Re: Brugmannsia



Bob Beer wrote:

> >>We live in Pleasanton, CA, 40 miles east of San Francisco, USDA zone 9,
> >>Sunset new zone 15, I think, and the lower leaves have been dropping off
>
> Brugmannsias come (mostly) from the Andes and live at elevations where the
> temperatures are not extremely hot or cold.  In very hot weather they can
> really look bad; it's probably exacerbated by being in a pot where the soil
> will get warmer than in open ground.
>
> During the growing season I give lots of fertilizer; it's almost impossible
> to overdo it.  Iron helps too, some types (especially B. sanguinea) goes
> chlorotic very easily without it.

The last tip was very helpful - now comes the nitrogen soak. On the subject of
Brugmansias, here in the same seasonal climate as mentioned (USDA, Sunset 17),
but much cooler, what is the best way to prune them?  The site Bob referred to
suggested only growing them as a tree, with a single trunk.  I have have a
dozen stems from the base of mine, and they finished flowering a few weeks
ago.  Most of the leaves and flowers are at the 4-6 foot level.  We have one
more month of warm weather here.  If it were cut back to say, 3-4 feet, would
it grow and leaf out again this season?  In Berkeley, California, they never
lose all their leaves, but can look a bit bedraggled in winter.  When cut to a
node, it does branch (once), but one of the branches never seems to last.  I
find that in almost every case where there was branching, usually growing into
a "fork", eventually one half of the fork completely dies back, leaving only a
single stem.  The ultimate result is a lot of tall stems, with most of the
foliage in the top 3 feet.  That is probably its natural form - although maybe
growing higher (to 12 feet?), but I would rather have a "fuller" looking
appearance at the place where it is growing.

Richard Strkeson
Berkeley, California
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