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#51784 September 10th, 2006 at 03:51 PM
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Patty S Offline OP
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I started this from seed, & it was such a slow grower that I wondered if it was ever going to do anything this year... until I noticed the weird cone shaped thing starting on it about 10 days ago. (I don't even know for sure if it's an annual or a perennial!)
[Linked Image]

As I watched, the darned thing got bigger & bigger, & I wondered if it was going to stop before the flower got too big for the stem to support it! (I meant to take a picture of it yesterday, but got sidetracked & forgot. It looked weirder than ever, because it was drooped over, the point had gone away, & I could tell that it was getting ready to open!)

It had been taking it's own sweet time to grow, & once the blossom started to form, it seemed like it STILL wasn't in a hurry! Since I forgot to take the pic yesterday, I went out this morning to do it, & this is what greeted me!
[Linked Image]
... And it IS almost too heavy for the stem! Duh (They both look alike, to me!)

I'd appreciate hearing what anybody knows about this plant! I'd like to know if it's annual or perennial, & if it makes seeds. (I want more!) It's been growing in full sun, but the blossom is so paper thin & delicate, I'm wondering if that's where it should be.

(Thanks!) [Linked Image]

#51785 September 10th, 2006 at 04:11 PM
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Patty, my friend, Pam, has several Datura in her greenhouse and from what I can tell they look the same as your plant. wink The leaves appear to be the same and I recognize the little spikey points around the edge of the flower. I've also heard her call it an Angel Trumpet. I know she had planted one or two outside before because they are supposed to be hardy to zone 5, but I think she lost them, frown so now she puts them in greenhouse for the winter. I guess that means they are a perennial because I think she keeps them there all year, but I don't know for sure. Duh I'll ask her the next time I talk to her. They are awesome looking flowers and yours looks great too! Good job if you raised this from a seed! clp

#51786 September 10th, 2006 at 06:13 PM
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That's Datura. I have some here and I need to bring them in for the winter (zone 5) But sometimes I have some pop up in the garden the next year.
After the flower dies back, let the seed pod grow. It will be a big spiny ball. I pick mine off just before they open.

#51787 September 10th, 2006 at 06:14 PM
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Patty, you have a nice Datura, commonly called Moonflower Bush or plant. wink The easiest way to quickly tell the difference in Datura is the upfacing blossom. Brug flowers hang down. There are lots of other differences but that's a good rule of thumb to start with.

Doing a Search here for Datura found a lot of threads discussing the plant\seeds\sowing, etc.
Another good source of information and great pictures is here.

Brugs are commonly called Angel Trumpet and get very, very large and tall. View here.

#51788 September 11th, 2006 at 10:41 AM
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That plant is GORGEOUS, Patty!

I have to agree with Rosie - I've always heard that datura flowers open upward, while brugmansias face downward.

I grew some double purple brugs. for 3 years - I only got a few flowers all that time, and they took up way too much indoor space overwinter, so I gave up on them. I have seen some beauties in my neighborhood, but I've not been so lucky.

I hope yours continue to do as well for you as they look here - so lush and healthy!

#51789 September 14th, 2006 at 10:18 AM
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Its a dauntra....possibly wrightti.

#51790 September 15th, 2006 at 07:46 PM
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Definetly a Datura, I have several. They smell so good!!

#51791 September 17th, 2006 at 10:47 AM
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Oh WOW I just posted mine in blooming fine garden chat I was pleased with mine too >> WE call them moon flower bush Here. Mine did the same as your patti Get the long bud on it!! I'd like to have a row of them! thumbup

#51792 September 19th, 2006 at 12:54 PM
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Diane, I wish I'd have thought to measure mine when it opened, like you did. All I know is that it was waayyy out of proportion to the size of the rest of the plant... I couldn't believe it!! Duh

Are these flowers supposed to last only ONE day? [Linked Image]
The day after I took the pic, the blossom was turning brown already, & just hung there like a dirty little rag! I'm sure nobody would have believed that it was so gorgeous the day before, if they hadn't seen it!

#51793 September 20th, 2006 at 06:20 AM
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Hi Patty Yes I do believe it is the same plant.. A guy a work gave me the starter plant same size yours is now I showed him your pictures and He said your are very fortunate to have had it bloom so young and that yours will bring you a lot of blooms in the years to come give it good mulch in the winter and it will come back .. Yes Blooms last only a day then buds turns over and creates the pod it has to be brown and very dry before removing or the seeds won't be any good.. He has a row of these several are around 5 ft tall and very bushy he had grown these for years ,, He says the leaves may veri some but after looking at yours,,, yours will matures into leaves like mine and IF not it is still the same plant ,, and Yes the bloom was just too heavy for the young plant that's why you had to stake it,, Lucky you grinnnn Mine didn't bloom untill it got much larger!!,,

My friend also said he just buries the whole pod( It will split open (slightly) when ready to remove from plant,) in the ground just opens the pod a little more because only half of the seeds will germinate and only half of those will survive His row is about 50 ft long and range from 2'tall to 5 ft' tall from young to old plants so his plants are always blooming this time of year into the late fall I keep trying to get him to become a member on here but he said he doesn't have time,, He is a landscaper by trade and is well versed on many topics from trees to daiseys He'd be a welcomed addition to the GH.. Afterwork and on week ends he does landscaping and just doesn't have the time for computers so I milk every but of info I can from him @ work untill I start working his nerves :rolleyes: laugh Isn't it cool from one part of the U.S. to another we are experiencing the exact same thing

Yours will turn up more as it matures and has a better support system.. I stayed up really late to get the different picture I dang sure wasn't going to miss it again!! But he also said it will continue to bloom
clp

actually mine didn't curl back untill AFTER I touched it to measure and mine looked and felt like wet tissue as well I just called him and he said it was because of the natural oils on my fingertips that stressed out the bloom petals thus creating the curled look otherwise it would have look like a 'trumpet' of sorts.. as far as the half off center leaf steam he said it doesn't make a difference moon flower bush is moon flower bush and hes varies as well.
Sorry I didn't mean to write a book sometimes I just can't shut up LOL
But Now I will cuz I gotta go cook dinner I can Hear Dwight in there heavy sighing letting me know I'm neglecting him and his dinner.
Thanks for pointing these things out,, I'm glad I got on Computer today at work( AND Glad I didn't get caught from the Boss!! and Donny was around to see yours AND mine to compare)..

