Deadly brugmansia and dope. Proper pruning and wintering of Datura

Our grandmothers, growing strawberries, or strawberries, as we used to call them, were not particularly worried about mulching. But today this agricultural practice has become fundamental in achieving high quality berries and reducing crop losses. Some might say it's troublesome. But practice shows that labor costs in this case pay off handsomely. In this article, we invite you to get acquainted with the nine the best materials for mulching garden strawberries.

Succulents are very versatile. Despite the fact that “kids” have always been considered more fashionable, the assortment of succulents with which you can decorate modern interior, it is worth taking a closer look. After all, colors, sizes, patterns, degree of pricklyness, influence on the interior are just a few of the parameters by which you can choose them. In this article, we will talk about the five most fashionable succulents that surprisingly transform modern interiors.

Mint was used by the Egyptians as far back as 1.5 thousand years BC. It has a strong aroma due to the high content of various essential oils with high volatility. Today, mint is used in medicine, perfumery, cosmetology, winemaking, cooking, ornamental gardening, and the confectionery industry. In this article, we will look at the most interesting varieties mint, and also talk about the features of growing this plant in the open field.

People began to grow crocuses 500 years before the advent of our era. Although the presence of these flowers in the garden is fleeting, we always look forward to the return of the heralds of spring next year. Crocuses - one of the earliest primroses, whose flowering begins as soon as the snow melts. However, the timing of flowering may vary depending on the species and varieties. This article focuses on the earliest varieties of crocuses that bloom in late March and early April.

Shchi from early young cabbage in beef broth is hearty, fragrant and easy to prepare. In this recipe, you will learn how to cook delicious beef broth and cook light cabbage soup with this broth. Early cabbage cooks quickly, so it is placed in the pan at the same time as the rest of the vegetables, unlike autumn cabbage, which takes a little longer to cook. Ready cabbage soup can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Real cabbage soup is tastier than freshly cooked.

Blueberries - a rare promising berry culture in the gardens. Blueberries are a source of biologically active substances and vitamins, have antiscorbutic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, tonic properties. Berries contain vitamins C, E, A, flavonoids, anthocyanins, trace elements - zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, as well as plant hormones - phytoestrogens. The taste of blueberries resembles a mixture of grapes and blueberries.

Looking at the variety of varieties of tomatoes, it is difficult not to get confused - the choice is very wide today. Even experienced gardeners he is annoying sometimes! However, it is not so difficult to understand the basics of selecting varieties “for yourself”. The main thing is to understand the peculiarities of culture and start experimenting. One of the easiest tomato groups to grow are varieties and hybrids with limited growth. They have always been appreciated by those gardeners who do not have much time and energy to care for the beds.

Once very popular under the name of indoor nettles, and then forgotten by everyone, coleuses today are one of the most striking garden and indoor plants. They are not in vain considered stars of the first magnitude for those who are looking primarily for non-standard colors. Easy to grow, but not so undemanding as to suit everyone, coleus require constant supervision. But if you take care of them, bushes of velvety unique leaves will easily outshine any competitor.

Salmon backbone baked in Provence herbs - "supplier" delicious pieces fish pulp for light salad with fresh wild garlic leaves. The mushrooms are lightly fried olive oil and then drizzle with apple cider vinegar. Such mushrooms are tastier than ordinary pickled ones, and they are better suited for baked fish. Ramson and fresh dill coexist perfectly in one salad, emphasizing the flavor of each other. Garlic sharpness of wild garlic will saturate both the flesh of salmon and pieces of mushrooms.

Conifer tree or a shrub on the site is always great, and a lot of conifers is even better. emerald needles various shades decorates the garden at any time of the year, and phytoncides and essential oils, secreted by plants, not only flavor, but also make the air cleaner. Generally, most zoned adults coniferous plants, are considered very unpretentious trees and shrubs. But young seedlings are much more capricious and require competent care and attention.

Sakura is most often associated with Japan and its culture. Picnics under the shade of flowering trees have long been an integral attribute of the meeting of spring in the Country rising sun. The financial and academic year here begins on April 1, when magnificent cherry blossoms bloom. Therefore, many significant moments in the life of the Japanese pass under the sign of their flowering. But sakura also grows well in cooler regions - certain types can be successfully grown even in Siberia.

