PlantFiles: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Brunfelsia pauciflora

I've just read of a veterinarian's report (from California) of acute poisoning in a beagle that ate this plant. Therefore pet owners should be highly cautious in planting this shrub in an area where pets may ingest.

I have had one of these shrubs for a couple of years. It is one that I love. However it has been deciduous in our back yard in Marin. I just put in two more in our front yard. It has a bit of a different exposure. I am hoping it will not drop its leaves there. Has anybody else found it to be deciduous?

I've got a great Brunfelsia specimen in the back corner of my yard, where it is shaded by the house for the majority of the year. It does exceedingly well in shade to part-shade. The fragrance and profusion of blooms for most of the year are exquisite.

I recently dug up an off-shoot to transplant into my front yard, but do not think I got enough of the root system for it to take. We'll see...

All in all, it's a great plant for shady areas, but watch out for the seeds. I've read that they are terribly poisonous, as are most parts of the plant.

This is a super, hardy, non-deciduous shrub that takes little care and is not intrusive in smaller gardens. Foliage is pretty and blossoms terrific. Has anyone had experience trying to transplant it? I need to move my mature and happy plant - hope I can!

Only after planting my small 24 in. shrub did I notice its tag stated "do not tamp down soil" I have never encountered this instruction from any source. Perhaps it is critical, as my plant has only hung on, not flourished. More importantly, I think, is the nursery tag instruction, like most comments above, to plant in full sun. Perhaps it means full sun North of Zone 7. It appears not able to tolerate the intense SE Texas sun. I do have rather salty city water, I am told. Has anyone encountered the need for exclusively rain water in such a case?

I have uprooted it, put it into a container with loose soil, and moved it into a part sunny location. Fingers crossed. I hope to enjoy the beauty you all report.

I'm from Brunfelsia's native range and will always have some in my garden. I love the colour and the scent.

There's only one thing to be cautious of, which is the plant's Solanales ancestry - most parts are at least mildly toxic, and the berries are very very poisonous. If you've got small kids, or pets that like to chew plants, you might want to grow it out of their grabbing range.

My plant is just beautiful. It has spread to produce many other plants. It grows in the shade on the west side of my house under a very large oak tree. It gets some sun when it is directly above the house. It survives on rain as I do not provide additional water. I need to transplant some of the "offspring" but don't know exactly how to do so.

I probably have the compact one also. Mine is just a stick, it is not bushy at all. Soon I will be fertilizing, maybe that will help. Any other suggestions?
It's in P sun/P shade. It's been raining here like crazy. I have not had to water anything very much. In a large container, about 4'. (Pot and all)

My mother gave me her plant, it sits on the front porch and is the envy of the neighborhood. Exquisite fragrance, very showy as the dark purple blue blossoms fade each day to eventually become white. Plenty of seeds but I have not been successful getting them to sprout yet.

I just bought this bush (it's about 3 feet tall) and the card from "Greenleaf Nursery" says "part shade to shade." I write this because someone above said it needs direct sun.

I have the "compact" variety that gets about 3-5 feet tall and just as wide. The card also explains...
purple flowers (yesterday) turn to
lavender (= today), and then to
white (= tomorrow).

This shrub has bloomed from November straight through til March. Now it has shed a few leaves and replenished with all new ones..The blooms were beautiful, and I have a feeling it isn't finished for the year yet. It's about 10ft tall, and the previous owners of my house lived here for about 20 yrs. So, I feel it may have been here a long time, beginning as a little bush. I would love to have a yard full of them!!! The tri-colored array is a wonderful addition to any landscape.

I am excited about adding this one to my landscape in Zone 8b. Thanks for information!

I have had great luck with this plant in southwestern Georgia. Although it is said to need full sun, it grown well for me in a semi-shady bed. I have yet to root some cuttings from it, but plan to do so this week. Lovely plant. Would like to have them all over my yard. Beautiful.

This lovely shrub is a favorite spring bloomer here in central Florida. It is easily propagated by cuttings.

This plant has beautiful blooms.

It is a tropical plant, and is used as hanging baskets, potted or in the ground in warm regions year round in zones 9 and above. For the rest of us, it can be a house plant, and put outside in warm to hot weather. Also may be grown in a greenhouse.

It is caled yesterday, today, and tomorrow because at one time there will be white, lavender, and purple blooms on the same plant. The fragrance is heavenly!