He and I really believe we (you and I) have the same moon flower!! clp

#51794 September 20th, 2006 at 10:50 AM
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I'm glad I got on Computer today at work AND Glad I didn't get caught from the Boss!!
Well, I'm glad too! Duh

It sounds like your friend would really be a terrific addition to our forum family... but if he came here & got as addicted as some of the rest of us are, the poor guy would go broke & hungry, because he'd never get any of his work done! (Just keep picking his brain!) grinnnn

Hey... can you get a picture of his 50 foot row? That must be impressive! [Linked Image]

Thanks again (for the PM!!) laugh

#51795 September 21st, 2006 at 08:36 AM
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Originally posted by Patty S:
[QUOTE][b]

Thanks again (for the PM!!) laugh
Suuuure any time shk it was triple digits for three week I thought he must be crazy nutz but I had to trust him THEN when the leaves looked like they were wilting he said to water it really good with a bloom booster And WA LAAA in ten days or so I saw buds forming,, He also said they really like to be fed frequently during the growing season and blooming realm
I'll ask him for a PIc that has got to be awesome especially if several of them are in bloom HUH?

As far as pouring rain on the blooms I suppose there would be the same effect with any delicate bloom petals !? I'll ask him K?

#51796 September 22nd, 2006 at 01:24 PM
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Does anyone know what to do with the datura in th winter. Mine is about 7 feet square, I planted it in the ground in the pot. Can I just cut it back and take it inside?

#51797 September 23rd, 2006 at 09:03 AM
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here's a site that will be helpful: american brugmansia & datura society

#51798 September 23rd, 2006 at 09:13 PM
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Be very careful with your datura. I don't know about the bush variety, but the tree datura is very toxic, so I would assume the same for your plant. A friend of mine has the tree form, and prunes it back in the winter to bring it inside. While pruning, some of the sap somehow got into her eye. Her pupil was completely dialated for several days, and she said she felt very strange for a while. plants in this family have hallucinogenic properties. They are beautiful, though, aren't they?

Melinda

#51799 September 23rd, 2006 at 10:07 PM
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here are the seed pods forming wow they are big!!
[Linked Image]

#51800 September 24th, 2006 at 02:35 AM
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Thanks for the great links, joclyn & Rosie... & Mhuff, thanks for the reminder about the dangerous properties of Datura. I wouldn't think that there would be a difference in the chemical makeup between one variety & another as far as toxins go, but I'm sure not going to mess around & find out! [Linked Image]

My 7 year old Granddaughter is half the reason my gardens do so well. (Mother Nature must be the other half, because I've never had a green thumb before!) She's good about following the "rules" when it comes to plants, but I'm seriously thinking about not letting this one go on next year, even though I'd love to have a whole hedge of it... simply because accidents DO happen, (besides kids thinking they're bulletproof)! I think that having an awesome plant like this just isn't worth the risk, & Grandpa wants me to uproot it & burn it NOW... I should never have mentioned it to him! :p I haven't looked to see if Brugs are also dangerous, but I'll go with those if they aren't. The flowers are just soooo awesome!

From what I've heard about the toxins in Datura, handling ANY PART of the plant (even the seeds) is risky, & can have some pretty serious neurological, cardiovascular & respiratory effects. I think that your friend might be lucky that she only suffered pupil dilation & "felt strange"!

Anyway... It appears that my Datura has some sort of growth hormone issue going on, because the blossom "tube" of the second flower has gotten unbelievably large this past week!
[Linked Image]
(Notice that one of the blossom tube thingies fell off!) [Linked Image]

I went out there & measured... the whole plant is only 11" tall, & the blossom tube (I don't know what else to call it) is 7 1/4" long, from the stem! Duh

#51801 September 26th, 2006 at 08:58 PM
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DANG IT! The Datura opened up & I missed it! [Linked Image]
This is what it looked like on Sunday.
[Linked Image]

I was sick & walked right past it without even noticing, on my way to & from the car when I went to the Dr yesterday!

I went out with a flashlight last night when I finally thought about it...
[Linked Image]

I'm waiting for the sun to come up, so I can see if it's going to look any better in the daylight! (I seriously doubt it!) frown

#51802 September 26th, 2006 at 11:42 PM
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Well, it looks a LITTLE better than it did last night!
[Linked Image]

This one isn't as big as the first one was. (It's looking up without having to be propped!) I guess that the thing that strikes me as so awesome about this flower is that it's ALL white... even the pollen!

There are a few holes in it...probably from the cucumber beetle that was crawling around inside it! (I don't believe those creatures! mad they're hard to kill, & are apparently even impervious to the poisons in this flower!)

I wonder if it's deer proof. [Linked Image] I was thinking that I could put it out on the hill by the field next year, where my granddaughter doesn't like to go... but if deer might be stupid enough to snack on it, I wouldn't want to take that chance either.


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