I can tell you what not to do. lol I had a fairly small circular area and stuck a bunch of unknown brugs in it. It looked terrible because they were all different shapes and sizes. The different colors weren't bad together but the different heights and growth habits, haphazardly arranged, looked awful.
Karyn

I am planning on putting a bed of pinks together, I want to get double pinks, and mix with dark pink singles, and put in the creamsickle. I will let you know how it turns out. The problem is I may never get the plants, I keep getting outbidded on ebay. I think I will have a better chance after Christmas. I will keep trying. I really would like to do this, but I never thought it would be so hard. I can't afford to get the plants from seed sprout, I have to go the ebay route. I was thinking about contacting the person I keep bidding against, and offer to buy one of her cuttings if she wins. Is this ethical? Barbra,

You mean something like this??

Here is a link that might be useful:

Karma, yes, just like that, but much bigger. I want to plant 7 or 8 brugmansia, and 4 datura plants in this new bed. I will outline the bed with aztec grass, and terra cotta windsor bricks. Between the plants I will plant red sisters ti plants, variegated ginger, and fill in with gynura bicolor, I will plant dark purple/pink snapdragons, to add a pop of color( they just marked them down to $.10 a gallon at lowes and I bought 24 plants just for this.I should have this bed completed by March. Barbra,

I need some more ideas Ya'll keep them coming. Think bold! I definatly want a show stoper. What brugs are bad heights together?

That sounds lovely Barbra! Karma what are those flowers at the base of your circle. They are very pretty.

Those are variegated nasturtium which are above the corsica mint that encircles 6 Brugmansia and the CA Palm in the center.

Karma - I was planning on planting bunches of Brugs together with iochs, dats, and that million bell thingy whatever. (grin)

An entire side area here will be dedicated to Brugs. Like Ruth Ann has hers together.

Any advice about growing so many together?

If I plant in a circle Maybe for the first year leave them in pots? What do you think. To bad Brugs and Dats dont play nice together.

As you can see we have the whole northwest dedicated to the Brugmansia and to the south of this area is dedicated to the daturas. When we did grow them kind of close we fought all sorts of insect problems. So I really don't advise growing them any closer than 10 feet without knowing you will have to spray them more. We have grown many plants at the Brugs feet but find the corsica mint to be our favorite. This area is hard to find the just right plants due to the sun/shade in this area. We are in hopes this next year the hostas that we planted will cover the pots of the brugs in the shaded area. The nasturtium is more of a sun lover but we had trouble with aphids even if we sprayed on a regular bases. We tried those million bell thingies this year in a hanging basket with blackie the potatoe vine, what fun and a sun lover! We have a select few brugs, dats and ichromas that we grow in the front yard and not close to each other. We grow ours all in pots again due to the high water table here and would love to grow them back in the ground but we lost to many to the year we had those heavy spring rains. I personally love growing them in double pots so that added plants can be grown at their feet. We did a couple pots of strawberries last year which was great!
Dweeb, you will have fun growing them all together! The key is finding the right spot for each and maping it out so that you know which one goes where in the next year.

What about Zinnias? or Cape Daisy? I bet they would be pretty.

I really would like to grow more of mine in pots because
it's less work in the fall. I has lots in pots this year
only because of limited time to plant in the ground. They
did amazingly well, of course, with lots and lots of
watering. Can someone suggest a pot and perhaps potting
soil that would retain the most moisture?

Last year I grew a heavenly blue MG in back of a Grimaldi
and lav/blue raydon asters in front of that. It was an
awesome combo.

Margaret

I had some multi stemmed rusty colored sunflowers planted with Charles Grimaldi's and that was very pretty. There's a pic of it somewhere in a recent post. I also plant vines with some of my brugs and allow them to grow up the stems. Next spring I'm planning on planting a bed of pink and white doubles along with some variegated kmotgg. I just hope the brugs grow at about the same rate. The Day Dreams and Wretched Mess grow at the same rate and size but I'm going to have to use some other whites along with the WM. I hope it doesn't turn out like the garden from last season. That was an eyesore. lol Margaret I don't like soil that retains moisture and prefer well draining mixes. I think they are better for most plants. Even though the brugs are water hogs you don't want their roots sitting in water.
Karyn

What is the milliion bells thingie? Gloria

Million Bells (Calibrachoa) look like a mini petunia and are usually grown in hanging baskets. They are very pretty and bloom all season.
Karyn

I have a huge cast iron pot that I drilled holes in last year and made into a planter and had blue plumbago in the center and the pink million bells all around it. It was very pretty and those little million bells bloomed their heads off all year til late this fall and kind of spilled over the sides of the pot. I will definitely plant them again. I had a petunia sprout up in the pot with my brug and it did very well so I just left it there. I really enjoyed my zinnias in the butterfly garden but they looked wretched later in the summer with the fungus stuff they get. I was thinking about putting some black heart sweet potato vine around my ones in the ground this year.

