that is GORGEOUS.

I hate to be picky--please forgive me!--but if someone wants one of those beauties and orders Duranta they'll get something quite different. Beautiful too, but different. That is a Datura. Related to Brugmansia.

I think that Barbra meant to say datura rather than duranta. I know that she knows the difference because she has datura, brugmansia and duranta.

Greenelbows, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I am sorry, I know better than that, but I was so excited about being able to post the picture for Jim to see, and was not paying attention to what I typed. Has anyone heard from Jim in Aranasas. I hope he is doing ok. Barbra,

I figured it was just that the names sound a good bit alike and easy to say one when you mean the other, but I was concerned that someone would order one and get the other---I've done that myself, not with those two but other plants. Very frustrating! In one case I never have found the plant I was looking for.

Does anyone know how to harvest the seeds from this plant, I noticed that there are quite a few seed pods on my plants, but I do not know what to do to harvest the seeds, can I pull them now, or do they have to dry on the plant? Should I open them, or just leave them in the hugh pods. I have the same question with the cuban pea vine, I just bought one on Saturday at the master gardeners plant sale in Rockport, and it is full of seed pots, but can I pull them or do I let the dry on the plant? I also found seed pods on the ground at the garden tour. Looked like a mexican bird of paradise, but it was bright orange and yellow, I have the yellow one. How do you plant the seeds, should they dry out, and then plant them, or just plant the seeds pods and all. Barbra,

Barbra,

You have mail.

This is beautiful! I'm from Corpus Christi. Did you but this at Turners Gardenland?

Yes, I tried in the spring and they were sold out, and then I tried later and they had some, I traded with a man from Maryland in the spring, when Turners did not have any. I have a total of 5. If Turners donesn't have any, I should have seeds in the spring, just stop by, and I will give you some. Barbra,

I too have Brugmansia and Duranta, and I want this one, now. Will this beauty do well between Houston and Galveston? You say you got it from a man in Maryland. Can you get it here on the coast?

Ann the picture that Barbra posted on this thread is a datura not duranta. Datura, sometimes called both the devil's trumpet and angle's trumpet because the flowers point up, and brugmansia, sometimes called angel's trumpet because the flowers point down, are related, being in the Solanaceae family.

Daturas should do well in south Houston and Galveston with their hardiness zone being 9; however they will probably need some winter protection in north and northwest Houston. They are easy to grow from their seed pods. You should be able to find them just about anywhere in Houston, i.e. try Maas, Buchanan's, etc. Be careful though because both are toxic so keep you kids and pets from chewing on them.

The following is by Kathy Huber with the Houston Chronicle:

A. Datura is a genus of plants with large, trumpet-shaped blooms often called angel's trumpets. Plants within the genus Brugmansia are also called angel's trumpets and the blooms are similar, but hang down rather than point outward or upward as they do on daturas.

Both datura and brugmansia like a fertile, well-draining soil, a fair amount of sunshine for best blooms and adequate water during hot weather. They will freeze back during cold weather, but return from the roots when the weather warms in spring.

I learned about propagating datura from seed from Ada Jones of Jones Nursery in La Porte.

The purple-flowering varieties are among the easiest to propagate from seed. After a flower matures and falls, a pod forms where the bloom has dropped. Let the pod remain on the plant until it's about to pop, then pull it, crack the pod and place the seeds in a saucer overnight to dry.

Store the seeds in a jar in the refrigerator for at least a week. (They will remain viable, at 40 degrees, for about two years).

Plant the seeds about a half-inch deep in good potting soil. Do not overwater -- a soggy soil will rot the seeds. Germination time varies, but is usually within several days. Some seedlings may emerge as many as three months later.

When seedlings have put on their second set of leaves, move them up a pot size. You may continue growing your datura in a pot, but make sure it is at least five gallons to accommodate the vigorous root systems of more mature plants. Purple datura take about three months from seed to bloom. The plants will reach five or six feet in height.

Apply a slow-release, balanced fertilizer from the seedling stage, and use a high-phosphorus fertilizer on those plants that are a little stubborn about blooming. Should the leaves become pale, apply a high-nitrogen formula to green things up.

Datura is a member of the nightshade family. These plants may cause allergic reactions among some people. Flowers and seed are poisonous.

Well, speaking of getting names wrong, I noted the difference between Duranta and Datura, but when I read the info about Brugmansia, I confused it with Brunfelsia, because we were discussing purple, fragrant flowers. I don't have a Brug. I have a YT&T (but I hate that name). Any advice about those lovelies?
I will be putting in one of those Daturas as soon as I can find one, but how deep would you recommend to dig, to allow for good drainage? Acid soil or not?

If anyone wants seeds from this plant, please let me know, and I will send them to you. I also have a double/triple yellow, and a double white datura, that I can send seeds for postage. They grow like weeds at my house in Rockport. I will also take plants of all 3 to the San Antonio Plant swap on April 14th. Barbra