Brugmansia Plants

Detail of brugmansia flower

Brugmansia (Brugmansiaa spp.) shrubs and trees are widely grown for their dramatic, nocturnally fragrant trumpetlike blooms. The flowers -- some as long as 20 inches -- hang vertically from the plant's branches. These central and South American natives are winter-hardy in United States Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 and above, where winter temperatures remain above 10 degrees Fahrenheit. In colder winter climates, they make striking container plants with midsummer to fall flowers.

Brugmansia Species

Seven brugmansia species and their cultivars give gardeners a wide choice of flower sizes, colors and fragrances. Brugmansia arborea produces white, 6-inch blooms. B. x insignis -- the offspring of B.versicolor and B. suaveolens -- has white or pink, 16-inch blooms. B. aurea's 9-inch, white or golden yellow flowers and B. sauveolens 1-foot, white, yellow or pink ones perfume the night air. B. x candida's 1-foot, fragrant blooms open white and age to yellow. B. versicolor's huge, 20-inch blooms also begin as white but may progress to orange. B. sanguinea, with yellow-veined, red-orange 9-inch flowers, may be the most eye-catching of all brugmansias. Apricot, peach and salmon are among the commercially available brugmansia cultivar colors.

Brugmansia as a Garden Plant

Brugmansia garden plants typically reach a height of 5 to 10 feet, with a 3- to 5-foot spread. In mild climates, they grow as broadleaved evergreens. These plants need full sun and consistently moist, well-drained soil with high organic content. They grow up to 3 feet in their first season and begin flowering significantly in their second. Actively growing brugmansias are vigorous feeders. They need regular fertilization for abundant flowering. At the colder end of their growing range, in-ground plants benefit from a winter layer of root-protecting straw or mulch.

Brugmansia Indoors

Brugmansias grow as container plants at indoor temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. They thrive with humidity levels of 50 percent or higher. They need southern, western or eastern exposure for adequate light. Move plants that fail to flower to a brighter location. Saturating their soil whenever it looks dry and feeding with 1/2 tsp. fertilizer per 1 gallon of water each week keeps them healthy. Plants severely pruned in spring, before going outside after the last frost, bloom in about a month.

Some Brugmansia Cultivars

The Peaches and Cream brugamansia cultivar pairs variegated, cream-margined green leaves with fragrant, pale apricot blooms. Frosty Pink has medium green foliage and soft coral, white-edged flowers. Miners Claim combines white-edged, green leaves with pale pink blooms.

Warning

While these beautiful plants deserve a place in the garden, their beauty comes with a price. Consuming large quantities of brugmansia flowers, leaves or seeds is toxic. Symptoms of brugmansia poisoning include elevated blood pressure, weak muscles, hallucinations, dilated pupils and fever.

References

• University of Vermont Perry's Perennial Pages; Brugmansia (and Datura); Rebecca Slater
• Learn2Grow: Brugmansia
• Missouri Botanical Garden Kemper Center for Home Gardening: Brugmansia x Candida
• Logee's Tropical Plants: Cultural Information - Brugmansia
• Learn2Grow; Sound Your Horn for Angel's Trumpet; Dr. Gerald Klingaman
• Learn2Grow: Brugmansia 'Peaches and Cream'

Resources

• Learn2Grow: Brugmansia
• NCSU Extension; Poisonous Plants of North Carolina; Dr. Alice B. Russell, et al.; 1997
• USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map