It is very interesting for me to analyze how people's tastes and preferences for certain foods have changed over the centuries. What was once considered tasty and traded lost its value over time and, conversely, new fruit crops conquered their markets. Quince has been cultivated for more than 4 thousand years! And even in the 1st century BC. e. about 6 varieties of quince were known and even then the methods of its reproduction and cultivation were described.

Make your family happy and make themed Easter egg-shaped cottage cheese cookies! Your children will be happy to take part in the process - they will sift the flour, combine all the necessary ingredients, knead the dough and cut out intricate figures. Then they will watch with admiration how the pieces of dough turn into real Easter eggs, and then with the same enthusiasm they will eat them with milk or tea. How to make such original cookies for Easter, read in our step by step recipe!

There are not so many decorative and deciduous favorites among tuberous crops. And the caladium is a true star among the variegated inhabitants of the interiors. Not everyone can decide to start a Caladium. This plant is demanding, and first of all - to care. But still, the rumors about the unusual capriciousness of the Caladium never justify. Attention and care allow you to avoid any difficulties when growing caladiums. And a plant can almost always forgive small mistakes.

We have prepared a hearty, incredibly appetizing and simply elementary dish for you today. This gravy is one hundred percent universal, as it will suit every side dish: vegetables, pasta, and anything. Gravy with chicken and mushrooms will save you in moments when there is no time or you don’t want to think too much about what to cook. Grab your favorite side dish (you can make this ahead of time to keep it hot), add gravy and dinner is ready! A real lifesaver.

Datura sweet breathed ... Who among the older generation does not remember the romantic, once very popular, lines of the famous hit of the popular favorite Anna German?

The aroma of a flowering plant Datura stramonium (Datura stramonium) from the Solanaceae family can really turn your head not only figuratively, but also in the most direct sense: the alkaloids that make up the plant cause migraines and weakness.

Once in the body, they contribute to the occurrence of hallucinations, mental disorders and anemia.

However, this happens if the seeds or parts of the plant are taken orally or, leaning very close to the blossoming datura flower, intensively inhale its smell.

Otherwise, Datura is a completely harmless ornamental plant with spectacular gramophone-flowers, especially large and double in some varieties.

Botanists did not agree on the origin of the plant for a long time. Some considered India to be its homeland, others objected to them, arguing that it only massively spread throughout the country, imported from Central America and Mexico.

From Sanskrit, the name Datura is translated as "thorn-apple", obviously from association with fruits.

The plant has a lot of other folk names, for example, the grass of the devil, the bad drunk, the grass of sorcerers, the water drunk, the crazy grass, and in English-language sources, dope is found under the names jimsonweed - dope grass, moonflowers - moon flowers, devil's weed - devil's weed, hell's bells - hellish bells, thorn-apple - an apple with thorns and many others.

Datura - herbaceous annuals or short-lived perennials, growing up from 0.5-1 to 2 m.

Long-leaved leaves are alternately arranged on bare erect pagons extending from a forked-branched stem.

Leaf blades are ovate-pointed, with solid or serrated edges, reach a length of 15 cm, a width of about 10 cm. From the outside they are painted in a dark emerald color, from below they are lighter in tone.

They have distinct whitish veins - the main and lateral first order.

Single funnel-shaped Datura flowers with an elongated tube are large, formed in the forks of pagons. Their colors range from white to yellow, pink and pale purple.

The fruit is a prickly oval four-celled capsule with numerous spines, dry or fleshy after ripening, easily splits into 4 chambers or does not open at all on its own.

Types and varieties of dope: description with photo

Various sources provide different information about the number of species in the genus - some call them 13, others - 9.

Probably, such a discrepancy is due to the movement of some species to the genus Brugmansia, whose representatives are very similar to Datura, for example, in old botanical publications, tree-like Datura (Datura arborea) was mentioned, now it is known under a different name for one of the species of the genus Brugmansia.

Their main difference is in the arrangement of flowers on the shrub: in Brugmansia they are drooping down, in Datura they are located vertically upwards or slightly deviated to the side.

In decorative floriculture of open ground, species and varieties are popular:

(Datura stramonium) - the name of the plant sounds translated from ancient Greek as “crazy nightshade” and was assigned by K. Linnaeus.

Distributed throughout Europe, in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, it has many popular names - foolishness potion, divderevo, foolishness-grass, bodyak, prickly apples and others.

