My Butterfly never gets very big but blooms well. It's a medium pink with a beautifully shaped bloom and it sets seed more easily then any of my others. It's one of my only brugs that will consistantly get seed pods without hand pollination.

Arborea will bloom while still small. I have seen some x flava seedlings that have 'Y'ed at less than two feet.

Generally any type of Brugmansia cutting taken above the 'Y' and rooted will bloom while still small.

Yes.. a plant started from wood above the Y will bloom at a small size.. Little Moon has a small habit and blooms profusely all Summer long..Beautiful small white single with very nice fragrance..

So far Butterfly and Little Moon bloom earlier on.
Also, possibly all or some of the species Arborea and Flava.
I can't agree with all cuttings above the Y producing earlier blooming as none of any of my particular brugs have and by the time they do they are at 3 feet with one flower.
Which is why I'm enquiring.

Because I know Kylie and her experience is vast, I trust what she says, but have to ask why mine haven't.
The possibilities are:

1) maybe just the specific species I've had/have or
2) Could be that mine are all the inevitably bigger brugs whereas the smaller (grows under 5 or so) would need to Y much lower or be able to flower without the Y - that would't mean they'd grow as fast as the bigger types do.

I'd argue about possible compost/fertilizer amounts. But I've covered the variables here and doubt that that's it.

Could be where I am, though I can't deduce a single reason why not as I live nestled amidst the great lakes. And we know how Ruth_Ann can grow hers - the best I've seen in size and flushes and she's in a colder zone than I.
That would exclude Charles Grimaldi which everybody seems to be able to grow big.

Andre - I'd go for the Inca Sun as it can flower without the Y. I don't know where to find butterfly or Little Moon here in Canada.

Thanks Karyn & Chena & BrugmansiaAddict

- Sandy

I hadn't thought about arborea. It has such a cute petite white flower. Mine hasn't bloomed yet, hopefully this season but it's one of the more difficult varieties. In your zone it might be perfect because it's cooler and it's a cool temp brug. Another that bloomed early while small and stayed small for me was Inca Sun. I don't know if that's normal for that variety or not. It also doesn't need to Y before flowering.

As far as I know every Brugmansia has a 'Y' before a flower. Sometimes with lots of fertilization there can be so many 'Y's formed so closely in succesion that it can almost look like the flowers are bunched like an Iochroma.

If what you say is true about Inca Sun, then I would assume there is only one flower on each branch at the end of the branch.

Some varieties don't need to form a Y. Inca Sun continually flowers. You don't have to wait for flushes of blooms. It flowers along the branches with multiple blooms, not just new Y's. I read that another with the same blooming habit is Angel's Summer Dream.

I believe what you're refering to is essentially a 'Y', but at the first 'Y' both new side shoots generally continue to develop at about the same rate. After this, where a flower is formed is a new 'Y', but one side shoot generally grow longer and produces a new 'Y' and flower and so on and so on. Eventually the one side of the 'Y' that did not grow longer initially should start to become it's own branch and will do the same thing. If you have Preissels book check out the chapter "Form and Structure of Angel's Trumpets." Because I don't think I explained it very well. LOL!

Inca Sun does bloom very small without a Y.. I didn't get a lot of blooms but it set seed very easy..A nice Brug.

I am assuming the material everyone has was taken above the very first 'Y' from the original plant. This is why it flowers at a low height.

If there was no forking of the branches, aka 'Y'ing then it would be a shoot that just shoots straight up with flowers popping off the sides.

Can someone post a picture of Inca Sun, because I would like to see this phenomenon.

Brugmansiaddict I S is a newer variety that does not form a Y to bloom. Buds are produced at spurs along the stems. I believe that Preissels was published prior to the development of I S and has not been updated to include it.

What exactly do you or Logees mean by spurs along the stem?

Preissel's book is outdated and contains some wrong information, but I really don't see a difference in the way it grows from any other Brugmansia. And about the flowering thing. There are other Brugmansia that flower throughout the growth period and are almost never without blooms, like arborea. That is of course with the right environment.

Kylie,
I saw you have pictures on Daves. Can you post a picture of the plant where the flowers come out of the main branch?

Karyn,

You can call me Matt. ; )

Those pic's are probably 3 or 4 yrs old...I doubt they are still around..I no longer grow I S..

Picture a branch like a branch from a peach tree. Where the little stems come out all along a main branch buds form. It's the same with I S. The plant need not fork to produce a bud. That's the only way I can think to describe it. BTW it's not just Logees (which I can't stand) but Kartuz and other nurseries that describe it as spurs.

The List:

Some of these can only be found in the states. Experiences with blooms will vary depending on your care and the environment you grow them in. Thanks for the reminder Karyn and Kylie.

The trumpet flowers of these are kind of smaller than most brugs. I welcome any corrections.

Inca Sun starts to bloom from spurs or Y's at 2 feet with about an 8" flower.
Angel's Summer Dream is stictly at Logee's and starts to bloom from spurs and/or Y's at 1 foot. Flowers about 5-6"
Cassies Curls is full grown at 2 1/2'-3' so says Park seeds. Flowers 5-6". So I'm supposing that it would have to bloom pretty early.
B. Cherub - similiar to Cassies Curls - There are 2 Cherubs, it's not the bigger flowered dark pink Cherub
Cypress Gardens - similiar to Cassies Curls
Arborea - ? size flowers but bigger plant.

These may or may not have bigger flowers, I didn't ask.
So far, there's good experiences but varied with Butterfly and Little Moon blooming earlier on.
Also, possibly all or some of the species Flava and Sauveolens also mentioned to bloom early, also like the cooler temps.
I've heard Super Pink do(sister to Super Spot), but I don't know for certain yet, hopefully by this summer.
Any second thoughts or any corrections???

- Sandy

Betty Marshall was a good bloomer for me always and kept to a lower height. I always felt she was a good patio tub plant.

Thanks Ruth Ann. Another for the list.

I thought I should point out in this post, that the best years with brugs are usually in there 2nd and subsequent years, as long as you spend some time growing your Y out and keeping some of it over winter, if possible. Usually takes 2 years but rarely longer.

I have a charles grimaldi that's so big I can't leave the Y on. So for this, I'm thinking to hack all 3 main branches down to a foot. I'm hoping that with such a huge rootball to start with and such a strong base I may just get lower Y's established. Any experience or opinions on this? See Link for the Charlie in question. That long tub in the back right corner is filled with water crystals, all for Charlie.

And was it baking soda or powder that we use to help cure the cut area/dry it out faster?

Thanks - Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: