Can I plant the seeds of Datura Metal (Angel Trumpet) directly into
the ground and expect to have flowers this year?

We have Jimson Weed which I am told is Datura and they come up from
seed year after year even though I live in zone 5.

Would appreciate advice.

FWIW, Datura Metel is a Devil's Trumpet, not an Angel's Trumpet.
Brugmansias are Angel Trumpets.

A Datura Metel seedling will grow 3-4' tall if in very fertile soil. In
poor soil they'll reach 2-3'. They'll flower profusely.

They're an annual, but they do self reseed.

They're also my favorite plant. Any other questions, please ask.

Last year I grew about 50 of these plants.

Tony

wrote in message
...
Can I plant the seeds of Datura Metal (Angel Trumpet) directly into
the ground and expect to have flowers this year?

We have Jimson Weed which I am told is Datura and they come up from
seed year after year even though I live in zone 5.

Would appreciate advice.

On Tue, 15 Apr 2003 21:51:02 -0500, "Tony"
wrote:

FWIW, Datura Metel is a Devil's Trumpet, not an Angel's Trumpet.
Brugmansias are Angel Trumpets.

A Datura Metel seedling will grow 3-4' tall if in very fertile soil. In
poor soil they'll reach 2-3'. They'll flower profusely.

They're an annual, but they do self reseed.

They're also my favorite plant. Any other questions, please ask.

Last year I grew about 50 of these plants.

Tony

Tony, I live in Pensacola, FL zone 8B. Last year I grew a couple od
Daturas. I saved seed and I also let them cast their own seed. My
question is when should I start to expect the volunteer seedlings to
start poking their heads up. I have ammended the soil somewhat around
the daturas but it is mostly sand.

zhan

Hi there,

I, too, live in Pensacola, FL.

I mainly reseed my Datura manually, but this year I noticed that I had
several volunteers popping up on their own in last year's beds. At this
point some of them are about .25" to .5" tall. The late freeze we took in
my part of town a few weeks ago probably delayed their start. Mine have
come up within the past 2 weeks.

One thing I do to help them out is save 2 liter bottles and cut off the
bottoms. I remove the tops and slide them over a new seedling. This
creates a mini-greenhouse for them that seems to hasten their growth.

The ones that I germinated in small pots in a mini-greenhouse I have (from
Big Lots) are about 4" tall now.

Our climate here is great for these plants. You've just got to be careful
about tomato hornworms! They devoured several of my plants last year in
their entirety before I was able to spray them with BT.

If you're into Brugmansias in this area, there's a lady that has a small
commercial greehouse near her home off 9 Mile Road (near Beulah airport) and
she has a wide variety of Brugs. Haven't had a chance to go see her this
crop this year, but at the Milton Flower Show last week she mentioned she
had some new varieties.

Tony

"zhanataya" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 15 Apr 2003 21:51:02 -0500, "Tony"
wrote:

FWIW, Datura Metel is a Devil's Trumpet, not an Angel's Trumpet.
Brugmansias are Angel Trumpets.

A Datura Metel seedling will grow 3-4' tall if in very fertile soil. In
poor soil they'll reach 2-3'. They'll flower profusely.

They're an annual, but they do self reseed.

They're also my favorite plant. Any other questions, please ask.

Last year I grew about 50 of these plants.

Tony

Tony, I live in Pensacola, FL zone 8B. Last year I grew a couple od
Daturas. I saved seed and I also let them cast their own seed. My
question is when should I start to expect the volunteer seedlings to
start poking their heads up. I have ammended the soil somewhat around
the daturas but it is mostly sand.

zhan

On Wed, 16 Apr 2003 06:57:54 -0500, "Tony"
wrote:

Hi there,

I, too, live in Pensacola, FL.

I mainly reseed my Datura manually, but this year I noticed that I had
several volunteers popping up on their own in last year's beds. At this
point some of them are about .25" to .5" tall. The late freeze we took in
my part of town a few weeks ago probably delayed their start. Mine have
come up within the past 2 weeks.

One thing I do to help them out is save 2 liter bottles and cut off the
bottoms. I remove the tops and slide them over a new seedling. This
creates a mini-greenhouse for them that seems to hasten their growth.

