Hi Chad - welcome to Brugmania! ...and to homeownership in Central Florida. I'm still under one year for brugs myself - love them and have three going....what I consider to be 'fast growers'. They're all blooming right now...matter of fact, last week was probably the best bloom time I've had since I planted them. Mine are on the east side of the house (and behind the fence so that I don't have to worry about the neighborhood kids trying to snatch the blooms for their 'tea'!)...so they're doing well in the morning sun - when it's warmer temps I get LOTS of wilt but they perk back up when they cool down in the afternoon. They like to be fed - different takes on this, but I've used 6-6-6 and also just a palm fertilizer...both seem to have worked just fine. I think, but not sure, that if you take away the leaves and branches low, it should be more tree-like...however, I have a friend with a pink brug...no matter what she does, it seems to want to 'weep'. The cutting I took from her plant seems to be doing the same thing. Although I've not yet done this, I'm told that you can cut them way back and they'll just sprout back up....perhaps we'll hear from a more seasoned brugger than myself. Good luck! You're going to love these plants!

Hey Chad and Mrs.Chad!!!!
Welcome!!!!!!!
WOW Z9b.. a place some of us only dream of..You are gonna do GREAT!!! Brugs love your neighborhood and they are tough plants.. I think should let them grow and get established and then determine their shape...For ya'll they will probabally bloom this summer you have such a long season.. You know we LOVE pics....LOL
Have a Very Blessed Evening!!!
Chena

Welcome to your new addiction. (*grin*)

For me---in Zone 7---I find my brugs are happiest with an eastern exposure. They seem to prefer full sun from dawn up until mid-afternoon, then bright shade. Those in full sun all day long require a HUGE amount of water.

FYI---"Angel Trumpet" is a common name applied to more than one plant. Yours are all three brugs.

How soon they will flower dependsd on whether your cuttings were taken from above or below the primary 'Y'. Since you bought these, odds are good they're flowering wood from above the 'Y'. This means they'll flower early and will take a really long time to get very tall. Below-the-Y cuttings must grow to a height determined by the plant's genetices, form a 'Y', and then start flowering.

To get a more tree-like shape, your best bet is to pretty much leave them alone this summer, then late in the fall cut them to the ground. (You can root pretty much everything you cut off, in a glass of water. Easy as fallin' off a long!) Come spring, they'll resprout and do the grow-to-a-genetically-determined-height thingie. After that, just occassionally run your hand down the trunk to pop off any side growth. Most likely you'll get multiple trunks sprout from the rootball, so if you want multiple trunks, good--if you want a single trunk, cut the others down.

Brugs can withstand a few hours as cold as 27 degrees, so in your zone I'd think most years your brugs would sustain very little cold damage. Pruning would only be necessary to control size or shape.

As far as feeding goes---I use a general-purpose Miracle Grow (same thing I use on my tomatoes).

Brugs tend to be faily shallow-rooted, so they can be blown over in strong winds. (They also break fairly easily.) From experience, I've learned that when high winds are expected, I can save myself a lot of damage by removing pretty much ALL the leaves. Brugs naturally drop a lot of leaves anyway, and grow new ones readily.

Thank you for the answers to my questions. Now I have more...I want to grow a collection of these beauties. Anyone have ideas on growing them in the ground and how to place them? My landscape is very tropical, TI plans, palms, etc. Perhaps I should post some pictures. My concern is the size of these plants, Also, I want some VERY FRAGRANT Brugs, near my front doors, any suggestions? I'm thinking of planting some night blooming cereus as well, I had a neighbor who had one when I was a child, amazing plant......

Thanks,

Chad

I haven't runu across any brugs that *didn't* smell good, but some have a stronger fragrance than others. Charles Grimaldi is very fragrant, as is Becca Lynn and Butterfly.

As to size---how big were the plants you saw and fell in love with? Have you seen others in your area? You should be able to control their size by pruning.

All of my Brugs haven't bloomed.. BUT the ones that have are amazing...No matter what you choose you can't go wrong.. Find a color that you want to look at each day and you will do fine..
I have some NBC if you need some.. It only blooms once a year and for only one night.. How about Night Blooming Jasmine... I have Holy basil (Tulsi) that can compete with a Brug any day ...as far as smell goes..
BTW!!! WE LOVE PIC'S!!!
I hope you will show us your's..
Blessings
Chena

You should definitely try some night bloomers. I grow cestrum nocturnum (NBJ) and Indian Night jasmine (Nycanthes arbor-tristis) aka "tree of Sorrow" because it blooms at night and drops its leaves in the morning (thus looking sad), which smells alot like the cestrum nocturnum) but can grow into a shrub or tree like form and has orange tubes with small white flowers. I have pics of mine but they are on my computer that crashed so I have to get it fixed first lol. I have dragon fruit hylocerus undatus and a peruvian night blooming cactus- that blooms all summer into fall but each flower only lasts one night. The blooms are at least 10 inches, and of course moonflowers and datura. Love those night bloomers!! I actually try to attract tomato hornworms to my garden and let them eat certain tomatoes and datura, brugs etc. just to get the hummingbird/sphinx moths , which are awesome! Here are some photos of my NBJ which can bloom the first year from seed in warmer zones. If you cut them back at the beginning of spring (when it warms up in your zone) and give them some bloom booster they will really perform. Each time them get done blooming, cut back a few inches and hit them again with the BB and they will flower on the new growth. I had one flower in the beginning of Dec on the patio this year lol.

