I like the Galveston idea too and we can help a fellow GW. I know that regardless of location or date, some of us wouldn't be able to attend. But if this became a yearly thing we would all eventually get to meet. I guess I'm lucky because I live fairly centrally in the country so I would be able to drive many places but would probably put a limit of a 12 hour drive and then I would start looking into flying. I'm only a couple hours away from Lucy's but it took us months to finally meet and even though it was for a very short visit, we had a blast. I know all of us would have a blast meeting each other. This would be like planning a reunion and I would help as much as I could from my location. Lets see if we can give this a whirl. Deb

Andres, my apologize, your a she. We have tons of those male/female names in our family, Sandy, Dayna, Adrienne, Jacky, but I guessed anyway. I figured you'd know why, if, the mistake was made. I like that one Ruth Ann pictured to, it looks like it Y's shorter than Charlie which is good for hauling inside and earlier blooms. Karyn - still mulling that over...lol. Yours and Kylie's offer. Despite the risks. I have so many seeds to wonder after right now. I should of thought of this before. Are your cuttings coming from last years growth? Jeff, (greenthumb) When I have the time I can help others with more details, it's time consuming that's for sure. Now it's spring, and the warmer zones get to greet spring, which also means loads of chores to do. Mine's coming soon. The lankiness is an indoor growing issue. Yep, I only did the 2 plants but I'd of chopped these down in another month just because they are that lanky when they're outdoors. I don't know for sure if they're stunted, them being different species. But as my big robust growing Charles Grimaldi's are also this way, equally so, and this one is said to be a robust grower to, then I conclude that it is somewhat if not seriously stunted - I call it bonsai'd, not something you want done to a big flowered plant. I could of waited a couple months into spring and compared any new growth to find out but these are pitifully lanky and I'm just waisting my plants energy. On the other hand, I've now deprived it of very beneficial leaves. New leaves coming up already though. That humidifier/mister is pretty noisy by the way - just one of those 1 gall type in an enclosed area. Thanks for the heads up on the Premier Pro-mix (BX) with mycorrhizal fungus already mixed in. I bought what it straight up for adding to plants already in the garden to. There isn't all the much in the little bags - 150grams. They say enough for about 10 smaller plants. I'll probably go skimpier with it. They want it to touch the roots of the host plant so I'll put it straight on some areas, rather than at the bottom of the planting hole as directed. Just experimenting right now. ;) - Sandy

Sammers510: Let us help you down that Rabbit Hole by sharing our addiction Funny you should mention that. Itis best not go down that rabbit hole neurologically by gastronomically sampling these these belladonna toxin plants, even if tempted! Correct dosing is hard to figure snd varies by how the variety and how plant was grown. By the way the eye drops that dialate your eyes at the ophthalmologist for a couple of hours are made from similar toxin plants. Thevtoxin temporarily paralyzes muscles. One poor soul was watering a Brug in a greenhouse and saw a little water droplet roll down a leaf and go into their eye. The eye stayed dilated for a couple days! If too much is ingested reports say that the toxins work up from the extremities slowly knocking out muscle functions as they go. If this effect reaches one's core one does not recover from a temporarily paralyzed heart! We have 3 cats, Brugmansis drop leaves inside houses. I watched carefully and our cats were mot at all interested in tbe bittet smelling leaves. Like tomatoes they have their oen characteristic smell and msybe surface oil or chemicals. For instance our Nicotiana (flowering tobacco), which is in the same plant family, has a sticky leaf surfaces that kills our outdoir whiteflies and knats here. It is also the nicotine source used to make greenhouse insecticide and a MILDER producing cousin is used to commercially buzz, addict and gain $ worldwide. As HS kids we were told that we could make our friends turn green and throw up if we put in in their socks so it got between their toes. (Hum ... still wondering and kinda tempting to see if it this is true ; - ) I've