Well, I am new to this forum, but I do have some information that may help. I live in Western Washington State, I have dozens of Angel's Trumpets. I will try and answer some of the questions I have read in previous blogs based on my experience here. Yes, you can take cuttings from your plant, I take relatively large cuttings in May-June (doesn't mean you can't try at other times) time frame. Usually, about a foot or so long. Typically from newer green growth. A little root tone or rooting hormone of your choice and start it in moist soil. They root very quickly. Colors: I have seem lots of different colors, the darkest is the Blue, I haven't heard of a black, but I would guess it may be a purple or blue? I have Apricot/peach, white, red, blue, some of the white and yellows are doubles and have a wonderful fragrance. In their natural habitat, their is a moth that comes out only after dark and is drawn to the fragrance, it is their pollinizer. So, you will notice, the fragrance is much stronger towards evening. Just a little trivia. Wintering over, not sure they will winter well, mainly because of the moisture, and the freezing of the moisture. Maybe well mulched in a drier climate they may do okay. Don't know, I raise mine in pots, and bring them in the greenhouse. They grow quickly and I treat mine as if I were growing fuchsia's, water, and fertilize heavily. Yes, the afternoon heat will make them droop, so, I keep mine in the (morning sun would be good) afternoon shade except my red ones. Smaller leafed ones seem to do well in the full sun, the larger leaves seem to burn and droop. All of mine are in pots, and some are 8-10 feet tall, so, they can do well in containers. Yes, you can prune them, in fact they will bush better if you do. Some tend to get very tall and don't want to branch, prune them early (and take cuttings) they will flower and branch very well. Mine bloom all summer, but heaviest in the spring and mid-summer. Depending on the color, my red ones seem to bloom late in the summer and sometimes during the winter, though not very heavy. Those are my experiences here in Washington State. Hope this information is helpful.

Wildcat, your first pics show two different sphinxes. The top pic is that of the tobacco worm, Manduca sexta. However, the bottom pic is that of a white-lined sphinx, Hyles lineata. Lineatas are known to get on tomatoes and grape vines. They are one of the nation's most common [and most beautiful] sphingids as their larval diet is so diversified. One thing to understand about the nightshade-eating sphingids, is that their relationship to Datura and Brugmansia is quite mutualistic, though to us, it looks rather one-sided. Those sphinx larvae or hornworms must have a solanaceous diet and your plants are one thing they can live on. In restropect, those huge, deep-throated flowers are not pollinated by butterflies. Occasionally small wasps can do it, but the sphinx moth [aka hawkmoth or hummingbird moth] are the best pollinators of such blooms. The moths need a lot ofnectar to feed on and the Datura/Brugmansia flower is just the perfect feeder. it's that copious amount of nectar which gives them their famous fragrance, too. The sphinx moth is nocturnal, too. Many Datura bloom best at night, when the moths are active. The benefit to the plants is pollination and ultimately, reproduction, which is worth the price of its foliage, which will grow back in due time. The clearwing sphinx caterpillars are never a pest. The small hornworms feed on honeysuckle among other plants. Their small moths are uniquely diurnal and for protection, mimic the like-sized bumblebees! The sphinxes are truly great insects and are desrving of their place in the yard and garden! I'm glad you did some research on sphingids, Vera. I seriously enjoy rearing these and the beautiful, but non-pollinating saturniids.

Do the caterpillars have a little "horn" on the last segment? If so, they could be either tobacco or tomato hornworms, too. They are beautiful large sphinx moths that will pollinate your Angel's trumpets because other pollinators are unable to reach into the depths of these blooms. Susan

And please don't forget nectar plants. I enjoy visits of both types of Hummingbird moth most of the summer. I don't have their host plants but they nectar each day on various blooming plants. They especially enjoy Butterfly Bush, Lantana and Verbena bonairiensis here in my area. Usually grown as an annual, the Verbena bonairiensis roots overwinter here and begin to put out new growth very early in the spring, so I have blooms of this plant quite early. All the butterflies, moths and bee's love these little blooms. Mary hummingbird moth feeding on the bloom of Verbena bonairiensis