Karma, what would you plant between the brugmansia if you were me. Reading your post, I think I am going to scratch the datura, and find something else to plant. Do you think iochromas would survive in zone 9. A few years back, I traded for a purple one, it was so tiny, and did not survive, so I thought they will not grow in our zone, but now I am wondering if I should try again. I love the way your flowerbed is outlined with the variegated nasturtium. Thanks for posting the picture, you have given alot of us some great ideas. Barbra,

I love her variegated nasturtium. Now I gotta go look them up and see if I can grow them here. Barbra is your bed going to be in full sun or part shade? How tall a plant are you looking for? I had some New Guinnea Impatiens (SP?) that did very well for me in part shade this year.

Do not buy seeds for the variegated nasturtium, I have plenty and will share for postage!! These require full sun and don't do well in the shaded area so you will have to find something that is a shade lover. I have hostas planted in the one bed that is shaded so the brugs will go between them next spring.
The iochroma here need more shade so I have ours on the north side of the house away from the Dat and Brug garden. I do have one I do grow out front but that one is in more shade also.
I'm going to try the million bells in the sun but I have also seen the wave petunias grown in around the brugs. It really depends on the area you have as to what will grow best. I know I need to add more photos and was hoping to do so this weekend but the storm just did us all in!!

I would love the seeds Karma. Just email me with the postage amount. My petunias didn't do very well this year either. They probably would have been ok but we had so much rain. I gave my friend some and she kept hers in pots and only took them out during nice weather and they lasted much longer than mine.

Gloria:

Million bells - as Karyn said - Calibrachoa - is like an itsy bitsy tiny petunia. (Trumpet shaped flower!)

LOVES the sun - keep it moderatly moist and can be used like ground cover. Blooms spring to frost - NON stop. Rescued one from my Mom that she was trying to kill. Pot was a dustball - asked her "what part about moderately moist don't you get?" She laughed.

I watered this poor thing and it came back and BLOOMED - I've got it inside now and I may try to keep it going to see how it does.

You've got to love a little plant that takes being beating by the sun (and Mom!) and comes right back and BLOOMS. I like the part where it's non stop - only frost stops it.

So ya go from Brugs - to Iochs - to dats (to keep the brugs and dats apart) to Million bells. Tiniest trumpet shaped bloom to biggest trumpet. (grin)

This Million Bells plant sounds like it would luv my area ...Sun ...! Am looking for sunloving plants to fill in amonst the Brugs. Reluctant, now, to plant Dats too close to Brugs. Is it best to get the M.Bells as plants or are they easy to grow from seed?
KHT: Would also like to get the varigated nast. Could you spare some seed for me? Postage no problem. They sound like the sort of plant that does well out here.
Weather here has been good ... 70s and 80s days and about 60-65 nites. Last year's Brug cuttings are setting buds, they luv it!! Gloria

Gloria:

The Calibrichoa (whatever) is part of the Solanaceae family - (according to my very old Sunset book) as is the Brug! (grin)

I'll be picking up a bunch of them this spring - you can get them in flats. Mom and I will be getting assorted colors.

If I can get it to bloom again (been in the dark here - poor thing) - I'll send you a picture of this one.

I'm also separating the Brugs and dats because of the warnings and also the diverse growing conditions needed - one needs water and lots of food, the dats don't, etc. I figure the Iochs can pick up the slack in between the groups. (grin)

And if there's a little tiny non-stop bloomer out there that can be abused like that and keep on going - well THAT will be the leading edge of it. (grin) they apparently like full sun!

Gotta admire a plant like that. (grin)

I'll look around and see if I see any seeds - but mostly - I've seen them in baskets and some flats. I had no idea they were non-stop until I looked them up when Mom was abusing hers.

