Growing a Brugmansia in a pot

I've been given quite a large Brugmansia thats in a 10 ltr pot.

1) How do I look after it? How oftem should I feed it and what with ?

2) It looks pot bound - should I repot it & what size pot should it have? Can I plant it in the garden and dig it up in the autumn?

3) It (and the pot) keep blowing over. How can I prevent this?

4) It will be too large for me to over winter inside. Can I prune it? What can I do to keep it for next year?

5) Is it too late to take cuttings?

6) I've registared on Brugmansia Growers International Forums but not been activated. Is this forum dead ?

MacGardener
Birmingham
West Midlands.

 

Hello MacGardener and welcome to GC.

I grow mine in a clay pot. It is over 4 foot tall now and I had the problem of it blowing over when it was in a 14 inch pot. On the advice of walnut (one of our experts on Brugmansia/Daturas and the like, I repotted it in an 18 inch pot and it is fine now and has it's first flower and dozens of buds.

My is on daily irrigation and I am feeding with All Purpose Fertilizer and Algoflash. I believe walnut recommended chicken pellets, but I haven't seen them here.

Hopefully walnut will come along later and advise you further on your other questions.

Enjoy!

 

Hi Mac. your Brugmansia will be happier in a large pot I aim to put mine in a 18" pot they usually grow 20-30ft in the wild.The pot will be more stable if it is clay/ceramic and sometimes I even put pieces of paving slab on top of the pot to help holding them down,you can also bury the pot in the ground.If you keep it in the pot in autumn before the frost cut it back to within 6" above the pot use the pieces for cuttings take the pot inside shed/greenhouse keep it frost free don't let it dry out completely, start it off next spring.You can plant it in the garden (free range)when frosts have finished come autumn before frost do the same as above cut back cover the stalk and root area with a good mulch to protect from frosts and next spring it should come back again.Feeding, they are greedy feeders a good organic fertiliser once a week in the growing season they are very thirsty plants sometimes needing water twice a day in summer.You can take cuttings now if any bits break off which they invariably do in the wind I just pop them in water when roots develope pot them on.The bgi forum is not dead I am a member but when my subscription is up this year I will not renew it I will probably join the abads forum( the american brugmansia and datura society)I am on a german forum at the minute which is linked to abads through its founder member I think it's a better proposition.There is a brug thread on this forum with more info on it.

 

Morning, walnut. I didn't realise you cut yours back to six inches above the pot. Maybe that is why mine is so leggy because I cut it back to just under a metre. I also didn't know they would root in water ... boy, do I have a lot to learn! :rolleyes:

Mine is looking nice and healthy now thanks to your harping on at me!

 

Hi walnut. Didn't even think of the paving slabs. :rolleyes: Cheers

 

LoL just a couple of pics. to show some pieces that broke off my brugs in a strong wind they have been in water about 3weeks as you can see roots are forming, they develop from lenticels these are the spots you see on the bark they are equivalent to pores on your skin the roots grow from these.They will fill the jar with roots and will be potted on at this stage(if at this stage they go a bit limp cover with a polythene bag gradually taking it off as they harden)



Here is a picture of the cestrum cuttings and seedlings of podranea and tecomaria you kindly sent me (still working on the iochroma cuttings but it may be back end of the year before I get results)

 

Thanks for all that.

Does the pot have to be glazed to prevent water loss, or does it not matter ?
I'm still worried about such a large pot - one so large and heavy I won't be able to move it, never mind finding space for it overwinter.

There were a couple of bits that looked like they were going to fall off, so I've removed them, trimmed and placed in a jar in a south facing window. Am I too late for these to do much this year ?

"There is a brug thread on this forum with more info on it."
Being new to this site, how do I go about finding this thread ? Are there Fact Sheets on such plants, so that the expert don't keep haveing to answer the same basic questions (such as mine) ?

 

walnut, you are just so clever I am in awe! All of your seedlings are so healthy and well developed already!

As for the Cestrum, I've been deadheading it and am not very clever collecting seeds (if indeed I could ) but if you want more cuttings, please let me know because it's growing at a high rate of knots. Haven't been back up to where the wild one was since I got them.

MacGardener, the other Brug thread strangely was above this one on Today's Topics this morning! On the main forum page it's under Other Plants.

Here's a link you may find of interest ... but please don't stop speaking to us ...

http://www.abads.net/aboutbrugmansia/aboutbrugmansia.htm

 

Hi Mac,
glazed pots are better but it doesn't matter just be prepared to water them more.
Some of my large pots rest on a small platform I made out of a 18" disc of 1" thick wood with 4 castors fastend underneath as long as the ground is even it's easy to move.
The cuttings you have be careful they don't cook in the sun in the south facing window, may not flower this year it depends were the cuttings are from in the main brugs only flower once the main stem as forked(the flowering is done above the fork) if the cutting is off the bit above there's a chance it will flower this year if it's from below it has to grow to a point were it forks then will produce flowers above the fork, it may not grow to that stage this year(hope this makes sense).If you look at the picture of the 2 cuttings above the left one has a bud dangling down if I leave it on it will probably flower even in the water the cutting on the right is from a shoot below the fork and probably will not flower unless it has enough growing time over the next few months.
My LoL has kindly pointed you in the right direction for other information I do intend to do a blog to cover this subject and will post a link when I have finished it in the mean time ask away if you have any questions thats what the forum is for.

 

LoL you would need to go a long way to find someone with the knowledge you have accumulated thanks for the offer of cuttings but I am well on the way with those you kindly sent me I will post a pic. when they flower.

 

I cuttings that I took on the 17th have been in water now for a week and the white pores are swelling.

How often do I need to change the water (daily/ weekly/ monthly) ?

For the best growth, how long do I need to leave them in water - how soon can they be potted on.
Or, how long should the roots be ?

Once potted on, do they need to be kept inside, or can they be put outside straight away ?

 

Hi Mac change the water every couple of weeks, if you left them long enough the roots would fill the jar, usually a main root will grow out of a pore then this will develope fibrous roots you can then transplant at this stage, even if you transplant from water to soil at any stage it will probably survive if you place it in a polythene bag pot and all to cut down moisture loss. Gradually introduce them outside when you are sure they are rooted and are showing new growth the sun and high temps can be fierce at this time.

 

Walnut, sorry to be a pian, but I like to have some idea of what to expect and if I'm doing the right thing (and hence know if Im getting things wrong)

"Usually a main root will grow out of a pore"
How long will this take weeks or months ?

Also, the parent Brug (now in a much larger pot) is having its leaves turned into lace. If it were slugs, I'd expect nibbling around the edge, but this is all over the inner leaf. There are no visable creatures about - at least not by daylight. What's eating the leaves, is it important and, what can I do about it ?

 

My bruggies keep having to be repotted into bigger and bigger pots, I am watering them even in the rain and I use chicken manure pellets, but they do make the greenhouse smell horrid.

My tecomaria and podranea from LOL are doing very well - not sure where I am going to put them all when they get bigger though!

 

Hi Mac a matter of weeks keep the water level about one and a half to two inches up the cutting.Check the leaves carefully there's a tiny green caterpillar thats the same colour as the leaves and sometimes rests on the leaf veins can cause this sort of damage,If you have a systemic bug killer give them a spray you can get a spray that will kill multiple pests,check under your pots if it's slugs they usually hide near the drain holes,put some copper tape round your pots if you think it could be a slug problem.Brugs regenerate leaves at a quick rate so don't worry if some get damaged or drop.
Waco if that stream gets any higher you will not need to water them at all :D