Re: Datura/Brugmansia

>Well group anyone ever bought any plants thru ebay?
>Currently, they have a listing as : common name angel trumpet or devil's
>trumpet, scientific name of datura or brogmansia.
>
>This one has double purple flowers and really looks awesome in their
>picture. Since this is definitely not hardy here in my zone 5, wondering
>if anyone knows if it grows and flowers in one season as the common moon
>flower here does.
>
>Thoughts anyone?
>
>Donna
>Zone 5, Illinois


The double purple variety would be Datura metel and also comes in 
yellow and white.  This species has smooth leaves in comparison to 
the similar, but more vigorous Datura meteloides, which has somewhat 
fuzzy leaves, but comes only in a single, white color.  D. meteloides 
flowers easily from seed each year for me, but the season for D. 
metel is longer and the seeds rarely mature for me.  It's been my 
experience that unless seedlings are quite small, or the plants are 
potted, Datura dislike being transplanted, although it is rarely 
fatal.  Interestingly enough, I have had an occasional D. meteloides 
over winter here in Milwaukee if planted right next to a building 
foundation.

I also grow a datura which is most likely a variety of Datura 
stramonium, the dreaded Jimson Weed with which many of you might be 
familiar.  However, this species, which reseeds for me every year, is 
very upright, often reaching 6 ft tall with a "trunk" 3 inches in 
diameter.  The flowers are smaller, only 2 inches in diameter, but 
have an attractive purple throat.  See a photo at:

http://home.wi.rr.com/llmen/elsaldat5.jpg

Brugmansias, often called Tree Daturas, are a bit different. 
Definitely tropical, they are taller, with flowers which hang 
downward, as opposed to the outward facing Datura.  I have a couple 
of plants which I can keep semi-dormant in my basement over the 
winter.  For me, however, they seem to be sporadic bloomers - maybe I 
don't feed them well enough.  One particularly attractive variety is 
the variegated 'Peaches and Cream':
http://home.wi.rr.com/llmen/peachesandcream.jpg



-- 
Don Martinson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
l*@wi.rr.com

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