AAngelTrumpetsngelTrumpets bySheri AnnbySheri Ann RichardsonRichardson Forthenightgarden,DaturasandBrugmansiasareanecessity.Thesebeautiful fragrantplants,commonlyknown as Angel's Trumpet open up after dark and remain open until the sunlight hits them the nextmorning.ThereisnosightlikethatofanAngelTrumpetheavywithblossoms.Theperfumethattheflowersreleaseisanextremelysweet,intoxicatingscent.Theseplantswillbloomyearroundifgiventhepropercare.KeepingYourAngelTrumpetHealthy HailingfromSouthAmerica,thesebeautiespreferdampconditionswithwarmdaysandcoolnights.AngelTrumpetsareintheSolanaceaefamily,whichisthesamefamilythattomatoes,potatoesandpetuniasarein.However,awordofcaution:AngelTrumpetsareextremelytoxic.

OnceyouhaveacquiredanAngelTrumpet,thenextstep istokeepithealthy.Firstyouwillneedtomakesure if you choose to growyours in a pot that thepot and theplant arebothwell balanced so thewindcannotknockitover.Thelimbsoftheseplantsbreakfairlyeasily,andalthoughthiswillallowyoutomultiplyyourcollectioneasily, the trick is togrowyourAngelTrumpet intoa largesize tree formaximumblooms.Remembertoleaveenoughroomatthetopofthepottothoroughlywaterit.Theyneedalotofwaterandcanhandlebeingwatereddailyinthehotsummermonths.

Besuretofertilizeyourplantswithagoodfertilizeratleasteverytwotothreeweekssoyourplantwillproduceamaximumamountofblooms.AcommonlyusedfertilizersuchasMiracle‐Gro,Peters,orAndersons17‐17‐17isagoodchoice.Ifyourplantisintheground,afertilizerof15‐5‐10canbeused.Toboostthe foliageon yourAngel Trumpet, a gooddoseof ammoniumnitrate (34‐0‐0) applied in early spring and late summer, is best.Use approximately threetablespoonsforeverytwogallonsofwaterthat isapplied. Ironitecanalsobeappliedonceeveryseasonwiththeexceptionofwinter.Anothersuggestionwouldbetogiveyourplantsomeshadeduringthehotpartoftheday.AngelTrumpet'spreferfullsun,buttheheatfromthesuncanresultinslowedgrowth,sparseornobloomsandleafloss.

ProvidingOptimalGrowingConditions Ifyouliveinzone9,thesearelong‐livedperennials,butifyouareinzone8orlowerandtherootsshouldfreeze,theywilldie.Thebestthingtodoisoverwintertheminasunnywindoworprunesthembackandstoretheminacool,darkplacesuchasabasement.

CompanionPlanting WhetheryouaregrowingAngelTrumpetsinacontainerorintheground,youmayfindthatplantingotherplantsaroundthemcancreateapleasingeffect.Dependingonwhereyoulive,andwhethertheplantsareinthegroundorinacontainerwillplayamajorroleindeterminingyourchoices.

SomepleasingcombinationsforperennialsincludeHostas,Campanulacarpatica,Dianthus,Ferns,Daylilies,Heucheras,andNepeta;someofthepossibilitiesforcombinationsofannualsinclude:Coleus,Vinca(non‐trailing),Impatients,whiteZinnias,Nicotina,Artemisia,orVerbena.

Ofcourse,youcanalwaysmixandmatchanycombinationofthesetofindaneffectthatispleasingtoallofyoursenses.

PruningTipsandTricksIfyoudecidetopruneyourBrugmansia insteadofallowing it togrownaturally,youmustwaituntil itbeginsto"Y." Ifyouhavepurchasedyourplant, itmayalreadyhavea"Y,"butifyouaregrowingyoursfromacuttingorseeds,youwillhavetobepatient.ThepurposeofpruningaBrugmansiaistoforceittogrowmorelimbs,therebyforcingittoproducemoreflowers.Theproperwaytodothisistocutallbutthenewestgrowthoff.Letitgrowabitandsnipithereandthererememberingtocutasclosetothetrunkaspossiblewithoutcuttingintothetrunk.Ifyoupreferabushytree,thenyoumustprunealateralbranch.Thecutshereneedtobemadeatthejoint,andeachjointcanproduceuptotwonewbranches.

IfyouprefertogetfancierwithyourAngelTrumpet,youcanoptforadoubleortripletrunktree.Theeasiestwaytoaccomplishthisistotwistorbraidthetwoorthreedifferenttrunkstogether,butyoumuststartatanearlyagesothatthetrunksaresoftandflexible.Youwillneedtocuttheleavesoffthestemsasyougoandkeepthemtiedwithpantyhoseasthiswillnotcutintothestems.Usingthismethodyoucanuseonesinglecoloredplant,ortwotothreedifferentcoloredplants.

