Brugmansia, Angel Trumpet is a large shrub or small tree with large, pendent trumpet shaped flowers. There are several varieties that range in color and growth habit but all are known for their exotic fragrance which intensifies in the evening. They are frost tender (zone 8 ) and prefer a warm to hot climate in protected sun.
Care
Plant in a light, fertile, well- drained soil. Brugmansia is a fast grower and heavy feeder and needs to be fertilized regularly ( 2x per week) during the growing season. Provide lots of water to keep it in bloom all summer and fall. Since it blooms on new wood, it can be trimmed when growth becomes excessive or when you want to shape it as a dense round shrub or tree . It will take a month or more to resume blooming after pruning.
Winterover brugmansia
In cold climates, it is best to grow it in a container and move it indoors/greenhouse to a frost-free area during the winter. Place it in a south window and maintain it as a houseplant during this time watering once a week. You may get some leaf drop which is normal. The second option is to cut your brugmansia back and store it dormant in a cool (above 40F), dark place (basement, garage) watering monthly to keep the soil from totally drying out. The plant will defoliate completely during dormancy.
Prune in the spring after the last frost, when new growth appears and the plant is ready to go outside. Cut back to one or two buds.
No flowers can be the result of low light, low fertilizer or excessive heat.
All parts of this plant are poisonous and not advisable to grow if you have small children or animals that eat plants.
Datura (Jimson weed) has similar flowers that point upright but are completely different plants.
From the reader archive
Useful reader questions
I have a yellow brugmansia that I received as a Mother’s Day gift in May of 2020. I live in Nanaimo, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. The plant flourished in a large pot outside. It grew to over 7 feet tall and…
Read Lynda discussionI have had all colors return from the ground by mulching and covering with a bucket. This year I tried red. The leaves are yrllowing and never produced a single flower. It has been in the 90’s this last month and it…
Read ryan discussionI bright my angel trumpet in from the garage because it leaves were looking limp from the cold. And put it in a bigger pot now all the leaves are falling off and the tops are bent over will it come back?…
Read Yvette discussionMy brug looks great, is growing well but the pods are falling off. Must have lost 10 of so after a nice first bloom. I fertilize every couple of weeks and we’ve had plenty of rain, tho I still water well daily…
Read judy discussion
I have had all colors return from the ground by mulching and covering with a bucket. This year I tried red. The leaves are yrllowing and never produced a single flower. It has been in the 90’s this last month and it has ample shade and sun throughout the day. It is fed twice weekly. Anyone know what is up with the red trumpets? If I font get a single bloom I’m not trying them again
growing tip
When the leaves on my trumphet starts to turn yellow… I know that I must not feed them so often. My white trumphet has 99 booms at the moment and about 25 should be in boom this week.
what, and how often do you feed it? It has been terribly hot here, and we’re having the worst drought in history. Although I’m keeping my three watered, I’m not having ANY flowers. I’m hoping for some in fall.
Glenda, keep watering your plants. My plant is in a large pot. When I noticed the leaves turning yellow, I stopped feeding it and continue to water the plant.
I was using Miracle-Gro Ultra bloom, I do think that feeding it 2 X’s a week was too much. At the time I had 5 plants. The mother plant I kept, but gave away the others.
I also took the yellow leaves off the plants. News ones grew back. Perhaps you should skip a week of feeding and see how the plants does. Have you looked at the new growth for blooms. They are very small. Last year I found my plant did very well when the weather got cooler like 60- 50 F. Do not give up on your plants. They are truly a beautiful flower.
Plant tip
I live in Massachusetts, zone 5. Mine is yellow and in a large plastic tub, in another slightly larger tub to catch some water. In the fall after the last leaf and flower fall off, I cut it way back and put in a warm, bright and sunny room for the winter. I only give it minmal water at first, until it grows back enough to need more. When its warm enough in the spring, its about five feet tall and I move it out to a sunny position. This year ( its third with me, after a local greenhouse) I was having about 20-25 open blooms at a time. It is such a beautiful plant. The neighbors and strangers stop to marvel and ask about it. I do get quite a bit of yellowing leaves though, which I hate. Now I know to cut back on the feeding. I have to give it almost 2 gallons of water a day during the summer.
Anyone know what to do about tiny black bugs on fine webs that are destroying new (and old) leaves. Doesn’t seem to affect blooming – lots of flowers.
My brug looks great, is growing well but the pods are falling off. Must have lost 10 of so after a nice first bloom. I fertilize every couple of weeks and we’ve had plenty of rain, tho I still water well daily on no-rain days. thoughts?
Are you referring to the flower pods or seed pods?
I bright my angel trumpet in from the garage because it leaves were looking limp from the cold. And put it in a bigger pot now all the leaves are falling off and the tops are bent over will it come back?
I left my brugmansia in a greenhouse overwinter with some potted lilies in Bellingham washington. The lilies are fine but the bark has pulled away from the stem and is loose on the brugmansia. I usually over winter it in the garage,but it was getting to large to move in that space. Usually it has leaves on it by now. Can I revive it. Thanks
Hello, I live in washington state, we just has some frost. Before the frost I mulched my trumpets and covered them with plastic outside, the limbs are wet and have mildew, the bark is pulling away. Im so afraid i killed them. I did put a frost free blanket over them. please help!!! thanks Kim
I have a yellow brugmansia that I received as a Mother’s Day gift in May of 2020. I live in Nanaimo, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. The plant flourished in a large pot outside. It grew to over 7 feet tall and had more than 70 yellow trumpets. I got mixed advice on how to overwinter it – some saying that it would survive outside and some disagreeing. Not wanting to lose it, I cut it back and put it into a storage shed. The shed is insulated and the plant gets enough water to prevent the roots from drying out completely. In the last few weeks a white substance that looks like a fungus has appeared on the stalks. What do I do now? Thank you for any suggestions you have.