Huge trumpet-shaped flowers hang straight down from the branches, abundant and fragrant, on a shrub that climbs to 2 to 5 metres. Brugmansia, the angel’s trumpet, is a South American nightshade whose leaves and stems are very poisonous. Give it full sun and shelter from wind, and above all keep it from freezing.
| Name | Brugmansia |
|---|---|
| Family | Solanaceae or nightshade |
| Type | flower shrub |
| Height | 6 ½ to 16 feet (2 to 5 meters) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | rich enough |
| Foliage | evergreen |
| Flowering | late spring to early autumn |
Brugmansia care is easy as long as it doesn’t freeze in your area.
It is best to plant your brugmansia in spring in a blend of earth, soil mix and conditioner.
It’s possible to sow in a sheltered place starting in early spring and put in place in late spring.
If you live in an area where winter freezing is very cold (lower than 23°F (-5°C)), consider growing your brugmansia in a lean-in or transfer them during the coldest months to a spot where it doesn’t freeze.
Pruning at the beginning of spring should push your brugmansia to grow more dense and trigger beautiful blooming.
Brugmansia can bear pruning well, so it can be quite drastic.
Take note to protect your hands when pruning this shrub, because its leaves and stems contain high levels of alkaloids that are very poisonous.
Water regularly, but not too much in times of high temperatures and spread mulch out at the foot of shrub over winter.
Adding special rose tree fertilizer is particularly adapted to growing brugmansia. Dilute it in water and apply in every other watering during the growth period.
Brugmansia cuttings are very easy to prepare.
Before planting the cutting in the soil mix, you can also try dipping the cutting in powdered rooting hormones, but if you don’t have any it should still work fine.
Most angel’s trumpets sold in the trade are hybrids of a handful of species, and they differ mainly in flower colour, whether the trumpets are single or double, and how strongly they perfume the evening air. The table below compares the varieties you are most likely to find, along with the ones best suited to a large pot that must be moved under cover for winter.
| Variety | Flower colour | Flower form | Habit and foliage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Marnier | Soft apricot to salmon | Single | Tall, open branching |
| Cypress Gardens | White, cream in bud | Single | Vigorous, very free-flowering |
| Variegata | White to cream | Single | Cream-margined variegated foliage |
| Betty Marshall | Pure white | Single | Compact, good for pots |
| Knightii | Pure white | Double | Bushy, heavy flowers |
The trumpet vine loves climbing high, so it’s perfect to dress the top of a pergola and gift the area with shade.
Brugmansia was discovered by botanists Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland when they scoured across South America at the beginning of the XIXth century.
It is thus native to the Andes, but it can also be found in the wild from the Antilles to Oceania.
This magnificent shrub with remarkable blooming produces abundant and fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers.
It originated in the warm climates of South America and tends to have trouble adapting to places where it freezes often.
You can tell Brugmansia apart from Datura by looking at the flowers: brugmansia flowers hang down whereas datura flowers face upwards. Also, brugmansia tends to grow into shrubby shapes, whereas most datura varieties are rather herbaceous plants.
Add small quantities of organic fertilizer often during the blooming to enhance it.
