If it's warm inside, the Datura might not. I used to live in a zone lower than I do now, and in the winter it would die back, but not necessarily go dormant. When the weather warmed up, it would grow like crazy again. They're actually annuals, but if the temp stays warm enough, the roots will survive. I've never taken one inside for the winter, but my guess is that it will continue to grow and get kind of leggy if not given enough sun.

Thank you for your input! :) I am going to put the brugs in the garage,no heat there, but doesn't get to freezing temps. I forgot to mention,my brugs are this years babies I grew from seed. All I have read said to cut the tops back above the Y. Mine do not have Y's just yet. So would I just pluck the leaves and leave them as is? They are not even a foot tall at this point.
I am hoping I can save my Daturas,I know they will not survive our winters and I would really rather not have to start over with them next year. Our May was not what it was supposed to be and I have just recently got blooms from some of them,some didn't bloom at all and some are just about to bloom. This wacky weather is enough to make me crazy!

If you can hook up some grow lights in the garage you can keep the datura alive and let the little brugs keep growing some over winter. They might be too small to go dormant.

Angie, I just happen to be around tonight. I successfully overwintered a 3 foot triple yellow datura just like a dormant brug in a 45ish temp area (basement) for this year. Now I don't know how long your winters are, but I live in a pocket zone-6 and ours are 6months, that's a long winter. So to keep the datura alive, as it does have thin roots on it, I have to keep mine growing for another 3 months inside, before putting them down in the basement. At that time I cut it down to it's fattest branches. However, as these are relatively easy to grow from seed, I will probably just grow them from seed next spring.

Your brugs are way to small to put in a dormant state. Your winters are far too long and those brugs are still just babies. They need a good year of growth to put on thick enough roots to serve the plant for dormancy and most brugs that are not the hardy kind you'll be gambling on keeping dormant much longer than 3-4 months.

The only 4 'hardy kinds' that I know of are: Frosty Pink,
Charles Grimaldi and Jamaican Yellow for the 6mos dormancy period we have. I presume Dr. Seuss is as well but you'll have to look around or someone pipe in. Personally, I'd try this dormancy period on any brug that grew over 5 feet with as much root as I could salvage, it might take the second year to get that big in our short summer season but that's about all I'd gamble/risk a brug in, for that length of dormancy. And that's still a big risk, some of them just have too fine a root system. I'd keep cuttings going to just for back up.

Ruth_Anne would be really good to hear from on this subject and she's up in zone 5. She has more experience with some fancier brugs. If you hear from her or JohnR, trust them, even over what I say for our zones 5-6. Their observation are more plentiful as I'm sure they've had to take more risks than I do/have but they won't tell you any different for those babies for this winter.

I use an old swag lamp light with a Grow Light Bulb and a plant bar light (@Walmart) to serve some plants.

Best of wishes - Sandy

Thank you so much! You saved my babies! I had no clue my brugs were too young to go dormant!I really do thank both of you who replied with this info!:)

Sandy,WOW! Thanks for all the info! I am going to try the datura this year,you are right,they are easy to start from seed,so if I lose them it wouldn't be so bad. I think I will keep them going for a bit longer and let them recover from being moved from the ground. I am suspecting I am going to lose a couple.

I am thankful the brugs are small this year,I can find a place for them easily. I am going to transplant them today,I just hope I can keep them happy through winter. We have long winters too. Most of my annuals are still holding on,but I dont think it will be for much longer. We will still probably have days where I could sit them outside during the day. But I am thinking that wont be for much longer either. So I think I am looking at the same amount of time you have. Thanks for all the details you gave me,you have helped more than you know. I am glad to know if the windows fail,I can fall back on a light. I think I am going to have to talk hubby into installing that window I want on the east side of the house! ;)

Again,I really appreciate the advice and your sharing your experience with me!
Well, I am off to move my babies to their new homes,Thanks again! :)

Angie, Your very welcome. Just one little thing, as they will be in a growing state, they do not stay small. Depending on what kind you have, and you should say even if they are NoID, so this is a general summary. They can grow 3-6' in 6 months and some pretty wide with those big leafs, and some like Charles Grimaldi that can grow 14' in one 'year' in a real tropical environment, although I put 6'max for our 'in the house' type of enviroment for my CG, that's still just an estimate for indoors, especially if they're already a 1' tall and well rooted. And do feed them fertilizer, half strength unless they're in a real tropical environment heat, light, humidity etc. There are dwarf brugs out there that don't grow big naturally but I doubt you have one of them.

