PUSHING THE BORDERS

Wayne wrote: I have al lot of Brugs with Buds and some near to flowering. I could post the pictures but don't want to bore people who is not interested. :oops:

Oh please post away Wayne. I may not have anything to add to this thread having lost all of mine, but I still love looking at the pictures of your Brugs. :ugeek:

I agree with Conrad and Chris...post away mate those not interested in brugs won't use the thread and it's a shame to punish those who do like them. 8-)

Maybe I will up my feed rate on the brugs and get myself some Mole asses, if it don't work on my plants I can use it in my groundbait for fishing :idea: :D

Wayne wrote: they really are such a rewarding plant to grow.

but not half as rewarding as Protea... getting the first bud after growing the beasts for 5 years!

I adore my Brugs, have loads but.....

Loved to have seen your face when you first saw the signs of Protea flowering.

As for the Brugs, the next step on is that I've pollinated two types of Brugmansias and am hoping to get the pod(s) through to maturity. If it is a good hybrid, I'll name it after my late father. I have three on the go, so I could go for maximum brownie points Wife or Mum. :lol:

Wayne

Wayne wrote: As for the Brugs, the next step on is that I've pollenated two types of Brugmansias and am hoping to get the pod(s) through to maturity. If it is a good hybrid, I'll name it after my late father. I have three on the go, so I could go for maxium brownie points Wife or Mum. :lol:

Wayne

Very exciting. Nothing like producing your own hybrids. As if it is not good enough growing something from seed through to flowering size, to know you are the only person to have one and not knowing what it is going to look like :D

I have another bloom to share, a hybrid from a friend who named the Brugmansia after her grand daughter. Really nice glowing pink that catches your eye in the garden, has a perfumed scent and is a constant bloomer.

Alyces Charm

It must have been nice to have a bit of warmer waether to sit outside and actually smell them. Do most only smell at night?

Most Brugmansias will only smell around early evening, night and early morning, due to them being pollinated mainly by moths. BUT, the Aureas seem to emit a talcy almond smell during the day. Another reason why I like them so much.


Wayne

Wayne wrote:Most Brugmansias will only smell around early evening, night and early morning, due to them being pollinated mainly by moths.

That's what I've always found with B. suaveolens, B. insignis and hybrids based on those spp. My B. 'Charles Grimaldi' retains its scent throughout the day, although it smells strongest at dusk.

My plants got a hopelessly late start this year because of the prolonged cold Spring. To deter red spider mite, I overwinter them nearly dry and dormant indoors until they are ready to go out, which wasn't until 19 April this year, by which time the stems were all covered with mealy-bug. Wiping all that off with methylated spirits didn't do any favours for any new growth points and I decided to prune them much harder then usual - generally, I just cut them back enough in Autumn to get them through the front door and to prevent them from scraping the ceiling and then I remove dead stems and give them a light trim in Spring. I was much more aggressive this Spring. Some of them scarcely even have leaves yet and it's mid-June. Others are making some extension growth at last.

I'm probably months off having any flowers. Last year, despite my severe Winter treatment, they were outdoors from about 12 March and some of them started flowering in early July.

You are spot on David, Charles Grimaldi scent does tend to linger, and is a show stopper when in bloom. It can suffer from a virus on occassion( mine did), but it's always worth searching out for and readily makes easy cuttings either in water or in normal growing medium.

There is a varigated sport of Charles Grimaldi called Jamie which I'm hopeful of getting this year.

This year due to the cool weather, I've noticed that the leaf development has been affected, basically they are sulking. Hopefully there will even themselves out in warmer weather :roll: and we can look foward to some new lush growth and flower buds.

I don't know what you think David, but I have been adding mycorrhizal fungi to the roots to aid protection and aid the absorbtion of nutrients, hopefully making it a tougher plant. There's also some evidence that feeding with seaweed adds to the hardyness of the plant?? Fact or fantasy?? We will see, as I've got a group of Brugmansias that I'm applying this principal to.

Wayne