Ya know gang I'm just a little concerned about all the Solanaceae family growing together?? I try to put them apart from each other that way it's easier to keep an eye on them. If my memory serves me from my talks with the Ag folks they recommended 10-12 feet of which we use as a general rule with Dats, Brugs and Matoes and try to keep them in their own sections. I know some folks don't have the space but one should be on the safe side??

KHT: That's what I'm learning from these discussions. So I'm planning on putting distance between Brugs and Dats. Want to fill in with some low-growing, heat tolerant colorful plants. Some wonderful ideas on this thread. Thanks All. Gloria

KHT - yep - putting distance between the dats and the Brugs.

They're gonna be over 12 feet apart.

Unless you're warning of the Solanaceae group entirely - meaning the Brugs, Iochs, Dats and Calibrachoa?

My 'matos are grown in back. My back and side yard are exposed West. It's brutal back there. Gruesome hot. Gets sun from about 10:00 all the way on out to 5:30pm in the summer. No one likes it back there except the 'matoes, trumpet vines, and morning glories.

I don't even like it back there!

The Brugs and stuff are up front.

Dweeb Calibrachoas aren't grown from seed but they are easily propagated from cuttings. They supposedly don't set seed but I have had seed pods develop on a couple plants. I grew the seed this year and was surprised that it was viable but what grew was much bigger and looked a lot like the wave petunias, even though the Calibrachoa isn't a petunia. None set seed for me this season.
Karyn

Karyn - well THAT explains why I don't recall ever seeing seeds!

Ok - well, this one I rescued from Mom is an orange/peach color.

Wonder if I can try to propogate it. This little guy is a real trooper. . .it's not very big, but boy, I admire this little guy just as much as the beauty of the brugs.

(Ok, that sounds weird.)

All it wanted was water (didnt' even try to feed it for fear of burning it) and it came roaring back with new green and wonderful little trumpet type flowers.

A friend saw it and wanted to know what that was that was blooming its head off OUTSIDE on October 28th, so late in the season. Told her it's a non-stop blooming orphan Mom was trying to destroy.

Now SHE wants them also. We're ALL over these now come next spring. (grin)

Don't know if you like Vincas...they love the heat and
will stay in bloom up to the hard frost. They work well
as a ground cover especially under and around larger
plants such as brugs.

Margaret

I've never grown Vinca, they are very pretty. I'll have to try some next year. My million bells still has green leaves but has gotten kind of woody at the base. I wonder if its too late to try and take cuttings. I looked for seeds and never saw any either and I really love it. Mine is pink and was very pretty with the soft blue of the plumbago.

Vinca? I'll have to look that up Margaret. Thank you.

I could try to propogate this little guy I rescued. Have to go check on him. Could try some of him in the new green room.

To test drive it. See how they do out there in the new area.

Karyn - I'm trying to figure out how/where to try some LED grow lights you pointed out.

Just don't want to sacrifice any of the cuttings to try. I have some of my own little cuttings I could try out there.

Caladiums go good under brugs. They can handle the amt of water and fertilizer that you give the brugs. I did a bunch in big pots one year and they looked great.
In cooler climates, if you dig up your brugs in the fall, you just take the caladiums in as well and let go dry in the pot. In warmer climates you don't really need to worry about the caladiums.
The white and white veined caladiums look good under white brugs for moongardens.

I have seen coleus used under brugs a lot as well.

Caladiums - the super wonderful multi colored plants?

and they can handle the conditions of the Brugs? I saw some at Ls once - didn't realize they'd tolerate the same conditions.

Now that would be really pretty - those plants with their wonderful coloring between the flushes.

Wow - thank you for the idea SJ. Nowwwwww, to locate a "bulk" supplier. (grin)

I'm at "caladium.com" LOL

SJH: Caladiums sound like a wonderful partner to Brugs. I am going to try a few for this year. Also want to keep looking for the Calibrachoa. As usual, helpful ideas, thanks, Gloria

Humm, I wanted to try some caladiums this year but I thought they were annuals for some reason. I have some elephant ears that were in big pots that did't do too well in full sun that are dying back. I might try moving those to a spot with late afternoon shade and put a brug in the center of it. Not sure about the root competion though but they sure do like water. gee8ch look for the calibrachoa in the spring they have them at Lowes and Home Depot in big flats here. A friend gave me mine. They don't look like much in the tiny little pots they come in but they grow quickly and fill out nicely. They should do very well in your climate.

F4F: Thanks. Will be looking for them "in all the old familiar places"! ;0) Gloria