Anyway, just keep 'fast grower' in mind and I'm sure by the time you need more space and probably another light or 2 (3mos?) you'll be prepared.

Happy indoor gardening. - Sandy

Ok,I think I am going to have to prepare myself a little better for these guys! They have been in 16 oz. cups all summer,I just transplanted them into 1 gallon nursery pots today.....I thought that would be plenty of room...lol..!

I was very pleased to see they had wonderful root systems,the sanguinea was a mass of root that filled the entire cup! :)

I am going to keep 4 large pots and some potting soil aside for them. We get good light upstairs,so that's where I am going to start them out,if they don't like that,than under lights they go! :)

I transplanted them into a soil with fertilizer,should I still add more? I am still getting the hang of fertilizers and don't know what is too much!;)

Here is a list of the ones I am growing:

Pink NoID

Red Sanguinea

Patricia Watson

Coral Glow

Nothing fancy,but so new and exciting to me! I just hope I can do this, and actually have some of the gorgeous blooms I see posted here someday!:)

Sandy,again,thank you! You have been a tremendous help!:)

I've never intentionally wintered over a datura and just start them from seed every year. Unlike brugs they are easily grown as an annual in the colder zones. One double purple did manage to end up in the greenhouse last winter but the ones from seed caught up to it in size by mid summer.

I totally agree with Karyn and some will come back from the roots if you give them protection. I believe the Brug Bible states that you can dig up the roots and store them.
I had the D. Missouri Marble return for 5 years from the root with just min. protection. Several others have done the same with no protection and all we did was cut them back to the soil in the fall. We have 3 D. MM we got late in the season that we have put in the Brug House due to the seedpods and it was to late to make sure they would make it planted in the ground as we didn't know if these were tetraploids or not. These new ones are a bit different than the first one we got, so we have a small tented area for them.

I have decided all but the Sugar and Cream Datura are out. My Triple Purple bloomed today and it is Black Currant...lol..I am not wasting time on any other than the Sugar and Cream,I only have a few seeds left of them and didn't get a bloom yet. They were planted way too late! I am glad you guys posted your opinions,it has really made the decision easy on me! Thanks! :)

Thank you Karyn for confirming what you could.

Hi Angie - Sorry I just noticed you had another question. I didn't get any size gain by keeping the root ball and some stalk dormant but I don't know what you'll get if you keep them living all winter. You've clearly said you don't want to be bothered regrowing them from seed but it would of done well for someone to ask which daturas you have but only 2 are possible to leave outside for the winter. The belle blanche is hardy to our area and with a lot of mulch you will have it in spring. The annoxia, are much more fragrant but not as hardy. Both are single whites. I failed to mulch both of these and lost both kinds. I was half hearted about keeping them as I do like the double, triple and colored kinds and only have so much room in the garden. I heard the hardy can self seed even in our zone but I always remove the seed pods as soon as I see them. There are definately no other kind of datura that are hardy in our area so don't gamble/risk your plant(s) if they're not hardy and you value them. Karma is from zone 8 which is an average of 25degrees warmer than ours in the winter time. We go sub zero (as much as -15 to -20) for several days of a few months and they never do.

Regarding your unanswered question: As your plants are 1' high and well rooted. Regarding the soil's elements of fertilizer I'd presume would be either utilized by the plant or washed away in about 3 months. Read the bag to see how long they boast theirs for - if they do. If they don't, I'd say after about 3 months, use half of your fertilizer's recommended amount, weekly. I reason we have about half of the usual summertime elements of environment to grow them in, inside our homes, so they'll grow slower and not need as much food and it's better safe then sorry. You can burn/kill off roots with too much fertilizer.