An annual about one and a half meters high with a powerful taproot and bare, branched forked pagons, tending vertically upwards.

The leaves are large, coarsely serrated along the edge, dark green on the upper side, lighter on the lower side.

Flowers solitary, located on the tops of pagons, in the axils of the leaves or in the branches of the stems.

The corolla is gramophone-shaped, pure snow-white, emits a strong intoxicating aroma.

The fruit is an elliptical box, studded with prickly thorns, opens with four wings.

There are many seeds inside - from 500 to 800 pieces, they are kidney-shaped and black.

(Datura metel), synonym - magnificent datura (Datura fastuosa) - received the specific name from the place of the most massive distribution.

In India, it is considered the flower of Shiva and, according to the sacred texts of Hinduism, grew from the chest of this deity.

The range is extensive - from China to the Caspian Sea, throughout Central Asia and in the Caucasus.

Annual herbaceous shrub from 60 to 120 cm high with large asymmetric leaves on long petioles. The edges of the broadly ovoid plates are even, but may be slightly wavy.

The flowers are large funnel-shaped, snow-white or lavender, corollas about 20 cm long.

The fruit is a spherical capsule covered with thin spines, with bright yellow seeds.

The species became the basis for selection and gave many varieties and hybrids with amazingly beautiful lemon yellow, purple or purple flowers, simple or terry.

The most famous variety series Ballerina (Datura metel Balerina) is a popular hybrid with tight funnel-shaped flowers with a purple throat.

Popular plants from this series:

Datura Metel Ballerina Purple (Datura metel Ballerina Purple) - with purple semi-double funnels of flowers with white edges;

• dope broom ballerina mix - a mixture of different varieties of the Ballerina series;

Datura Metel Ballerina Yellow (Datura metel Ballerina Yellow) - with yellow-lemon gramophone flowers.

Other equally spectacular varieties with double flowers, known by the common trade name datura terry, for example, datura Purple Knight Datura, Yellow Knight Datura, Pink Mist Datura, whose names indicate the color of the corollas.

Of particular interest to flower growers is the Medea hybrid - a rare shrub for domestic gardens 60-80 cm high with giant flowers of dazzling white color up to 20 cm long. It blooms almost all summer until frost.

Datura Indian, or harmless (Datura inoxia) - grows naturally in South and Central America, but is introduced on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica.

An annual shrub 0.6 to 1.5 m high with a grayish pubescence of the stem and leaves. The plates are oval, entire.

Flowers showy, funnel-shaped, with a long tube, snow-white, formed in the forks of branches, first directed vertically upwards, then droop. The fruits are ovoid spiky capsules up to 5 cm long.

The whole plant, even if slightly damaged, emits a disgusting smell, reminiscent of spoiled peanut butter. However, the aroma of flowers blooming closer to the night is considered by many to be quite pleasant.

(Datura suaveolens), currently assigned to another genus called fragrant brugmansia or fragrant brugmansia (Brugmansia suaveolens) is an evergreen shrub plant with upright shoots.

The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, the plates are elongated-ovate, entire, pointed at the apex.

Flowers white, axillary, drooping, funnel-shaped.

The fruit is a juicy berry. The terry form is popular.

Features of planting dope

A place for datura in the garden is selected warm and sunny. The plant is not afraid of exposure to direct sun rays and withstand high temperatures summer heat.

However, the dope flower does not tolerate drafts, therefore, it is advisable to plant it in a corner of the garden protected from the wind.

The soil in the area where the herbaceous shrub is supposed to be grown should be well-drained and moderately moist.

Datura prefers to grow where the roots will be more dry than in a permanent swamp. The earth should never be acidic.

How to plant datura in open ground

In a flower bed, a plant is grown from seeds sown either directly into the ground, or in early spring for seedlings, and then already planted in the garden after the threat of the return of spring frosts.

Datura is not bad and is cut, rooting is easy and relatively without any problems.

Pre-sowing preparation of planting material is carried out as follows: seeds are poured hot water about 45-50 degrees and leave to cool.

Some of them float up, they are immediately discarded, they will not give seedlings.

The rest swell a little within 2-3 hours, they can be sown both in the garden and in pots, followed by transplanting to the flower bed.