Theresultscanbeveryuniqueandvaried.Rememberthereisnothinglikehavingauniqueplantthatnooneelsehas.Youdon'thavetorevealyourtradesecretseither.

Last,butnotleast,youcanalsoprunetherootsofanAngelTrumpetwithouthurtingtheplant.Thepurposeofthisistwofold,youcancontinuetoenjoyyourplant,withouthavingtobuyanewpot,anditwillalsostimulatenewrootandplantgrowth.AfullgrownAngelTrumpetwillbeperfectlycontentinatengallonpotaslongasyoukeeptherootstrimmedandoccasionallyreplacethesoil.

PropagationTechniquesPropagatingyourAngel Trumpet isbotheasyand rewarding. The seeds from theseplantsare slow togerminate,but theydohaveahighgermination rateandgrow fairlyquickly. The trick topropagationwithseedsistokeepthemmoistandbepatient.

Cuttingsareveryeasytoroot.Justdiptheminrootinghormone,puttheminagoodsoilmixandwater.Withinafewweeksyouwillseenewleavesdevelopwhichisasuresignthatyourcuttingisbeginningtoroot.

Anotheroptionavailableifyouhavelimitedspaceistosavetheseedsbyplacingapantyhoseorsimilarmaterialovertheseedpodandallowingittoopennaturally.Oncetheseedsaredry,youshouldeitherfreezeorrefrigeratetheseedsuntilyouarereadytoplantthem.

Theliquidinsidetheseedpodisextremelydangerous,andshouldnotbetouchedwithbareskin.

You canalso takea cutting,dip it in rootinghormone, roll it innewspaper, and store it in adark,dryspace.Cuttingsfromtheseplantshavebeenknowntorootuptotwoyearsaftertheyhavebeenstoredinthisway.

IbelieveyouwillfindAngelTrumpetsaneasyandrewardingplanttogrow.

CorrectFerti l izationofBrugmansiaCorrectFerti l izationofBrugmansia translatedtotranslatedto

EnglishbyDr. RichSandersEnglishbyDr. RichSanders

Inthewild,Brugmansiaarefoundinlocationswherethesoilhasbeendisturbed,suchasareasinwhich vegetation has been uprooted by landslides.Most frequently, however, they appear inregions impacted by human activity, e.g. at the margins of agriculture, along roadsides or atdumps.Insuchplacesthesoilsareoftenrichinnutrients,especiallynitrogen.

Brugmansiaarenitrogen‐lovingplants.Notonlydo they toleratehigh salt concentrations fromfertilizers,buttheypreferanabundanceofnutrientswhengrowingandflowering.Inthisregard,however, onemust consider certain differences among the species and hybrids. B. aurea x B.suaveolens exhibits the strongest growth, often forming leaves to 24 inch (61 cm) length;accordinglytheyclearlyneedahighersupplyofnutrientthanB.vulcanicola,whichranksamongattheslowest‐growingBrugmansia.

Generally,onecanrecommendfertilizingBrugmansiainthefollowingmanner:Awater‐soluble,mineralandnitrogen‐richfertilizer(completewithmicronutrients)isparticularlysuitable.Suchafertilizer should contain approximately 12‐20 % nitrogen, 3‐6 % phosphorous and 8‐12 %potassium.Duringthesummermaingrowthperiodtheplantsshouldbefertilizedtwiceaweek.Asolutionof4‐6gofwater‐solubleor4‐6mLliquidfertilizerperliterofwaterperplantshouldbeappliedeachtime.

Fertilizerratesmustbeadjustedforthetimeofyear,particularlyforcontainerplantculture.Beforewinterdormancy,inwhichtheplantsare to grow as little as possible, fertilizer amounts should be gradually reduced. During the winter Brugmansia should be fertilizedsparingly.Thedoseisthenraisedslowlyagainatthebeginningofspring.

Brugmansiathatdonotreceivesufficientfertilizerexhibitslowgrowth,havelightgreenleavesandproducefewblooms.Thattheleaveshavebecomea lightgreencolorbecomesparticularlyevidentafteradministrationofa liquidfertilizer.Afternomorethanthreedaysfromfertilization,theyoungestleavesatthebranchpointsbecomenoticeablydarkerthantheolderleaves.Onthebasisofsuchchangesinleafcoloronecanestimatetheapproximatenutritionalconditionoftheplant.Ifthecolordifferenceremainsveryevidentafterseveralfertilizations, one should adopt shorter fertilization intervals. If a grower is uncertain about the success of a fertilization regime, orrequiresanexactnutrientprofile,aplantsampleorleafshouldbesubmittedtoanappropriateserviceorlaboratoryforanalysis.