Angels in Waiting
August 25, 2011
We all know that some things are worth waiting for and the blooms on Angel trumpets, Brugmansia, are included. I purchased one Brugmansia 'Cherub' on a trip to Logee's in late winter/early spring. I did take some cuttings in order to have more than one of these pricey plants but only one cutting survived and it is still much smaller than the original plant. I planted this year's 'front of the greenhouse' containers with this Brugmansia in the two pots on the ends and in the middle, I added a Strobilanthes dyerianus or Persian Shield in the center to complement the purple heliotrope and the vanilla lantana. The containers are elegant if a bit uneven this year. The Brugmansia on the left was the original plant. The advantage of the cultivar 'Cherub' is that it blooms heavily at a much earlier stage than some of the other varieties. This one has sent out one or two blooms here and there but it finally budded heavily about a month ago and this is the result. Of course it has been nurtured with Mother Nature's Fish Cuisine, an organic liquid fish solution. In the spirit of disclosure, MNC Fish Cuisine is sold by The Garden Guys and, in spite of not being a 'guy' at all, I am included. The Garden Guys consists of two 'guys', Sam Jeffries, CEO of OSM, Inc, and me. We co-host a gardening radio show which airs each Sunday from 7-9 A.M. on WTKK 96.9 FM and it is available for live streaming or a podcast if you are not in the Boston area. Just click on the correct icon on the website for either application. Back to brugmansia and sorry for the commercial... I think that the other brugmansia will bloom this year and I do hope to overwinter these two containers in the basement under lights. I am dreaming of a greenhouse in which I can overwinter many of the tender perennials. The structure attached to the house is an office and the temperature isn't regulated for growing. I think many of us dream of such a structure. Do you? What kind would you choose?