batches this summer and finally got one batch to grow and start making flower pods. I just hope the weather holds so that they have time to bloom and produce seed pods.
I’m still researching and leaning all I can about this awesome plants. When
White Angel Trumpet in full bloom
you see one in full bloom you can only then began to appreciate their beauty.
The intoxicating perfume of this plant will make your head spin. It reminds me of a really expensive perfume. I’ll have to do some research, but it would be interesting to find out what kind of insects are attracted to the flowers. I never saw any bugs on them this summer, but something was really eating at the leaves and flower pods. There was evidence in the mornings with holes in the leaves and the flowers had brown sting marks on them. The flowers on this white variety would open at night and fill the air with sweet fragrance and when the sun would come out in the morning the flowers would close up again.
Purple Datura flower pod cluster
These are my purple Datura’s, the ones that I had all the trouble getting to grow. Early in the spring I had purchased some yellow and white Datura’s and they never would grow. The squirrels kept getting into them and tearing up the dirt. A couple of times they even up-rooted the small flower plants. After that the plants struggled the rest of the summer. The plant would grow a set of leaves then they would fall off; the plants never achieved any height on them. Somehow they stayed alive though. I did some research and found out that the Brugmansia’s and the Datura’s need a really good fertilizer. They need to be fed all summer to encourage plant growth and stimulate bloom production. I wished I had discovered this earlier in the spring.
Purple Datura flower in full bloom.
After I had started fertilizing on a weekly basis the plants really began to grow. They need a fertilizer high in Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potash. I found a generic brand that worked really well for me. After I started feeding the plants, they really took off; growing several inches a week. Here is the composition of the fertilizer I used. It contained 24% Nitrogen which is responsible for green coloration and rapid plant growth, 8% Phosphate that helps stimulate root and plant growth and will encourage bloom production, 16% Potash as this will help maintain plant vigor while encouraging rooting and increases plant resistance to disease.
If the weather will hold then maybe I can get some seed pods and with the knowledge and experience I have gained this summer I’m hoping to have a more successful growing season next year.
Some more photos for you to enjoy!
Purple Datura
Purple Datura
Purple Datura
White Brugmansia
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