‘Angel’s Trumpet’. The brugmansia’s common name suits this pendulous beauty to a tee. The trumpets are lovely in any colour; waxy white, as well as luscious peach, yellow and pink.
A single flower is mesmerizing enough in terms of its beauty, size and fragrance; a tree in full bloom just defies description.
But much as I love it, I’ve never had the opportunity of growing the brugmansia; it’s too hot where I am.
Fortunately for me, the brugmansia blooms with glorious abandon up in our tropical highlands, so I get to see them when I have the opportunity to visit.
I have tried taking cuttings, but none ever made beyond a couple of months.
That is, until Calvin, another gardening enthusiast and a brugmansia expert, gave me a few of his Brugmansia Ms Emily Mackenzie cuttings. With his encouragement and numerous tips, a couple rooted and grew.
I transferred them to larger pots and placed them where they would get some shade.
Growth was a little erratic but when they stabilized, I looked out for signs of branching – apparently this indicated that it would be budding soon. Alas, the main stems just grew vertically.
Then one day, I saw one, then two buds! How could I have missed the initial signs?
The first bud lengthened quickly over the days and I went over the top, measuring it every day.
Soon a tight whorl of pale yellow petals and amazingly long tendrils emerged from the calyx. Strange … I had been expecting to see pink.
And then, it happened.
The pale yellow petals of the Ms Emily Mackenzie changed to the softest shade of salmon pink overnight, and then to a deeper glorious shade the next day. It was a touch of the Master’s hand; God’s masterpiece.
And the fragrance of the Angel’s Trumpet? Just heavenly.
Care and propagation: filtered or partial sun; top soil (shaded from the blazing tropical sun); water generously; feed regularly; propagate using seeds (not tried this myself), hardwood or semi-hardwood cuttings or by air layering.
my inspiration up in the highlands
Absolutely stunning, TG! Great photos too.
thanks so much, sudha!
Hi TG….i absolutely agree with u …they r for d ‘highlanders’…n not for us ‘lowlanders’…!! I had 2…one was pink…n d other white…both r long gone….after only giving me …err 3 o 4 blooms…not at d same time…BUT i have a couple of friends… lowlanders mind u…here in Machang Kelantan… whose Brugs flowered profusely every time i visit…but lately both husband n wife have been too preoccupied that they have not been taking care of their Brug…oooh d plants r still growing the last time i visited….but no blooms on them….actually TG u can make Brugs bloom for u….u just need to protect ‘em a bit from excessive heat n direct sun…d frens i mentioned have a black netting over their plants…n one more thing is…Brugs r heavy feeders…on d lowlands i suppose they r…coz on CH i c them growing wild …i doubt anyone bothered to feed them any ferts….my frens told me they need lots to flower….unfortunately i have lost mine…had no netting for ‘em…!
i must watch mine closely. no netting but i’ve been told that shading the soil will help. will see what happens. need to ask you something .. will email you.
wooops…did not read your post till d end…soooo u do have a Brug blooming for u…GOSH…!! Envy u….!! my frens’ r white Brugs…n if m not mistaken yellow…errmm not sure …havent seen d blooms for some time now…i started mine from seeds bought on d net…but my frens got theirs from cuttings taken fr CH…..Brug cuttings i heard root v easily….but i have given up on them…my place is simply too hot most of the time…except of course during d monsoons…n i dont want to b bothered putting up nettings for them…so i do not have Brugs…siiggghhh….
got to work a bit for this brug … can’t just leave it to take care of itself like the bougainvillea. if only, yeah?