How to sow seeds for seedlings and directly into open ground

The right time for sowing seeds for seedlings is, but right in the garden, depending on the climate, around the beginning or middle of May.

The soil mixture for sowing seedlings has been prepared since autumn. As components, sifted garden soil and humus, taken in 2 parts, and 1 part of coarse-grained river sand are suitable.

Datura seeds are laid out in shallow grooves and sprinkled with sand on top.

Crops cover plastic wrap to ensure constant soil moisture until germination. The bowls are placed in a well-lit and warm place.

After 10-30 days, the first shoots appear. Datura seedlings are picked after the formation of two true leaves.

Seedlings are carefully planted in separate pots under the very cotyledon leaves and grown.

They are transplanted into open ground at the end of May, keeping the distance between neighboring plants at least 1 m.

Datura is planted on a bed to a depth of no more than 10 cm, otherwise they simply will not sprout. Bud formation will begin 3 weeks after sowing.

Datura cuttings

Datura cuttings are rooted in the soil mixture or directly in the water.

In September, non-lignified fragments of pagons with 2-3 internodes are cut off, the lower leaves are cut off.

The cut can be processed with a root, but not necessarily.

The plant, even without additional auxiliary procedures, grows roots well in conditions of moderate warm temperature air and sufficient light.

In mid-May, a well-grown seedling is planted in open ground, observing the rules of agricultural technology when planting seedlings.

Rules for caring for dope in the garden

Caring for a plant in the garden consists of loosening the soil and removing weeds until it branches out, as well as watering and fertilizing.

Under regrown branches covered with large leaves, weeds do not grow.

Watering and feeding

From spring to autumn, throughout the entire growing season, Datura is watered abundantly, especially during the formation of buds, the soil should not dry out, otherwise they will crumble without opening.

Periodically, the plant can be sprayed using a fine nozzle on a watering hose.

For irrigation, only hard water is used, otherwise, at least once a season, dope is watered with milk of lime at the rate of 10 g of lime per bucket of water.

It is impossible to overfeed Datura, because the plant itself is very powerful.

However, many sources, including foreign ones, warn against excessive organic matter, since the root zone of the shrub is susceptible to fungal infections.

Proper pruning and wintering of Datura

It is necessary to remove faded corollas to preserve the decorativeness of the plant and in order to stimulate the formation of new buds and the continuation of the flowering period of the shrub.

AT temperate latitudes Datura is grown as an annual, as it freezes out in the open field in winter.

However, some growers dig up valuable cultivars and transplant them into containers to overwinter indoors.

To do this, it is necessary to cut them correctly, not forgetting that only young shoots bloom on the plant. It is also important not to cut off the flowering zone, distinguishing it from the growth zone.

Dope planted in containers is kept in winter in a cool room with a temperature of no more than 15 and no less than 8 degrees Celsius.

Plants can throw off their leaves, but closer to spring they grow them again both on old shoots and on young ones that have formed.

Diseases and pests dope grass

The most common disease of datura is gray rot.

It is difficult to deal with it, it is easier when planting to carefully follow the rules of agricultural technology and not to thicken the plants in the garden, so that the blossoming lush crown does not block the access of air to the base of the main stem.

Among the common pests of Datura are whiteflies and false spider mites.

Insect larvae are destroyed with systemic insecticides, and acaricides are used against ticks.

Datura - combination with other plants in landscape design

The plant is used in flower beds as a tapeworm and is planted in a conspicuous place.

Attractive from datura are wide ridges along the footpath or monochromatic groups against the background of shrubs or conifers.

Very often, dope is planted next to early flowering and withering perennials to cover the bald patch in the garden from unsightly dried plants.

Many flowers develop poorly next to Datura, for example, the same ones or chamomile look very sad when planted nearby.

Datura is a controversial plant with beautiful flowers, poisonous seeds and leaves, as well as with medicinal properties that have found application in folk medicine.

Plant it on your site or abandon this venture - each grower makes his own decision.

We recommend to know:

Datura flower has long been endowed magical properties, and all because of its constituent alkaloids, which have a hallucinogenic effect and contribute to the entry of a person into a trance state. poisonous plant Datura is popularly called a devilish or crazy grass, a drunkard or a magical flower. For growing Datura at home, only non-poisonous species are used.

Datura (Datura) belongs to the Solanaceae family. Homeland - South America.