already had 'Little Angel' for 4 yr now and grew from seed what looks similar to 'Frosty Pink Xself'. The * marked plants below I've had before when I hadn't saved them by cuttings or inside. My largest Brugs were left in tubs and brought into a lighted shed w 55 F nights and also brought into an unheated garage that is staying 40 F. If left in tubs and not growing let them dry out only adding a very small amount of water if large branches start to droop. If they are too most at all the roots and stems will rot. My garage housed plants had mot been watered. They dropped all of their leaves but look great. My lighted shed ones need a little water. But if I let them get enough to grow, spider mites become a real problem inside afgecting other plants too. So I'm letting them become very dry. On cuttings I stored the ones I needed for backup in the garage rolled up in newspaper. I made a mistake putting them in a lose open plastic grocery store bag. It holds too much moisture and so the newspaper felt moist on some bottom ones and I lost a couple to surface rot that takes the cambium layer and quickly kills a cutting. Of the methods so far tested. The cold garage method looks the best to maintain a 3-5' multi-branch structure. To make backup plants and propigate. 8" long 1" diameter cuttings work great, if prepaired and stored right. Cut and let sit a a day at room temp so they can heal the cut. Make sure surface is dry. Roll up in a sheet or two of newspaper. Stack no more than two deep. Do not put in a plastic bag. Do not wet. They store better than potatoes. Most of my cutting are great and I have started most. All of my purchased cuttings (5) have sprouted and are hrowing in the lighted shed. I've been getting some nice varieties for $10-15 per cutting on eBay. Look for reasonable shipping costs. I picked up these: 'Adeline', *'Maya" = 'Sunset', *'Peaches and Cream', 'Painted Lady', 'Naughty Nick", 'Super Spot'. Only one came on as a, 1/4" small diameter cutting. It looks like it will make it too, but I wont buy there again. I'm growing from seed 'Pink Equador' and an orange single that just came in from India. By growing from seed ai hope to select a nice cultivar and it's fun to do. Brugs and tomatos grow easily from seed for me using a Park Seed Biodome sponge system, heat mat and very bright T5 lights, I grow several Datura this way and a huge variety of interest plants from seed. I grow from seed to fill around our 80 hydrangea and over 180 kinds of German Iris, Japanese Iris, Canna. and modern colorful Echinacea and Red Hot Poker varieties. In fact, the lack of fragrance in many of our plants and strong fragrance from our Brugmansia, Echinacea, Lily areas and last year's test of Nicotiana alata and sylvestris is what convinced me to focus this year on growing from seed other fragrance plants this for day or night interest, We also hace a lot of Hummingbirds around. Growing from seed now are 4 O'Clocks, Old Fashion Vining Petunia, (Tall Garden and Night) Phlox Nicotiana, and Wallflower. The annuals have been selected ad those that also self sow. If they can handle the winter moisture the 4O'clocks should be hardy here. For the hammock zone things all go white to connect you to and bask in a moongarden zone. White Brugmsnsia 'Little Angel', Hardy Hibiscus 'Blue River II', Foxglove, Dephinum, Liatris. Liilum martagon album and speciosa album are also featured in that area. Brugmansia on my list to get include 'Bergkonigin', *'Charles Grimaldi', 'Cherub', 'Cypress Gardens" 'Flamenco' (UK type), and 'Langenbuscher Garten', and *'Snowbank' (a fabulous variegated leaf Maya tertraploid mutant). I will propigate and keep growing the ones that work best. I'll never be without 'Little Angel" and 'Maya'. By the way 'Snowbank' grows great here in our cool climate and blooms, but takes longer to get to a blooming height than 'Maya'. I think it eas released from an OR based grower. Below is a photo of Snowbank large beautiful leaves on our yard. I grow it for the leaves alone. Internet photo of it on flower. Also yes the great majority of Brugs want to branch before blooming. I've started Brugs before from Y DUAL branch and TRI branch cuttings of Maya and Little Angel and got blooming before with 1.5' plants. And I've routinely had Little Angel and also a Charles Grimaldi bloom on a 2' single stock.plant (grown with heavy addition of 10-10-10 cheap slow release 4 month pellet fertilizer). Frosty Pink is a good grower and bloomer yes, but it starts blooming a month later for