I'm in Fort Lauderdale. I plant impatiens in the pots with my brugs. It gives me tons of color when my brugs have not started flushing yet, plus it keeps the roots cool because even this time of year the sun can be pretty intense and cause stress to the brugs by heating up the soil when grown in full sun (which i do)..

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Oh that's a nice idea, what a great colorburst!

I plant most of the larger Brugs in the ground..I also add some Iochroma, Aristolochia,Spanish Lavender, Blood Lilies and Banana's.. This is the corner of the bed the Brugs start just to the right there and the other plants continue mixed in..
Kylie

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Plant anything that you like that can handle the amount of fertilizer and water that the brugs like. I had a Chas. Grimaldi that I planted along with small multibranched sunflowers that I really liked the look of.
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I had Four O'Clocks and Russian Sage mixed in, it looked great! The Russian Sage is so billowy and blue, and had some kind of an insecticidal affect on pests.
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kasha77

Chena -
dont the iochroma get just as big as the brugs? or is there a cultivar that stays smaller?

thanks for all of the suggestions :)

Mine don't.. The purple one in that pic probably gets the tallest and it 3'~31/2'.. Some do have better habits than others..

Kylie

My biggest iochromas only get to be about 5' and most are much shorter. I wouldn't plant them in the same container but near each other in a garden would be fine. Some people recommend not putting plants in the same family together, like brugs and dats, because all are susceptible to the same diseases but I've planted them in the same general area without problems.

I love those 4o'clocks and sage with the brugs. Just awesome!!
Caladiums ti plants, colocasia, shrimp plants, morning glories, moonvines, castor beans (in the back border), and gingers, all go well.
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Here is some Naughty Nick with Moonvines growing up them. The moonvines loop around and the flowers pop up all throughout the brugmansia flowers in wierd places lol.
I always find little green tree frogs in the moonflowers in the mornings.

SJN-
Are the Moon vines invasive? I just love them and want to plant them with my Brugs in zone 7b. I wonder if they are perennials here.
kasha77

Kathy the moonvines aren't invasive and they aren't perennial in your zone. When started from seed they usually bloom late in the summer so start them early inside or in the greenhouse. I've even kept one going in the greenhouse over the winter so I'd have early flowers. The only problem was it's rampant growth. I'd cut it back and it would grow another 10' in no time! Not a problem outside but in the GH, a problem.

I agree with karyn, they should be okay in your zone. They might possibly re-seed themselves a little. There is a lavender version of moonvine but it has a smaller flower and not as fragrant. The japanese morning glories are especially good to grow up brugs because in general they aren't as aggressive of growers. If you cut the mgs and moonvines back a little every once in awhile they get bushier. You just need to watch them a little because sometimes they will reach up and grab onto the new brug flower buds lol.
Here's a few critters that like to visit the moonvines here.
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Cool Pics! Lenette!!!

Kylie

I just love the pic of the tree frog. Good point about the JMG's growth habit compared to the common MG's. I grow MG's with brugs and had an I. purpurea absolutely take over. The JMG's are much better behaved, prettier too.

Thanks for the info girls!
kasha77

I had a pic of the pink moonvine but I can't find it.. I think I have some seed here somewhere.. I would love to grow it again myself.. They are Beautiful

Kylie

Thanks. Those little treefrogs sometimes get stuck in the blooms. The flowers close in the morning and I went out one morning and saw a spent bloom moving around. The little frog was trying to get out. They sit in there and catch little moths and gnats that are attracted to the scent.

That is so cool!!