Okay, first let me direct you to this website:
http://www.americanbrugmansia-daturasociety.org/

Now, I don't know how you are watering your plant, but they are huge water
guzzlers and huge feeders in containers. They are much better in the ground,
but containers is how I do them and I have about 10 of them in 30 gallon tubs.
They do NOT like hot night temperatures and will almost go dormant in the
hottest part of the summer when nights are still over 80 degrees.

I find water rooting brugmansia is somewhat timely as the small bumps you
describe can take about six weeks to develop. I root my cuttings in potting mix
and I place the container (4") in a ziplock bag and keep it closed for the first
week. Then, I still leave it in the bag, but open the top. Even moisture is
very important. Too wet, you get rot, as you can see.

I suggest you take about ten cuttings of the plant in question and you will get
at least half of those to take root. Without seeing the problem, I cannot help
diagnose it, but the weight of flowers can take down a young plant. My plants
are now ranging from 10 years old, to new cuttings taken last spring.

Go to the above website and ask your questions in their forum, or browse around.
There are many brugmansia lovers.

Victoria


On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 14:59:19 GMT, "Vox Humana" opined:

I have two brugmansia of unknown identity that I got in June of 2002. They
were about 8 inches tall in three inch pots. This year they are huge,
approaching 6 feet tall. They were both wilting terribly so I repotted them
from their 12 inch pots to 18 inch pots (I am in zone 6, so I have to bring
them inside and let them go dormant in the winter.) They still wilt a bit,
but are much better, especially after moving them out of the direct
afternoon sun.

I noticed that one of them started to look a lot more horizontal. They are
growing like weeds, so I thought it might just be from growth. Then it got
more pronounced, and I saw that it had spit near were it comes out of the
soil. The plant in question seems to have formed the typical "Y" very close
to the soil. The plant looks very good and is covered with flowers. The
problem is that where it split, the stems are getting soft and undoubtedly
rotting

I know I have to do something, but I'm not sure what the best approach is.
I am also worried that the rot will continue and the entire plant will be
lost. A few pieces broke off in high winds a few weeks ago and I tried
rooting one in some potting mix and one in water. The one in the soil
rotted. The one in water had the nodes on the stem expand into white bumps,
but no actual roots have formed. It is getting some new leaves, but the
bottom is also rotting a bit and I have to keep cutting it shorter.

Any advice would be appreciated.