I've done a LOT of research on that pot size issue, including in the bonsai techics which are used to deliberately keep a plant small, which is obviously what we don't want but rather learn to avoid using any idea(s) that is a bonsai technic. With the knowledge I've gained regarding this issue, your 1 gallon pots aught to carry them through right into spring, except maybe your coral glow which is a pretty big brug - up to 20' in it's natural habitat or a reproduced one year round, so expect that to be a big baby, it may just need a potting up. (link provided below) And I'd say you'll get a good 10'+ or so of heighth by our growing seasons end, if you do right by it. And you may have to stake up the others. I don't know about your NoId pink or the Patricia Watson which I found nothing on Google except that she's the president of ABADS (for new brug registry and some growing tips), sounds like she got one named after her. And your sanguinea, well, you may find it hard to get blooms on in our zone, though perhaps others have tried in your same circumstances and succeeded, I've not read of anybody in our zone, even with a greenhouse although I'm sure that would work. I'd like to hear from them to. You might want to do a specific search on that brug, maybe somebody figured someway to keep them happy in our dryer environment.

The issues I mentioned earlier pertain to the area of room these babies can cover in a relatively short period of time and so the growing need for better lights as well. Here's a link to give you data on coral glow and you can search out just about any plant there.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/73525/
The smaller pot issue was resolved with me, finally, by the article at this link. However they don't say which kind of brugs they use and though the kind they use reportedly do better from cuttings each year I have no idea if this holds true for all brugs, but it's often used as a backup method. Their cutting/potting method is cited in the Bewitching Brug paragraph. I know others would like to read this to.
http://www.gardenwiseonline.ca/gw/plants/2004/05/01/brugmansia-and-datura

Well, I hope I've been thorough enough for you...lol...glad to be able to be of service. - Sandy

Sandy,I had no clue there was Datura hardy enough to survive here!Those are going on my want list,Thank you! :)

I think what I am going to do is work on keeping the few I don't have a lot of seed left over from alive,I have a few trades of Black Currant left and now I know my triple purple is a Black Currant,so I have plenty of those. The Sugar and Cream is a shoo in,I love the name and color and don't want to lose it,I only have 3 seeds to take a chance on next year. I am going to sow seeds for the ones I am letting go of early under lights. I started mine using the winter sowing method,I don't think that gave them enough time,they didn't sprout until late and than May was ridiculous,so they really didn't get going until sometime in June! So it will be lights for them next time around. My mistake was basing it on the Jimsonweed I have,I figured they pop up and bloom almost right away,so my other Datura would do the same. Now I know! ;)

I had no clue the Coral Glow would get that big!!!! I couldn't find much info ,(at least info that I understood!;),about any of my Brugs. The Patricia Watson seed was given to me as a gift. I have no clue where the kind lady got the seeds,I came to the conclusion when I couldn't find it online that it was just going to be a pleasant surprise someday! :)
That is a bummer about the sanguinea (I have named it "Chubs")! It is doing well and looking healthy,so I think I will give it a shot,if nothing happens over a period of a few years,I will just give it to someone in a better suited climate,I am sure I can find someone here that would adopt it! :)

The links you provided are great! The second one was very interesting and answered a few other questions I had! :)
I bookmarked that link and have been clipping the info I have received on this thread. I am serious about learning to grow these guys the right way. I meant to do more research on them through this past winter when I started them from seed. Next thing I knew winter flew by and the spring and summer were consumed by my over indulgence in new plants! I was just happy they survived and didn't get infested with anything! But this winter I will be doing better research,there is so many things to learn about these guys. I see pics like Karmas and just dream away! I must admit there was a point I was wondering if it was worth all the trouble,than I see the pics of them in bloom and I know I just got to have them! :)
These four will be my beginning. I am going to work hard on giving them what they need and hope to someday have more of them,but I will be satisfied with these ones for now,I want to make sure I really know what I am doing before I buy any! ;)

The soil I am using is Miracle Grow with Moisture control,I do believe it is 3 months,I already marked the calender for when I should start feeding them. Do you have any recommended fertilizer? I have a 10-15-10 right now ( I am pretty sure that is what it is,if it is important to have exact #'s,I can provide them). I did feed them this fertilizer when they were inside,when I transplanted them into soil I seized the feedings. They seem to be doing well,but dont look as nice as some of the babies I have seen posted here,so I am wondering if I need a different fertilizer,any input would be greatly appreciated! :)

Sandy the info you have provided me with is so appreciated,you have helped me so much. I have a better understanding on alot of things now and the nerves are settling down a bit! :)

I told hubby we need to knock out the ceiling and add windows,he changed the subject...lol...I am betting I see a GH in my future! ;)

Oh and by the way,Karyn,the Variegated KMOTGG seeds you sent me for postage last year did great and are one of my favorite plants this season,thanks so much for sharing with me,they were a real asset to my gardens! :)