GROWING ANGEL TRUMPETS FROM SEED

GROWING ANGEL TRUMPETS FROM SEED

Huge, trumpet-shaped blooms and tropical-looking foliage make angel trumpet (Brugmansia spp.) a stunning focal point in the landscape during summer and autumn. This spectacular blooming vine, which drapes from a patio container or crawls up a trellis or fence, isn't difficult to grow by planting seeds in early spring. Angel trumpet, which reaches a height of up to 15 feet, grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10b through 11.

1.Sprinkle a pinch, or about 1/8 teaspoon, of fertilizer in the bottom of a 4-to-6-inch pot. Use a balanced, general purpose dry fertilizer with a ratio such as 10-10-10.

2.Fill the pot with a gritty potting mixture, such as a combination of half commercial potting soil and half coarse sand. Don't use garden soil, which is too heavy and becomes compacted. Be sure the pot has a drainage hole in the bottom.

3.Lay the Brugmansia seeds on top of the potting mix, allowing a space of 1/2 to 3/4 inch between each seed. Cover the seeds with approximately 1/4 inch of potting mixture, followed by 1/4-inch of coarse sand.

4.Mist the potting mixture lightly, providing just enough to moisten the surface. Place the pot in a sunny location where temperatures are maintained between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

5.Check the potting mixture daily and mist the soil lightly if the mixture feels dry. Be careful not to overwater. Germination, which takes from two to 10 weeks, requires good air circulation and slightly moist soil.

6.Transplant each seedling into a 2-to-3-inch pot filled with the same potting mix when the seedlings are about 2 inches tall and have at least two true leaves, which are the leaves that develop after the tiny germination leaves. To transplant the seedlings, remove each one from the pot with a spoon or stick. Make a small planting hole in the new pot, then plant the seedling in the hole and pat the planting mix around the roots.

7.Mist the potting mixture, then place the seedlings in low light for about a week. Move the pots to bright, indirect light for one to two weeks, then place them near a sunny window.

8.Plant the Brugmansia in a patio container or its permanent, in-ground location the following spring.