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Brugmansia is a South American flower with a lignified stem that can reach a height of 5 meters. Brugmansia can be propagated in various ways: by seeds, layering or cuttings; the latter method is the most preferred. Brugmansia cuttings can be harvested in spring or autumn.
Features of growing Brugmansia from cuttings
You can grow Brugmansia from cuttings when the plant is one year old. The general growing strategy will be approximately the same:
- first form cuttings;
- then carry out the preliminary rooting of the cuttings;
- young seedlings are planted in a temporary container, where the rooting process is completed;
- seedlings ready for transplantation are planted in a permanent place – in a pot or open ground.
Differences in cultivation are manifested primarily in the methods of obtaining cuttings. Depending on the time of the year when planting material is harvested, the mechanism for its preliminary preparation will be different.
When is the best time to cut Brugmansia?
Usually cuttings are carried out in autumn, in September, or in spring, in March.
Spring cuttings are more preferable, since in spring the sap flow is more active in the flower, and it takes root faster. On the other hand, the first flowering of a new plant during autumn cuttings will occur almost a year earlier.
Cuttings of Brugmansia in autumn
In this case, take branches with a lignified trunk. Theoretically, it is possible to reproduce Brugmansia with green cuttings, but the result will be much worse. Preparation of cuttings is carried out before the onset of frost.
Brugmansia, the cuttings of which were cut in the fall, will bloom the very next summer.
Cuttings of Brugmansia in the spring
You can also propagate Brugmansia cuttings in the spring. Spring cuttings are made in a different way. At the same time, young tops of the shoots are used as planting material.
Spring cuttings give better seed, but such brugmansia will bloom at best only next year.
How to propagate brugmansia cuttings
When propagating Brugmansia with cuttings, you should decide what result is needed in the end. If the goal is to get a flowering plant as soon as possible, and the percentage of rooted material is not important, cultivation with autumn cuttings is chosen.
In this case, it is necessary to prepare seed with some margin, since the method of forming autumn cuttings allows this. On average, autumn seed (in the number of cuttings) can be obtained approximately 3 times more than spring.
If the goal is to get a better quality seed, with a high percentage of survival, then you will have to sacrifice the speed of the process, in the best case, a flowering plant will turn out only a year and a half after the start of cuttings.
The number of cuttings obtained in spring is significantly less than those obtained in autumn, since the number of young shoots of the plant is limited. On the other hand, they have a better survival rate due to their rapid growth and establishment.
Below are the features of growing Brugmansia using planting material cut at different times of the year.
Rules for cutting cuttings
Depending on when it is planned to harvest planting material, the harvesting rules will differ significantly.
autumn harvest
Branches are divided into cuttings in such a way that each of them has at least three buds. The length of the segment in this case is not critical; even short shoots 30-40 mm long will do. In this case, very large leaves should be cut; small leaves and shoots can be left.
spring harvest
For spring harvesting, only young shoots up to 20 cm long are used. The lower leaves are cut off from them, and the shoot itself is placed in a container of water, which is covered with a plastic bottle. This bottle has the neck and bottom cut off.
To improve root formation and to avoid falling leaves from the spring cuttings, daily spraying of seedlings with warm water is used.
Preparation of cuttings
Depending on when the cuttings were formed, their preparation will also have a different character.
With autumn cuttings
The cut cuttings should be installed in the substrate, which is a mixture of garden soil and perlite. If rooting occurs in a greenhouse, it is not necessary to cover the cuttings. If rooting is carried out at home, the box with the cuttings must be covered with a film. The duration of the rooting process can be quite large – up to 1,5 months.
Rooting cuttings of Brugmansia in water has proven itself well. To do this, the cuttings should be placed in a container with a small amount of water, to which 2 tablets of activated charcoal are added. The water container should be placed in a dark room.
After the cuttings take root, they must be transplanted into individual plastic containers – pots for seedlings. Further care for the germinated cuttings includes all the necessary procedures for working with plants: watering, fertilizing, weed control, etc.
When cuttings in spring
Within a few weeks, young cuttings will develop small roots. To finally root the cuttings of Brugmansia, they should be transplanted into the ground. The composition of the soil may be as follows:
- sand – 1 part;
- perlite – 1 part;
- peat – 2 parts.
After about 15 days, seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place. This can be a pot or a temporary container where the plant will be until it is transplanted into open ground.
Landing
Further steps for propagating Brugmansia by cuttings are no longer differentiated by how the cuttings were obtained and how they were pre-germinated.
After the formation of the root system is completed, the care of a young full-fledged seedling is the same for seed obtained both in spring and in autumn.
The criterion that the time has come for planting a young seedling in a permanent place is the almost complete filling of the entire free space of an individual container with its root system. This moment is easily determined visually either by the roots that have taken up all the space in the jar, or by the elevated substrate in the temporary container, from under which the whitish roots of the plant are already protruding.
Planting is carried out in large capacity pots. The volume of the pot must be at least 15 liters. Drainage is laid at the bottom in the form of small pebbles or expanded clay 3-5 cm high. Humus or compost is placed on the drainage layer; the height of the organic layer is 5-7 cm. It is not recommended to use manure, since it increases the acidity of the soil, and the soil should be neutral or slightly alkaline.
The approximate composition of the soil is as follows:
- leaf ground – 2 parts;
- sand – 1 part;
- peat – 1 part.
If the earth is too dense, it is recommended to increase the proportion of sand to 1,5 parts.
The seedling is placed in a pot and covered with soil strictly to the level of the root collar.
After lightly compacting the soil, the plants are watered.
Care
Caring for a seedling is similar to caring for an adult plant, with the exception of issues related to pruning the plant. Before transplanting into open ground, Brugmansia is not pruned.
Care consists of abundant and frequent watering without stagnant water, as well as the application of mineral and organic fertilizers.
Watering is done as the topsoil dries up. All potting soil should be moderately moist.
In the first month after planting, the plant will need nitrogenous fertilizers. It is recommended to use carbamide in doses corresponding to the cultivation of ornamental plants. The frequency of application is 10 days.
In the following months, it is necessary to apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, alternating with organic matter (mullein or a solution of 1 to 10 bird droppings). The application interval does not change – 10 days.
Transplantation in open ground
After the seedling gets stronger, it is moved to a larger pot or the plant is transplanted into open ground. In open ground in a sunny area, it is necessary to make a pit 50 cm deep and 70-80 cm in diameter. A drainage layer in the form of broken brick or crushed stone is laid at the bottom of the pit. A layer of humus or compost is laid on top of the drainage layer.
A young plant is transplanted entirely with a clod of earth in which it grew in a pot. To avoid injury to the root system, the transshipment method should be used. The space around the coma is filled with earth, it is lightly tamped and watered.
Conclusion
Brugmansia cuttings are the most effective means of propagating this plant. Depending on the time of harvesting (spring or autumn), various methods of their preliminary rooting are used. From cuttings obtained in autumn, an adult plant is formed faster, although the survival rate of seedlings is somewhat lower. After the formation of the root system of the plant, its cultivation is the same for both cutting methods.
