Tag Archives: datura

Datura – Part 2…

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I said I’d post photos of the Daturas when the flowers were out. And here they are…

This is a clump of four self-sown seeds, from a plant that is supposedly tender. The clump is currently 65cm (just over 2′) tall, by 150cm (5′) across. The individual flowers are 15cm (6″) across…

Perhaps the most astonishing thing about these plants is that despite having germinated and grown in one of the hottest, driest periods this country has experienced, I’ve never once had to water them. Perennials and shrubs you would expect to be drought tolerant have been shrivelling up in our dry, dusty soil, and have needed to be watered regularly to keep them alive. But these Datura have grown from seeds to big, lush plants, apparently oblivious to the lack of water and temperatures that have at times been in the mid thirties.

I think I mentioned that the seed packet said Datura meteloides are half-hardy shrubs that need a minimum temperature of 5C in the winter. Further research suggests they are perennials. From what I’ve read, they can be treated like a Dahlia, so that’s what I plan to do. I’ll let them be cut back by frost, then dig up the roots and see what I’ve got. Hopefully they will have tubers that I can store over winter. If that doesn’t work, I’ll still have the ones in pots indoors and in the greenhouse. And I’ll collect some seed for next year too – there are seed pods forming…

If our summers continue to be this hot and dry, Datura could prove to be the perfect low maintenance annuals – simply scatter the seeds on a bare patch of ground and let them get on with it. Who would have thought exotics could be so easy!

text & images © graham wright 2022

Sacred Datura…

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Or Datura meteloides; a tender plant which is very similar to the better known Brugmansia (commonly known as angels’ trumpets). I bought a packet of Datura seeds a few years ago. They germinated well, and growth was initially good, but all of the plants slowed down (I’ve kept some indoors, and others in an unheated greenhouse) and have never grown to more than about 20cm. But the flowers are spectacular. The buds elongate, and the petals emerge in a whorl…

The whorl opens to a star…

And then, finally you get to see the full trumpet…

The seed packet said that, like Brugmansia, Datura are woody plants – shrubs – but mine seem to die back in winter. Even the two I have indoors mostly died back. Some of last year’s growth survived the winter, but it clung onto life looking sickly and yellow, while new, healthy shoots from the base overtook it.

In researching this post, I discovered some very interesting facts about this plant, particularly here. I can confirm that the leaves are sticky, and do have a very strange smell about them. I wouldn’t call it unpleasant exactly. But whatever you do, don’t lick your fingers after touching it!

It’s a curious co-incidence that Datura meteloides has a synonym of Datura Wrightii, as Wright is my surname. I remember once seeing a cactus (an unpromising, ground-crawling thing) with the name Wrightii, so I guess there must have been a plant collector in that part of the world (North/Central America) who shared my surname.

Apparently D. meteloides (or D. Wrightii) is native to Arizona. Which explains another phenomenon. Some of my plants produced impressive, spiky seed capsules, similar to a conker, which burst open to reveal lovely big, round, black seeds. I must have dropped some in one of the beds, because earlier this summer, seedlings started to appear. They had long seed leaves (which threw me, as the seeds were round) and I couldn’t initially identify them. Worried they might be from a mutant perennial sunflower we made the mistake of planting two years ago, and now can’t get rid of, I pulled the first few out. When more came up I decided to take a chance and see what they turned into. And here they are…

In the eight days since taking this photo they’ve doubled in size, and numerous flower buds are forming. They’ve grown through two heatwaves, in full sun for much of the day, remaining lush and healthy, despite my never having given them a single drop of water. Apparently having evolved in the Arizona desert, I suppose our little hot spells are nothing out of the ordinary for them. But looking ahead to increasingly hot, dry summers here in the UK (more about that next time), these plants could be the ultimate easy to grow, maintenance-free summer bedding – throw the seeds on the ground and watch your beds fill with the most amazing, tropical-looking foliage and flowers. Then again, they could just be the next Himalayan Balsam. Oh my god – what have I done?!

When the flowers are out, I’ll post another photo. This could be amazing!

Text & images © graham wright 2022

Saving Money with Seeds…

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The magic of planting a seed, seeing a tiny green shoot pushing out from the soil, and then watching it grow into an amazing plant – beautiful, fragrant, and sometimes edible, never fails to be a source of wonder.

These beauties are ‘Datura metaloides ‘Evening Fragrance’; a form of ‘Angels Trumpets’, grown from a packet of seed from Thompson and Morgan (the seedlings in the other pot are aubergines). I’m not clear whether Datura and Brugmansia are synonyms, or separate species – different sources give different answers. I once heard someone say that Brugmansia flowers hang down, whereas Datura flowers are held upright (as in the photo).

Seeds can also be very frustrating. I was very pleased that these germinated in just a few days (even though the packet said they might take between 21 and 60 days) but with other seeds I’ve sown, it’s been a different story. Most seed sowing involves annuals – both flowers and edibles, but there’s an increasing range of perennial seeds available.

With perennial plants typically retailing at around £6.00 for a very small plant, and more like £10.00 to £15.00 for a plant of a good size that will establish quickly, you can save yourself a lot of money by growing them from seed. And this is exactly what I’ve been doing, on and off, for the last few years, but with mixed success. These are one of the successes – echinacea purpurea…

Mind you, even these have been quite slow. Sown in the spring of last year, they barely reached any size, and went into the winter in small pots. I wasn’t confident they would come back this year. But of course, they did. I’ve potted them on this spring, and maybe I’ll get them in the ground later this year (if I can get the bed prepared first!)

I’ve had success in the past with Echinops, a large perennial with spiky-shaped leaves and lovely blue floral globes that are irresistible to bees…

But there have been plenty of failures, both from bought seed, and seed collected from plants in my own garden. I’ve never managed to get aconitum (one of my favourites) to germinate. This year I sowed scabious, oriental poppies, and anchusa. They sat on the greenhouse bench for two months without a peep – why they didn’t germinate, I don’t know. You follow the instructions on the packet, and nothing happens. Frustrated, I’ve resorted to my old heated propagator, even for seeds that are supposed to need a cooler environment. So far it’s worked for the anchusa, and for basil. Maybe it will work for some of the others too…

text & photos © graham wright 2021