Hey Ron, check it out...

[Broke Down Ranch]

........my Brugmansia blooms are starting to open (I said Ron cause he helped ID it). How exciting! And this sucker is just loaded with blooms! Amazing how long the bloom actually is! I took these yesterday - I will update with a fresh pic tomorrow.

 

[injunjoe]

I love those! it is amazing how fast they grow.
I take it you have yet to see it bloom?
It will be just amazing!

I lost all of mine last winter, like I mentioned we had 4 or 5 hard freezes. Never have I had such a harsh winter here. Lucky Eby's Aunt has a few colors to choose from. They start very easy from cuttings.

If you get a freeze warning this winter I would take as many cuttings as you can. Cover the rest but at least you have new plants for in the spring time!

Can't wait for the flowering pictures!

Joe

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Oh yes, this is the first time for it to bloom for me. A lady I once knew gave it to me as a "bouganvia" which it plainly is not. I just let it keep going and considered a few times just yanking it up. But this is my third year with it and now finally blooms. I am very excited! And hey, if Eby's aunt doesn't have this color, would you like a cutting from it?

 

[injunjoe]

Oh yes, this is the first time for it to bloom for me. A lady I once knew gave it to me as a "bouganvia" which it plainly is not. I just let it keep going and considered a few times just yanking it up. But this is my third year with it and now finally blooms. I am very excited! And hey, if Eby's aunt doesn't have this color, would you like a cutting from it?

Amazing again how things grow so different from one place to another.
I can get cuttings to that height and flower in one full season.
I don't let them flower the first year to help build a stronger plant.
And that is a great offer thank you. I will let you know.

Joe

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Well, where I have it planted it may be getting too much sun. It has shade from about 1 but until then our 100+ degree days really wilt the heck out of it.....it was always my water sensor - if it was looking a little drooped in the morning while still cool then I would know it was time to give the bed a good soaking. It does die back every year but for the past 2 springs has always come back. I think this year I will take better care of it and mulch it heavy when I know we have our first freeze coming.


ETA: should I be digging it up and potting it for the winter?

 

[Greensage45]

Hi,

Very nice, the Brugmansia is considered a "heavy feeder", so this winter be sure and surround the base with plenty of compost; especially compost with manure in it.

Sometimes I will do a bucket full of compost and fresh chicken poop and let this form a tea. Then I give them a mid-summer snack.

Yeah...saving the wood parts from a freeze and sticking them in vases of water and you will have a ton of new starts; the only problem is space! Where to put all those Brug babies over winter, because they all want to continue to grow. LOL

The Brugmansia naturally will wilt as a defense against the extreme heat. It is never an indicator of needing water. This is how they are. I remember my first few seasons with them. At first I thought they were dying of thirst, but then I found out they do this big wilting thing anyways every day during the hottest times. You just have to ignore it. It is hard to explain to someone that has not witnessed it, the wilt looks dreadful; and any other plant I would be screaming "water this plant" LOL

Ron

 

[injunjoe]

Hey Ron I have been reading and I see that Epiphyllum also wilt but is not an indicator of needing water.

They have very special watering needs I see also.

Woops got side tracked there! Sorry.

 

[Greensage45]

I don't know, I have never seen mine do that.

I think years ago I saw an entire stand of Epi's in Houston that were left without water for a long time...They went very woody and dried, and then once the rains began again they perked up by growing new leaves; but why do that??

I am not sure of the watering instructions. What did you read? I just give mine the water out of the tap. Outside I water a bit more and if there is a new growth spurt I water a bit heavier, other than that they can dry out between watering.

I do know that the Epiphyllum likes to be rootbound in order to throw blooms. So even though the plant becomes quite large with branches out about 4 ft, I would let it stay rootbound. I find them to bloom more towards August, but in Florida they may bloom year-round.

There is a close cousin to this plant called the Zygo Cactus or the Christmas Cactus; most folks are familiar with this one because of grocery store sales. If you can grow a Christmas Cactus, you can grow an Epiphyllum...it is all very simple really.

Ron

 

[injunjoe]

That link you posted is full of info on that amazing plant!

 

[Greensage45]

I just look at the pictures!

:rose

Ron