Chena, I didnt realize that holy basil had fragrant flowers or are you talking about the foilage? I love lemon thyme foilage the best, I think. This year I am trying some lime basil because it's supposed to be good with mexican food :)
~SJN

Here is a link that might be useful: pic of my cestrum nocturnum

* err that should have said 'blooms at night and drops its flowers in the morning" LOL!!

The Tulsi smells amazing... yes the foilage.. The first time (12yr.s ago)I planted it ..it was in a garden that was at least 100yrds, from the house.. When the morning air was heavy with dew it was the very first thing you would smell.. It is a plant I think everyone should grow..
Your peruvian night blooming cactus sounds cool..I'm off to check your pics...LOL

I do want to get some NBC, question though on how long it takes the plant to bloom. I've heard it take take years for a cutting to grow to blooming size....any suggestions on where to get one that will bloom sooner?

This "plant thing" is contagious. I just ripped up my concrete driveway to prepare to put in a paver driveway, now I am thinking about scaling down the size of my new driveway and expanding my flower beds for more plants.....

NBC.. the extra cuttings I have are off of a plant I have had for 5 or 6 yrs and it came from my sister who had it for who knows how long..LOL... They are already potted up (from last yr) but even from a cutting it takes no effort...I don't know long it takes for it to bloom...Good question tho.. I'm sure someone will have the answer.. There is the pic of mine..

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:452570}}

Would you put the NBC cutting in the ground? Or should I pot it? Whats the best soil/water req for it? What is a fast growing flowering vine to grow on the side of my house, full sun. Should I stick with Passiflora, or would nigh blooming jasmine work? Want something that grows super quick.

Anyone in FL notice a vine that has orange flowers seemingly growing wild? I will figure out how to post pics and try to put them up tomorrow...

Maybe I should be posting somewhere else? I hope I don't upset the other posters with my endless questions.

Chad

Chad, there's a Florida forum, and yes, I've seen that orange vine, too....it blooms in winter ...i NEED some! It's across the canal from me, but I don't know what it is..other than beautiful!! Sure is a show-stopper right now, tho! My NBC is in pots..only a year from cuttings, so I really don't know about blooms yet.. NB jasmine grows FAST...very easy to root..matter of fact...I have extra plants from cuttings right now and will probably be pruning again very soon. It smells WONDERFUL! Let me know if you want some... You'll think there is an open perfume bottle in the yard when it's blooming!

Hey Beth!! Do you have rooted cuttings?? A very generous friend sent some ripe seed.. and several unrooted cuttings.. The one I have had for yrs. has taken a turn for the worst.. and I believe it is gone.. I would love to replace it.. I am also interested in seeing your pics of this beautiful orange vine..you know you are not allowed to tease us like that unless you have plenty for us all...LOLOLOL
Okay jk.. But i am dieing to see pics...
Chena

Is the trumpet vine that you see wild, the Campsis radicans (orange trumpet creeper)? We used to have them growing wild in Louisiana. Up every telephone pole, tree, etc. The bees, hummingbirds and ants love them. They do root easily. Just be careful if you take cuttings. I had some in my car and looked down and zillions of fire ants were coming out of the blossoms yikes! Coral honeysuckle grew practically wild too.
My peruvian type NBC is a more columnar type cactus and took about a yr and a half from a cutting. It is off one of my mom's at the end of her driveway. Hers is about 12 ft tall and gorgeous in full bloom. Mine is in a pot because when I lived in LA it would rain a lot and they need excellent drainage. It sat out in brackish/saline flood water from hurrican Rita for 5 days and I thought it would be toast but it bloomed like mad that year!! Some of the other climbing types of cactus Hylocerus undatus (an orchid type) and Queen of Night aka selenicereus grandiflora (not orchid type), people let climb thier oak trees or other structures . The orchid types like more water and richer soil than others. Another NBC climber, Epiphyllum (orchid type) grows well in hanging baskets, they come in all sorts of bright colors and some bloom during the day as well. The Epiphyllum oxypetalum is white and blooms at night. You can hang the baskets from your trees as well. Confederate jasmine is pretty fragrant at night too. As well as polyanthum (pink bud/winter jasmine), this one really perfumes up after dark -found that out last spring when I brought one in the house to perfume my room. The later it got the more it smelled and when the lights went out phewww! Finally I had to put it back out LOL!
You are gonna go crazy in FL growing and having access to all the plants they have there lol. I really miss the south.
~SJN

Here is a photo of the campsis radicans (orange trumpet creeper) I forgot to post.

Here is a link that might be useful: C. radicans

Chena, I think I do have rooted cuttings of the night blooming jasmine...growing in a pot somewhere. Do you think it would ship well? SultryJas...here are the orange vines that I love...I'm not sure it's what you had referenced or not..couldn't tell from the pics. These pics were taken across the canal ...not the best pictures, but as good as I can get right now..... This one blooms in WINTER months..not summer....

{{gwi:452572}}
{{gwi:452573}}

Beth if you have a cutting you are willing to let go of let me know maybe I have something here you might want...
That looks like Orange Trumpet to me.. Ya know I can not grow that..LOL It grows everywhere by itself up thru asphalt in the bar ditch.. ..But I can kill it..
Chena

Chena ...send me an email...