Hello everyone,

I'm presently in Santa Barbara, CA. There are a few arboreas around town & I was wondering if anyone knows the specs on their propagation &/or pruning?

Thanks,
John in Santa Barbara, CA
Zone 10?

John,

Aborea can be dificult to root. I have had good luck with basil cuttings with rooting hormones.

Also older wood, not corked. 

Allison
Sunset 5
USDA 8
Heat 2/3

I've rarely been able to get a cutting to root, so I just try to find seeds and start from scratch.

ChSam (Shirley Morr)
Chariton, Iowa
Zone 5

Shirley I do the same. They grow & flower so fast from seed that there didn't seem to be any reason to try cuttings. It's the only brug that I can plant late spring and still get blooms before the end of the same year.

Tom H.
Marysville, WA Zone 8a

Thanks for the info! I didn't realize that they bloom/grow that quickly. I'm still waiting on blooms on some seeds of other brugs, which is why I hadn't really looked hard into arborea seeds.

John, still in Santa Barbara,
zone 10?

John, maybe you can get your hands on a few ripe seedpods while you're there?

Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Maybe... I haven't seen any pods or flowers yet. ID'ed it due to the fuzzy stems. I've found lots of pods on lowland-type brugs in the parks though. Just not sure if I'm brave enough to try to germinate any, they don't look like they have viruses...

John, still in Santa Barbara,
zone 10?(frost on the ground this morning...)

John, I've heard it said before, many times, that almost all brugmansia are virused. It only shows up when they are stressed. I wouldn't worry about germinating seeds and them having a virus if that is the case. I believe it is the safest way to increase a collection of brugmansia and that in turn will make for a good way to make "new" hybrids from newer plants rather than possibly making some of the same crosses using older hybrids and ending up with more of the same look alike brugs. It doesn't mean there won't be some look alikes, but chances will be better for new blood. With sangs/arborea...definitely some look alikes, but I'd grow from seed in a heartbeat. Arborea plants don't like to winter over for me, so I've grown several of them from seed over the years, as I mentioned above. I'd love to grow a sang to bloom. I fried my first one in the sun.

ChSam (Shirley Morr)
Chariton, Iowa
Zone 5

Shirley, will brugs readily pass viruses thru the seeds? I had the impression that didn't happen much.

Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Patrick, I don't think they do. I know that SB isn't passed through seed. I think if it were possible to pass virus through seed, it wouldn't be allowed through to the US from any other country.

ChSam (Shirley Morr)
Chariton, Iowa
Zone 5

Shirley: Any advice/tips on growing Aborea from seed? Here in So CAL when would be a good time to sow? Can Aborea go into the ground here? Most of my Brugs are inground and doing well. Does Aborea need more shade than other Brugs? Sorry for the questions, but one of our Faithful Forum Bruggers was generous enuff to share some seeds and I want to be sure to do right by them!

Los Angeles County, CA
Hardy Zone:9B
Heat Zone:8/9

Arborea plants do like it cooler than the regular brugs. They can handle the heat as long as they are shaded and will bloom in the cooler seasons very well. I think with brugs, you can plant seeds anytime it works for you. Fresh seeds germinate better than older seeds. I would grow them in pots for a while tho to make sure they stay moist enough for germination and warm enough as well. Cool and wet nights outside might keep the seed from germinating. Basically, they grow like other brugs, but do not like to be kept as moist. Even in the summer, they don't like wet feet.

ChSam (Shirley Morr)
Chariton, Iowa
Zone 5

I grew my 1rst arborea last year. It tended to wilt easily, so I kept it beneath a large fir tree. The early morning sun would hit it, the it got alternate shade and filtered sun thru the overhead boughs throughout the day. It seemed happy with that, altho it was in well-draining soil & I had to water it daily during the summer & early fall. I loved the vanilla fragrance & the velvety feel of the leaves.

Allison, who commented above, gave the arborea to me & I think she told me she grows her's on the north side of her house...good light, but little direct sun. Maybe she'll add a few more comments.

Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

I guess I just assumed that the virus would be in the seed as well. I don't have any info one way or the other though. If they don't come out in the seedligs that would be great, I collected lots of pods in Santa Barbara...mostly crosses with Knightii & CG I think...

John
Back in Sweet Home, OR (zone 7-8)