Sanguinea closeup
Brugmansia sanguinea and a species that is rated sometimes by mistake as a subspecies (Brugmansia vulcanicola1,2 ) - these plants are usually rated under Brugmansia friends as very sensitive in culture and they are some idiosyncrasies rumored - for example concerning the formation of flowers. It is very often claimed by growers that the plants do not tolerate full sun and need a position in the shade. When I have a look at picture material taken by brug friends from the UK and the U.S. who cultivate their sanguineas, vulcanicolas and resulting hybrids of hybridisation (x rubella and vulsas) in full sun and add my own growing experiences then that is only partially true. In each case they need a little bit more attention in care. A shaded bale is prefered - especially when the plants are kept in containers and pots.
images: Brugmansia sanguinea
In Colombia and Ecuador you will find the plants due the ethnobotanic background they have there in vicinity to settlements of the indigenous people and at margins to cultivated land. The moisture supply in the northern cloud forests of the Andes mountains in 2000-3000m altitude is mainly via the leaves. Sometimes they are faced at these altitudes even with light frosts.
The only thing that seems to suffer when the plants are grown under full sunny conditions at higher daily average temperatures and adequate water supplies is the flower induction. If you believe in scientific research at high temperatures due to the varying water content in the leaves a kind of stress is set up which causes the formation of abscisic acid (ABS) - a plant stress hormone. As a result, those gene regions that are responsible for the initiation of flowering bud formation are turned off and sometimes mature leaves drop off. Conclusion - plant hybrids that contain a lot sanguinea blood bloom as a result of stress usually very late in the gardening season, so it turns out that a conservatory or greenhouse is often a helpful mean if you want to enjoy the flowers. As an indicator for temperature stress factor that plays here a certain a role, the variability in flower color development can be used - it is under cool conditions often only rudimentary developed, so the red-yellow-flowers of Sanguineas sometimes appear green in colour.
When the night temperatures drop below the 10 ° C mark the plants develop after a short recovery period a true flower firework.
If one considers a few studies that have been made in the late days of WWII in relation to flower induction in long-day plants, it seems possible to have an earlier flower induction under silencing the stress genes.
Plants of Brugmansia sanguinea and vulcanicolas need compared to the widely cultured x candida or suaveolens hybrids less water and do not necessarily love permanently to stand with the bale in water. But a consistent soil moisture and an adequate supply of nutrients are important factors for successful culture! Also the extend of supply with trace elements as well as magnesium and potassium and the degree of lignification play an important role. Vulcanicola hybrids themselves appear to be more flexible in a certain way. Which is also evident in the often toothed leaf margins, the darker color of the leaves and more intense flower colors.
In Brugmansia sanguinea dominate the red-yellow-orange flower colors. A special treat at the Sanguineas is the yellow-flowered wild form 'Oro Verde', with the downy-variegated leaves - even if it is said to be slightly virus-prone. A white form is not available at the moment. That it might be possible to get such a plant as result of breeding efforts show some Arbovulsa-seedlings of a friend from UK. Arbovulsa stands for hybrid marterial which has been obtained from crossing B. arborea with B. sanguinea and B. vulcanicola.
That the color range of vulcanicola hybrids is much broader compared to pure sanguineas is clearly visible if we look material deriving from California and also the hybrid material of an in Duisburg/Germany resident plant nursery, which deals intensively with angel trumpets hybrids.
Particularly fascinating are the intensely pink coloured hybrids obtained from a dark red sanguinea hybrid with the Strybing 621 clone.
Note: Due to the lack of reference material for vulcanicolas in European plant collections and the ease in crossability to Brugmansia sanguinea today all available real vulcanicolas shall be rated as hybrids. Even the in the U.S. so hyped Zuñac hybrids (named after a national park area in Ecuador in which the seeds have been collected) and also the material (Clon 621) which has been given by Lockwood to the Strybing Arboreteum in San Franzisco/California should be added to the hybrid class. You will come to this conclusion if you see pictures of pure Brugmansia vulcanicola taken in Ecuador.
Whether real or fake - for the real plant lover it does not matter. Plants with yellow flowers without repulsed corolla leaves and with dark-green glossy foliage without hairs are certainly the icing on the cake.
Tip on culture: Adding some perlite (a vulcanic material) or sand to the culture medium brings some benefits to peat based potting materials, but is not essential. Water your plant on demand - on hot days also water should remain in the saucer under the pots! An adequate supply of iron and magnesium helps to reduce virus activity. In too dry site conditions an evening mist treatment has shown very positive effects on plant development and health.
(Synonymous, today unvalid name for B. sanguinea: Datura sanguinea, Datura rosei, Brugmansia lutea, Brugmansia bicolor)
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Other Web-Links:
www.brugmansia.us (a internationale forum for brugmansia growers and breeders)
www.ibrugs.com (the ICRA for brugmansias - following ABADS)
www.engelstrompeten.de - Langenbuscher Gardens
www.hannover.de - The brugmansia of the Herrenhaeuser Gardens/Hannover/Germany
