It's too hot right now, but otherwise I reckon any time is OK here for striking. I have a single yellow, give me a whistle reminder in about 4 weeks and I'll cut some bits for you.

Alison, that would be most kind of you. I will take you up on that offer.

Ditto.. I can send you some orange and some pink cuttings in Autumn. Remind me also. Cheers.

I have taken cuttings lately with very little fuss. Jacq, if you wander around the suburbs of Brisbane, surely you will spot the odd Brugmansia? They are really very easy to propagate. I generally pop them in water for a couple of weeks until they develop those familiar little root nodules. Pop them in a pot until the worst of Summer is over, then into the ground.

Maybe they are more popular in Sydney but I am often spotting them in gardens. If you want more information on propagating them, just Google Brugmansia and check out the American Brugmansia Society web page.

I am interested in planting brugmansias but am concerned with how long they will take to reach a good size.

Are they fast growers?
I want to plant a few along a fenceline to screen the fence ... will they take years and years to get to the lovely 10 foot height i've seen them?

Thanks

Katie - You dont say where you are so its hard to say how long they will take. They do need to be well fed and watered to become dense otherwise they can become quite tall and gangly- I would suggest you keep an eye out for someone in the garden where you have seen them and ask how long theirs took to get to its 10ft size. Robyn

I live in Melbourne.

Brugs are fast growing though aren't they?

I can be moderately patient but don't want to have a little twig in the ground - I really need something bushy and with a bit of height within a reasonable time frame.

How fast CAN they grow??
Ta

Hello. I have been breeding and propagating brugmansia plants for over 7 years. I have found very basic techniques that will have a cutting rooted within 3 2 weeks with just water. I have over 30 different ones. I also have datura plants. If anyone is interested in any cuttings, I have them available now.I enjoy helping everyone who needs help with this. I remeber when I needed a hand at this and I was very thankful for the information that helped gain the knowledge that I have today about these plants.I have a site that has pictures and a full tutorial on propagating brugmansia plants and cuttings. If you would like some of my cuttings, email me or go to my page that I have listed here and leave your email in the comments and that you are interested in the cuttings and I will reply quickly. Thanks for listening. Happy growing!!! JAMES COLEY

Here is a link that might be useful: easy plant propagation

No link to e-mail James and a nice offer but he's in USA and sending cuttings to Australia would not be possible unless the recipient has an import licence and goes thru the proper procedures.

The info on his site is an easy explanation of an easy procedure - the problem is finding source material!

In three months I had a brugamansia grow from a sickly cutting up to about 300mm.
Which leads to my question, how to save it from the frost? It is now returning to life with zest but i'd like to save it the stress next winter. Any ideas? Thanks

It's good that your plant didn't die--most established brugs won't die from the occasional frost, but will look as if they've been freeze-dried. Plus, the frost kills all the buds and delays next season's flowering. Give it any form of protection you can manage--grow it up against a wall or under the canopy of a tree or shrub (this is my long-term solution and has worked well for me). Sometimes even the flimsiest of canopies (eg the branches of a deciduous tree) will be enough to keep the frost off. Note that some brugs seem more cold-sensitive than others, and can look pretty scrappy in winter even if they don't actually get frosted. So it's a matter of finding the right position/microclimate in your garden. Perhaps you could even erect one of those 6-foot plastic mini-greenhouses (Aldi had them over winter at half the price Bunnings was charging) over it next winter, which would work even if it was growing in the ground. As insurance, you could also take a cutting in summer and keep that in a pot in a warm, sheltered spot over winter so that you have it as backup if something happens to the parent plant.