Veseys

Plant one plant in a large (at least 16” wide), heavy container with drainage holes. A layer of coarse gravel in the bottom helps drainage and provides weight. Use a peat based potting mix with 1/3 good topsoil mixed in. Your container brugmansia can go outside when the nighttime temperatures stay above 10 C. Grow in full sun, or light shade where summers are hot, and keep thoroughly watered. Apply a balanced, water-soluble, fertilizer every two weeks. Prune untidy or lanky stems at any time. Brugmansia plants will not bloom until the plant has forked or formed a "Y" on the main trunk. The fragrance is incredible especially at night or early morning! Remove flowers as they fade. Not Hardy.

Overwintering Inside as a Houseplant: Bring container inside in the fall when nighttime temperatures go below 10C. Put it in a sunny, warm, location, water as the soil dries out and fertilize lightly once per month. You can prune it back at this time. It is best if nights are a bit cool. You probably will not see many flowers during the winter but it has nice foliage.

Overwintering as a Dormant Plant: Store in a cool, but not freezing (between 5° - 8° C), location, such as a garage, or basement. This place can be dark. It is best to cut it back by ½ to 1/3 before you store it. Water it sparingly, only about once per month. It will lose its leaves and some of the outer branches may die, but as long as the trunk is still green, it is alive and well.

A month before spring nights are above 10 C start to water more frequently, and bring into a warm sunny area. The branches should be pruned back and/or dead twigs removed. Repot in the spring by pruning back the roots and using fresh mix. Once you put your brugmansia back outside, its growth will be very rapid.