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Angel Trumpet/Brug: What to do with your stick

msbatt
17 years ago

Most of the folks who attended the MTPS went home with one or more brugmansia "sticks". As promised, here are instructions on what to do now that you have your stick. (*grin*)

If your stick is long, you can either root it as it is, or you can cut it up into several smaller sticks. Keep them about 8" long, minimum. If your stick has a fork at the top, and if you wish to cut it into smaller pieces, leave at least 12" BELOW the first fork. This piece is already 'primed' to flower.

Place your stick in NO MORE THAN 3" of water, no matter how long your stick may be. More water equals a better chance of rotting instead of rooting. Place your stick in a warm, bright spot, and change the water every 2-3 days for the first month. By this time, you should have roots.

You can either maintain your cutting in water until 'mater-plantin' time in spring, or you can pot it up. Either way, you're not likely to get any significant growth before about February, and if you have several sticks, keeping all of them together in one container of water takes up a whole lot less space than potting them does.

Come spring, you can either plant them directly in the ground, or you can pot them. Planting in the ground will give you bigger plants faster, and most folks in TN can expect them to overwinter in the ground most years. Those in the colder parts of TN might benefit from the bucket method that my brother, TnGreenThumb, uses in Nashville. He plants his brugs in 3-gallon buckeets. He drills 1" holes around the sides---but NOT the bottoms!---of these buckets, then plants bucket and all. Come fall, he cuts around the outside of the bucket and lifts his brugs for overwintering in his basement.

Brugs prefer morning sun and shade during the hottest part of the day. When leaving them in the ground, you need to choose a site that's well-drained, especially during the colder months. Cold + wet = root rot.

If you have questions, just ask!

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