The ones that I germinated in small pots in a mini-greenhouse I have (from
Big Lots) are about 4" tall now.

Our climate here is great for these plants. You've just got to be careful
about tomato hornworms! They devoured several of my plants last year in
their entirety before I was able to spray them with BT.

If you're into Brugmansias in this area, there's a lady that has a small
commercial greehouse near her home off 9 Mile Road (near Beulah airport) and
she has a wide variety of Brugs. Haven't had a chance to go see her this
crop this year, but at the Milton Flower Show last week she mentioned she
had some new varieties.

Tony



No fair! I missed the flower show. I love Brugmansias. I got one
last year. My back yard faces north and I have a large oak tree, I
planted it between the house and shade shadow of the tree. I has
grown and flowered beautifully but it is not the best spot for it
because it "leans" toward more sunlight. How much sunshine can they
handle and what would be the ideal setting for them? I want to get
more.

Do you remember the name of her greenhouse? Or could you give me
directions? I'd be coming up Pine Forest to Nine Mile Road.

None of my Datura have sprouted yet.:-( But when I was visiting
Maddie in Tennessee she shared some of her seeds with me. Is it too
late to start them this year?

zhan

On Fri, 18 Apr 2003 16:35:16 GMT, zhanataya wrote:

No fair! I missed the flower show. I love Brugmansias. I got one
last year. My back yard faces north and I have a large oak tree, I
planted it between the house and shade shadow of the tree. I has
grown and flowered beautifully but it is not the best spot for it
because it "leans" toward more sunlight. How much sunshine can they
handle and what would be the ideal setting for them? I want to get
more.

Do you remember the name of her greenhouse? Or could you give me
directions? I'd be coming up Pine Forest to Nine Mile Road.

None of my Datura have sprouted yet.:-( But when I was visiting
Maddie in Tennessee she shared some of her seeds with me. Is it too
late to start them this year?

zhan

B.candida and B.suavolens can tolerate more sun than the species brugmansia.
Most of the named hybrids can take sun better, but they are plants from the high
Andes and require cool nights to set flowers. They are also very heavy feeders.
I have all of mine in huge 30 gallon pots now. I couldn't or didn't have the
energy to dig them out and plant them each year so now I have huge containers
and I root prune before they go back into the greenhouse for winter.

A really great site for brugmansia is www.nativehabitat.com

Someone else posted a note about growing conditions of Brugs, so I'll just
answer your other questions.

The nursery I was speaking of is called "David's Greenery". It is a very
small nursery operated near someone's home. It seems that the father builds
trellises and gazebos and such and the daughter does the plant stuff. The
actual location is 10075 Rebel Road, so you can get a precise map on
Mapquest.

If you're coming up Pine Forest Road from the direction of the Fairgrounds
or I-10, you'll turn left on 9 Mile Road. Proceed past the junction with
I-10 and past the Beulah "airport."

Turn Right on Rebel Road (it's a small, residential road). Find house 10075
and the greenhouse is behind the residence.

I was there on Thursday and bought a variegated peach brug and a pink brug.
Both of them in 2 gallon pots and about 18 inches tall. They're in great
condition. $10 each.

Be aware that you kind of wander around on your own if no one is out there
working. You can go to the trailer to get someone to help you. (kind of
weird, but it's a small place and the people are really nice.) I've had
better luck going during the week since often on weekends they're at various
shows.

Tony


I would definitely still start your seeds. I'd recommend not planting them
directly in the ground (unless you have very fertile soil), but rather
starting them in smaller pots in good potting soil and then transplanting.

Tony

"zhanataya" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 16 Apr 2003 06:57:54 -0500, "Tony"
wrote:

Hi there,

I, too, live in Pensacola, FL.

I mainly reseed my Datura manually, but this year I noticed that I had
several volunteers popping up on their own in last year's beds. At this
point some of them are about .25" to .5" tall. The late freeze we took
in
my part of town a few weeks ago probably delayed their start. Mine have
come up within the past 2 weeks.

One thing I do to help them out is save 2 liter bottles and cut off the
bottoms. I remove the tops and slide them over a new seedling. This
creates a mini-greenhouse for them that seems to hasten their growth.