Is one of the most interesting views plants with pharmacological properties. Reputed to be one of the strongest hallucinogens, datura, however, was widely used in both the Old and New Worlds; it continues to be used now, both in folk and in homeopathic and classical medicine.

Uses of Datura herb

The Aztecs used datura, which they called ololluqui, in the treatment of almost all diseases, including even paralysis, and also as part of an ointment used to treat wounds and cuts. The narcotic effect of the plant was also used by the Aztec sorcerers to bring people together spiritually, inducing collective visions, causing people to laugh, cry, dance, or prophesy. Datura seeds were considered sacred, they were placed on altars or in special sacred boxes, which were offered as gifts to the Aztec deities.

Almost all Indian tribes of Central and South America used the plant, adding it to special drinks used during ritual ceremonies, initiation and witchcraft. Datura was also a very popular folk remedy. Using its anesthetic effect, healers used dope drink in some surgical operations, sometimes even doing craniotomy.

On islands caribbean datura was also used as a magical plant. Here it was known as "sorcerer's herb" and "zombie cucumber". These names themselves indicate the scope of dope - zombies. The victims of such practices were usually criminals who were not subject to other penalties. Then they were turned into zombies. in strong herbal decoction, in which datura was one of the main components, the strongest extract of fish poison (d-tubucucurine) was added, and then the resulting drink was given to the criminal to drink. The effect of this potion on a person was that a person fell into a state of pseudo-coma with a complete lack of physical and mental sensitivity. In this state, all reflexes were completely absent, and consciousness was also absent. The zombie was declared dead, he was placed in a coffin with drilled holes for air access and buried in the grave with full observance of the funeral ceremony.

In China, the plant was also considered sacred. The Chinese believed that the Buddha received his sacred sermons from heaven, from where they fell in the form of raindrops and remained dewdrops on Datura petals. According to Taoist legend, Datura alba is believed to be the flower of one of the polar stars, whose messengers can always be recognized among other people, as they carry the flowers of this plant in their hands.

There is evidence that from ancient times crushed datura seeds mixed with wine or other drinks were used in India as an aphrodisiac, and mixed with oil and applied externally in the genital area, cured impotence. Such drugs were worth their weight in gold. Datura was also used in Indian medicine for mental disorders, various fevers, edema, skin diseases, burning in the chest, and diarrhea.

Sacred prickly fruits of datura are often decorated with altars of ancient gods in the mountains of Tibet.

Some types of dope - Datura alba and Datura metel- have long been notorious in India. There even existed the profession of "poisoners with datura." The poisoner carefully blew the powder from Datura seeds through a tube into the sleeping man's nose. The man fell asleep even more soundly, and then everything valuable that was in his house was calmly carried away. Datura caused the same poisoning as henbane.

What does Datura grass look like and where does it grow: photo, video and description

Datura vulgaris – Datura stramonium L.- a woody shrub or herbaceous light green plant from the nightshade family, which has bad smell, with spindle-shaped white root. Another name is brugmansia.

The stem is erect, 15 to 80 cm high, thick, branched at the top into 3 equal branches. In rooms it can reach 1 - 1.5 m. The leaves are simple, pubescent, alternate, with long petioles, dark green above, grayish green below. When describing the Datura plant, it is especially worth noting its large, drooping, long-tubular flowers, usually white. The flowers are held on short pedicels located in the axils of the stem and branches. The fruit is a four-celled, and at the top a two-celled box, covered with thorns on the outside.

These photos show what the dope looks like:

Datura common is found in Eurasia, North Africa, North and South America. For temperate zone Europe and Asia are characterized by the species D. stramonium (common dope), D. tatula grows in Iran. Another species - D. innoxia, originally from Mexico, is widely used in folk medicine and religious ceremonies Indian tribes of Central America.

In Russia, it grows in the steppe zone of the European part, in the southern regions of Siberia and the Far East. Where Datura grows, there is always a human habitation nearby. It can be found near barnyards, on manure and garbage heaps, under fences, near housing, in abandoned livestock camps, along the banks of reservoirs, in landfills. It grows like a weed near roads, in wastelands, sometimes forming thickets.

Species growing in the tropics and subtropics are used to obtain scopolamine. In some places Datura is cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Datura flower is poisonous, but its name is a botanical curiosity: in translation, it means "harmless dope".

