PlantFiles: Angel's Trumpet
Brugmansia 'Abelard'

In OKC, I have this plant in a micro climate on the southwest corner of my brick house, protected from north winds and watered deeply by rain from a nearby gutter downspout. I didn't intend to plant it there, but was root pruning the potted mother plant, broke a 2 foot long branch, stuck the branch in the soil just to get it out of the way and, 2 weeks later, the branch had rooted and was leafing out! It's been 6 years since I gave the potted mother plant away and I'm still enjoying fragrant blooms August-frost from this accidental daughter. I cut the massive trunks of this small tree to the ground in the fall and cover the root ball 1 foot deep in dry leaves and compost. After the last spring frost, I move aside the mulch and begin feeding it and my roses with rose fertilizer that contains systemic insecticide. Produces lovely, clean leaves and tons of blooms.

I have two yellow and one pink variety of these plants. The 2 yellow plants are almost 12 years old and return from the root ball each season. The pink is not as old, but just as big. This plant also returns from the root ball. My pink one blooms almost the entire growing season while the yellow ones seem to wait until late summer or early fall to start blooming. Very striking plants, with a bloom display like none I have seen before. Each season these plants reach heights of 8 feet or more, and will take over an entire flowerbed. I have a pink and a yellow in one bed that they have taken over. Multiple plants blooming will draw every nectar gathering critter there is. The smell will fill your neighborhood in the late evenings. The MAJOR draw back on these plants is they draw "hummingbird or hawk moths". For those of you who are not experienced with this bug, he is the source of the dreaded "cut or tobacco worm". These destructive little suckers will strip a plant overnight (seriously) I have fought them all season, finally breaking down and getting out the chemicals to save my plants just in the last few days. There is a parasitic wasp that preys on the worms. I am ordering 200 of them for next season. I will let you know how it turns out. I have some cuttings from different varieties that I have crossed by taking cuttings and putting them in the same pot, as close together as possible. Allow them to form a common root ball and do not let them freeze off during the winter. To see the results of this effort, you will need to wait at least 3 seasons before you notice changes in the blooms (which will happen first) the plant structure itself is taking much longer to change.