The ones that I germinated in small pots in a mini-greenhouse I have
(from
Big Lots) are about 4" tall now.

Our climate here is great for these plants. You've just got to be
careful
about tomato hornworms! They devoured several of my plants last year
in
their entirety before I was able to spray them with BT.

If you're into Brugmansias in this area, there's a lady that has a small
commercial greehouse near her home off 9 Mile Road (near Beulah airport)
and
she has a wide variety of Brugs. Haven't had a chance to go see her this
crop this year, but at the Milton Flower Show last week she mentioned she
had some new varieties.

Tony



No fair! I missed the flower show. I love Brugmansias. I got one
last year. My back yard faces north and I have a large oak tree, I
planted it between the house and shade shadow of the tree. I has
grown and flowered beautifully but it is not the best spot for it
because it "leans" toward more sunlight. How much sunshine can they
handle and what would be the ideal setting for them? I want to get
more.

Do you remember the name of her greenhouse? Or could you give me
directions? I'd be coming up Pine Forest to Nine Mile Road.

None of my Datura have sprouted yet.:-( But when I was visiting
Maddie in Tennessee she shared some of her seeds with me. Is it too
late to start them this year?

zhan

B.candida and B.suavolens can tolerate more sun than the species brugmansia.
Most of the named hybrids can take sun better, but they are plants from the high
Andes and require cool nights to set flowers. They are also very heavy feeders.
I have all of mine in huge 30 gallon pots now. I couldn't or didn't have the
energy to dig them out and plant them each year so now I have huge containers
and I root prune before they go back into the greenhouse for winter.

A really great site for brugmansia is www.nativehabitat.com

Thanks V, I can lift the one I have and put it in a pot. But I don't
have a greenhouse. Would the garage be okay? It faces south and I
can open the garage door for light during the day. I planted a
camilla on the east side of a pine tree and it is doing very well.
Would that be an ok area for the brugs?

zhan

On Sat, 19 Apr 2003 09:58:42 -0500, "Tony"
wrote:

Someone else posted a note about growing conditions of Brugs, so I'll just
answer your other questions.

The nursery I was speaking of is called "David's Greenery". It is a very
small nursery operated near someone's home. It seems that the father builds
trellises and gazebos and such and the daughter does the plant stuff. The
actual location is 10075 Rebel Road, so you can get a precise map on
Mapquest.

If you're coming up Pine Forest Road from the direction of the Fairgrounds
or I-10, you'll turn left on 9 Mile Road. Proceed past the junction with
I-10 and past the Beulah "airport."

Turn Right on Rebel Road (it's a small, residential road). Find house 10075
and the greenhouse is behind the residence.

I was there on Thursday and bought a variegated peach brug and a pink brug.
Both of them in 2 gallon pots and about 18 inches tall. They're in great
condition. $10 each.

Be aware that you kind of wander around on your own if no one is out there
working. You can go to the trailer to get someone to help you. (kind of
weird, but it's a small place and the people are really nice.) I've had
better luck going during the week since often on weekends they're at various
shows.

Tony


I would definitely still start your seeds. I'd recommend not planting them
directly in the ground (unless you have very fertile soil), but rather
starting them in smaller pots in good potting soil and then transplanting.

Tony

Thank Tony for the directions. Sounds like the kind of place I'll
really like. Love to listen to what people with a special interest
have to say. You can pick up some valuable pointers you won't find in
books. And thanks for the planting instructions. I'll get them
started today.

zhan

On Sat, 19 Apr 2003 15:18:19 GMT, zhanataya wrote:


Thanks V, I can lift the one I have and put it in a pot. But I don't
have a greenhouse. Would the garage be okay? It faces south and I
can open the garage door for light during the day. I planted a
camilla on the east side of a pine tree and it is doing very well.
Would that be an ok area for the brugs?

zhan

Yes, it would be fine. When we first moved here I had all our plants in the
garage and opened it during the day. There's a period in summer when they stop
producing flowers, but I keep them fed and well watered and I do get many
flushes of bloom. You can put it in a pot, but I'd wait till the fall, for
sure. It wilts heavily when transplanted, but recovers in a few weeks.