John, I had a pretty good year here. French Canadian is on her third flush with another to come if the temps hold. I think it is just that way some years, I had one like that a couple of years ago with no rhyme or reason. I figure they should be allowed the odd 'off' one. :) I say this for any and all zones.... improve your soil and plant them directly into the ground so you do not have to fertilize or water so much. A good root system will give you a good plant and good flowers. I fertilized mine for only the second( and last) time this year the last week in August. That is really my only 2 'secrets'.

Karin, Harding Nursery 1995-2003 - Harding Nursery ceased to exist when my husband died Nov. 2003. An excellent reputation always! We specialized in Hostas, grasses , perennials, trees, crape myrtle, spirea and shrubs hardy to our TN environment. We sold wholesale to local landscapers and retail to local gardeners. Harding Nursery did not sell any kinds of plants other than brugs on the internet. Harding Nursery itself stopped marketing Brugmansia in 2001. LBJ was a venture I entered in late 2001 thinking it was a step up for me. I met and joined up with a source that had euro brugs! All I had to do was build the website and pass the order along from customer to supplier. Never had I been more excited about my future in the commercial brug world! I was so wrong. Instead I found myself caught in the middle of customer and supplier disputes. I removed myself from that whole scene. I do not fault the supplier totally. They had no idea that some of the most beautiful euro brugs they were growing were weak. Angels Dream, the first euro double pink in the USA, died. Later we learned it died in europe too. Also they could not foresee environmental brug disasters and California state government intrusions. If you knew everything these guys went thru during the LBJ days it would amaze you that they survived this horrible time. They are very successful today. Interesting that very few of the EURO brugs from the LBJ days passed the test of time. Im not worried one bit with the past LBJ issues. Im sorry it didnt work out but it certainly didnt ruin my life. Sorry to disappoint you Karin and company.lol! !:) The entire LBJ euro brug experience only confirms the truth of my opinion that brugs need to be thouroughly trialed and tested before they are registered or marketed. Nothing wrong with ebay karin. But there is something wrong with registering untrialed seedlings and using "registered" like it is a badge of honor and quality. In my opinion it is deception.

It's good to see YOU too Eloise! Love the jokes you keep sending out. Happy T-Day to YOU guys too! I would love some cuttings, but, it's too far down in the season. and I'd rather people shared with newbies first before me. I'm sorry only one of your cuttings survived. I finished my garage, and it's heated now, so I'm over wintering bases HERE now this year, instead of having to keep them actively growing in my green room. I have the CUTTINGS in my green room, but the bases, I hope they make it. If my sun goddess does make it, I'll make sure you get more. It really is a terrific brug. I emailed asking 3 times if they still had it so I could order another, and I never got a response, which I took that to mean "NO." It's such a nice gentle little bush type brug. And the flowers stick straight out at first. The flowers are smaller, so there are more of them. And it also has darker leaves. There are a few of these I have now, which I know are no longer carried. So, I'll nurse these "legacy" brugs and share them as much as I can. (grin) I'm a little annoyed. I ordered 3 wretched messes? I don't think they REALLY are WMes. I think they're candida doubles. I had one that bloomed, and it didn't produce the triple quad type bloom. That torqued me a little this year. Well, more than a little. So, I'm not even sure I care if those bases survive. Paid for 3 WMs, and I think I got candida doubles. I ordered Native Habitats, and SAMs. Those plants are CRANKY. Crabby plants. crabby, crabby crabby. Hopefully NEXT year, they will do better. The First Belle? MONSTER plant. HUGE. Never bloomed, never got very tall either, but the leaves were 3 feet long. Like this big CABBAGE sitting there. It was rather funny to see, but just a strange plant. Hopefully next year for THAT one also. I'd like to offer as well as ask for cuttings. If I don't have them to offer, I'm not going to stick my hand out though. I've got all my shipping boxes here though! And I bought the NURSERY SELECT version of Miracle Gro now, 20-20-20. (Gotta get more.) Had the wrong kind this summer, and I didn't notice. Mom and dad had this version, very little immediate nitro. Said "oh man, no WONDER! These things down here should have been SCREAMING! Even if mine at home were struggling, YOURS should have been SCREAMING huge." The nursery select has a 5.9% immediate nitrogen, and the regular stuff only as 3.2%. Almost DOUBLE the "immediately" available nitrogen. Well, there's always next year. . .and my fun with my cuttings in the green room. HA!

Mel, You are welcome to come anytime, but things won't start to look like much until mid-May. And I agree that not only can we learn from one another, it's nice to just have someone visit that is truly interested in seeing what you have. I know my DH gets tired of me saying "come look at this"! I did notice last night that I have little buds on some of the brugs that I planted last weekend!! And this weekend, I plan to repot all of the ones in containers. So if see a woman with frizzy hair and a big smile, out in a yard surrounded by plants, pots and soil -- that would be me. :-)