You DO know that in your area you can grow these in the ground, right? They'll die back to the soil line, but with a little mulch the rootball will survive and repsrout next spring. I have some that have been in the ground for five years now, and they make 6-8 HUGE trunks every year and bloom their fool heads off.

You can also easily take cuttings and keep them in a couple inches of water on your windowsill until next spring. Cuttings taken from the flowering wood will start flowering pretty soon after you plant them out in the spring.

Does anyone safely leave these in the ground in Knoxville?

msbatt are you saying you can leave the cuttings in water all winter to replant in spring?

I live near Johnson City, and I have a huge Angel Trumpet in the ground. Yes, it does die back with the cold, but it also comes back to life each spring. I fertilize it liberally and give it plenty of water. I've had a hundred or more blooms so far.

I just came from a house in franklin tn that had several different ones in the ground. She says she just mulches them well. The brugs where about 6-7 feet tall with well over 300 blooms on them that seem to be doing very well.

There are a couple of humongous ones in the UT gardens this year. The biggest I've ever seen!

Some brugs are hardier than others -- so do some internet research before trying to leave yours out!

I am in Memphis and would love to have a couple of you Brugs if they are still available.
Linda

Yes, I'm saying you can leave them in water all winter. In fact, I have some good-sized trunks I cut last fall that have been sitting in a five-gallon bucket for nearly a year now---and they're flowering! The key is to NEVER put more than 2-3 inches of water in the container, no matter how tall your cuttings are. Too much under water, and they rot.

She no longer lives there, but the lady I got some of my first brugs from lived in Knoxville, and she said hers were reliably hardy. Just stay away from those with Versicolor bloodlines and yu should be fine. Forsty Pink, Charles Grimaldi, Becca Lynn have all proved VERY hardy for me. The Versicolor ones do resprout come spring, but they're slow growers and don't perform well, so those I plan on lifting this fall.

Linda,

I emailed you, but haven't heard from you. I would really like to give these away. If not . . .

Katie

I have a Brug that was in one spot, got leaves but didn't do well..I stuck it in a pot and it hasn't done anything. There is no Y...how do I tell if it's dead or it went dormant?

TIA,
Sondra

Sondra,

These plants require a LOT of water. If I water mine in the evening, by the time I get home from work the very next day, they are wilted. They spring back up when I water them within about 30 minutes.

If you cut off a stem and it looks dead, then it probably is dead. I mean there is nothing green or moist in there - if it looks hollow and dry. Even so, it could still come back from the roots, but probably not if it has gotten too dry.

I was keeping mine trimmed up, but it seems they form "Y"s better when you let them grow wild. I have bunches of blooms, but they require a lot of watering. I hardly have time to water them, but keep them going.

The variegated plant I have was eaten up by green worms OVERNIGHT!(I think these green worms are from moths). All the leaves looked like skeletons. I lopped off the tops of the 3 main trunks and threw them away because they were so unsightly. Within a month you couldn't tell anything had been done. They are covered in buds and blooms right now

These plants are like pets because they require so much watering and attention. I may try to transplant at least one with some of the water holding crystals you can buy. These crystals worked very nicely with my tomato plants and keep me from have to water except maybe every 3 days. We just don't get much rain here and whether it is in the ground, or in a pot, they are going to need water and lots of it.

Katie

Thank you Katie for your information...this is my first year with them...I will trim it back again to see if it's dead...sure hope it isn't..:)
I am needing to cut the other's before this heavy frost we are getting this weekend as well..not enough hours in the day is there!! LOL

Thanks msbatt for your info. I did cut 3 cuttings before the frost and put them in 1 container with water but they have been looking very wilted even though they have water. Do you have any suggestions on how to perk them up? Can I leave them for 10 days or should I have someone watch them? Thanks!

sara: Generally speaking, when making cuttings you should strip off ALL the leaves. They are wilting because the plant can't suck up enough water yet. By removing the leaves you give the cuttings time to start forming some new roots before having to support leaves.

Don't worry. They will put out new leaves in no time.

LOL I didn't take the leaves off...No wonder I cried when I thought I did something wrong..thanks for the tip...Oh by the way....The one with no Y does a tiny little green leaf at the bottom...:))

Sondra

If you're going to be away from home for ten days, yes, I WOULD have someone check on them. You need to have them in NO MORE THAN 3" of water, and in ten days' tiime that's likely to evaporate. Also, it's helpful to change the water every 2-3 days for the first little while. Once they've been in the water for a month, you can just add water as needed.