Brugmansia ?

[charlie]

I am thinking of trying one out in the ground again, last time it survived but never did much the following year, is it best to lift and store or just put out new ones each year? I have a better place for it this time and I do love that evening scent

[MartinNicklin]

Charlie it would be an expensive annual! I’ve got one getting quite big now and the place I got it from said you can dig them up, even as large plants, with very little root and cut hard back to store over winter. In such a case it would be more cost effective to do that as they wouldn’t take up much room.

[Paul S]

When I grew them I used to keep them potted in a large-ish pond basket. They'd root through into the soil once planted out. Then easy job to dig up the basket at the end of the year. Trim back, keep the dry-ish and frost-free over winter, start again in spring.

[charlie]

Thanks both, not worried about replacements Martin as I nearly always have large spares (They are not much of a challenge to root!)

Thats a good plan paul

How much top growth would be sensible to leave when bringing it in? I have never found them to flower well on small plants.

I dont actually much like the look of them as plants but that scent in the evening :)

[MartinNicklin]

As much as you want Charlie to make them easy to store and to what you think would make an appropriate sized plant the next year. I’ve hard pruned them in the past to little more than stumps.
Paul’s idea of pond baskets is a good one. I will try that one.

[Richard K]

I had a langenbuscher garten for at least 15 years, which I dug up and put in a frost free greenhouse. It would flower a bit in August and then a lot in october. I cut it back to about 5 ft, I've heard it is good to maintain the first fork if possible.
One year I left it out in a very sheltered spot and it died to the ground but did spring back up from below ground. No flowers that year, though.

[charlie]

Richard thats been my experience before, left out they survive but dont flower!

[Chad]

In the tunnel today,

Brugmansia sanguinea.

Reliably hardy in Cornwall, getting cut to the ground in bad winters.

You probably know the one at the cross roads in Leedstown.

It isn't a scented species though.

Chad