me here than Little Angel or Maya so I get two less flushes and 1/2 to 1/4 the flower production from it compared to some others. It will be fun to see what other varieties do here. Our home not far from Seatac is much sunnier than our former Woodinville yard. Right now I'm in an expansion phase growing enough of 'Little Angel' so that I can compare inside overwintering with in ground overwintering methods. Brugs here are supposed to come back from rootstock and grow several feet in a year. With my compact 'Little Angel' a strong cutting started in Feb will yield a 4-5' tall & diameter plant with 32 to 64 flowers in the final flowering just before the final frost. So working from cuttings alone is rewarding and makes nice patio container plants. However, my goal is to yield large outdoor summer bushes with 128-256-522 final fall bloom size. We are thinking of attaching a greenhouse to our house a 1,044-2,088 flowering sounds neat to see at least once, but the fragrance would likely be two much ... even dangerous? I have a Little Angel and Frosty Pink outside now under cold frames gor my first in ground tests. It did not freeze in the cold frames, even with 22 F outside temps. I also keep the tops dry this way. To begin the test I cut 4.5' and 6' plants to about a 1' on each leaving a 3 or 4 stemmed base on each. I got these to start tomatoes amd vegetables early ... and heck a couple Brugs getting a rocket start in the middle of them sounds just right. The design is that the Hammock Stand foot end just inserts between the two bushes rooted here. Once i s while the summer/fall breeze deviates 90 ° and wafts you with a fragrance hit. I don't want grass. Any suggestions for a nonfragrant ground cover here? Brugmansia are not expensive but they take strategy in our zone or we are rebuying small starters each year. Try a newer variety hardy gardenia too? Also plant Witchazel, Sarcococca, Hyacinth and an old English Rose in the yard. Sammers510 you're a Portland Neighbor, so I should be able to save you a 'Little Angel' and possibly 'Pink Xself' rooted cutting. If for no other reason than to ensure that you are solidly pushed off that deep end. It also gifts me external backup should a storm take everthing here. I truely do understand the citrus hook, for its fragrance alone But all bright lights or greenhouse heating gets expensive.

Goodmorning Everybody ! :) I heard from my swappers last night...:))) Mariann I have a couple of surprizes for you...We love putting surprizes in our boxes Regina started it.. Chell you are so creative and your writing is so much fun to read... I bet the boys loved playing pirate.. I can see their smiling faces now...What a great idea to make a hideout.. They will always remeber their hideout mom made for them... Norma I havent traded with you but I am sure you went way above in sending her nice cuttings..I seen pics of what you send...They are awesome boxes..:)) Please dont be sad..:)) Regina howdy :) I am so sorry about Mark having to have surgery and the heart condition would just send me into heaven.. Wow I am so glad to read it all went well...Shooo My heart sank for a minute...He will be all healed for college this fall..:)) You empty nester dont go through what I went through...Stay busy and call them alot... I miss my kids so much it hurts sometimes... Dogs are okay but they cant replace our true babies...I love reading about chell and her boys... It makes me smile so much... Frances lol You poor gardener..ahhah You need a break from mother nature..Really..:)) Oh big snakes yucky... I would be screaming... I love chippies...They are so cute...Havent had many around with a cat now...Kiki has brought home two gardener snakes...He was very proud of himself... Yesterday I was getting ready to go out and play in the dirt...The crows or blackbirds were screaming...It just like a scene in the movie the "birds"... It creeped me out really bad...I couldnt see what they were yelling at.. I watched tv...Than got bored and went coleus shopping..lol The master gardener sale for the next county over is tommorow... I cant wait to see what they are going to be offering..I have never been to this one...Oh I almost forgot..I heard from the master gardener I met...Looks like we are building another gh..lol She wants to do it closer to fall since everyone is busy with their gardens...I am glad we could help her..They are a pain to build.. well I gabbed enough lol must be the strong coffee and I got a lot of sleep...:)) Have a good day everybody..Barb