Beautiful, dramatic, and exotic, Brugmansia - or "Devil's Trumpet" - are the Sophia Lorens of the plant world. Often confused with their relative, "Angel's Trumpet", or Datura, the huge, fragrant blossoms of Brugmansia hang downward, whereas Datura's tilt toward the sky. Technically, Brugmansias are soft-wooded tropical trees, growing 5 to 10 feet in height in a single season, though in our climate they are only marginally root-hardy.
Here at Fearrington, we have been experimenting with several cultivars of Brugmansia for the past couple of years. Since they are only reliably hardy to zone 7b, and were planted late in the season in 2010, we potted up our three new cultivars, "Cherub", "Antique Lace" and "Double White", and overwintered them in our glass house.
Last Spring, we planted them out as soon as danger of frost had passed, and were rewarded with substantial growth by the end of summer. Since Brugmansias are creatures of a fertile, warm, and humid climate, we carefully amended their soil with organic fertilizer and compost, and watered them liberally. For the past several weeks, we have been impatiently watching each plant form numerous elongated buds, several hanging below each branch.
The wait and care were well worth it, as we have watched the astonishingly beautiful fluted blooms unfurl like dancers' skirts over the past few days! Shaded in colors from softest pink to white, the flowers of our Brugmansias are delightfully fragrant from late afternoon through evening. While we will take numerous cuttings to overwinter indoors--just in case!--this winter we will test the hardiness of our plants by leaving them in the ground, heavily mulched, and hopefully look forward to an even more astonishing display in the Fall of 2012!