Watch the video "Datura grass and its properties":

Species and varieties.

D. harmless (D.inoxia)- delicate pure white flowers with a light blue calyx;

D. white (D. candida); D. arboreal (D. arborea);

D. fragrant, or fragrant (D. suaveolens)- fragrant flowers appear in late summer, autumn;

D. green-flowered (D. chlorantha), D. indian (D. metel)

D. Indian ‘Alba’ (D. metel "Alba"), D. blood red (B. sanguinea)- blooms in winter and early spring orange flowers; D. ordinary (B. stramonium).

The following describes how to grow Datura at home.

Growing dope plants at home

requirements for environmental conditions. Bright, sunny place. In winter, they are kept in bright and cool places with high humidity. The temperature is about 10 °C. In hot weather, spraying is required. Substrate - sheet and sod land, humus, sand (1:2:0.5:1).

Care. In spring and summer, indoor dope requires abundant watering. On hot days, water in the morning and evening. In winter, watering is reduced, but the clod is not allowed to dry out. During the growing season, flower fertilizers are applied twice a week. In winter, the plant is not fed. Young plants are transplanted annually. Adults - once every 2-3 years. Sometimes the dope transplant procedure at home is simplified by changing only in pots upper layer soil.

Reproduction. Non-lignified cuttings in spring with bottom heating.

medicinal value. Medicinal raw materials leaves, grass (tops) and seeds serve. Leaves and grass are harvested during the flowering of the plant. Dry in the shade, in a well-ventilated attic or in a dryer at a temperature of 40-50 ° C. Seeds are harvested in autumn from ripe fruits, dried in a dryer or oven. Store in closed jars or boxes with well-closing lids for 2 years.

What is dangerous flower dope and help in case of poisoning

The most popular questions about this plant are what is the danger of the dope flower, what poisons are contained in the plant, what properties does it have, and what to do if you get poisoned by this herb?

Datura contains poisonous alkaloids: scopolamine (mainly in young plants), hyoscyamine (in adult plants), atropine, as well as tannins in almost all parts of the plant. The amount of alkaloids increases at night and decreases during the day. The leaves are mainly used flowering plants, which are harvested during flowering or immediately after, and quickly dried at a temperature of 45-50 ° C.

If there was an overdose of dope and poisoning with alkaloids, then the first aid is to wash the stomach. You need to drink 1 liter of water, try to induce vomiting, drink activated carbon, make an enema and call an ambulance.

Poisoning can manifest itself in increased heart rate, dry mucous membranes, cough. In the initial stage, a person who has taken a large dose of Datura may develop incoherent speech, causeless laughter, inhibition of actions, hallucinations, delirium, attacks of sudden rage. Periods of excitement are usually followed by a period of sleep with vivid dreams.

The plant has antispasmodic, anti-asthma, sedative effects. Most wide application dope ordinary found in homeopathy. Datura preparations can be used to treat asthma, bronchitis, respiratory diseases, nausea and dizziness during motion sickness, rheumatism, sciatica, gout, lumbago, intestinal infections. Essential substances of dope have a calming effect, but in in large numbers can cause headache, shortness of breath. And in general, dope is better to be treated under the supervision of a doctor!

Tagged

This is a photo taken by my son while on vacation in Sochi. I liked it, but I did not know the name of this plant. I found out by chance from one lirushnik who writes under the nickname
Andrew_S_Nikolaev. Here is his commentary on the photo:

“I didn’t expect that IT would be grown in the places of the 2014 Olympics. This is the closest relative of dope and cocklebur, Angel’s Trumpet, datura, otherwise Brugmansia tree (Brugmansia arborea).
There is a ban on planting Brugmansia in crowded public places due to toxic and psychotropic substances contained in large quantities in all parts of the plant, and especially in its seeds. The high hallucinogenic properties of Brugmansia have long been used by South American Indians in spiritualistic rites and for medicinal purposes.

This plant is named after the Dutch professor of natural history Sebald Justin Brugmans, who taught at the beginning of the 18th century at the University of Leiden.

Description: Originally, Brugmansia were part of the Datura genus. However, now 6 species are separated into an independent genus. Shrubs or small trees up to 5 m tall, notable for their huge, drooping, tubular-bell-shaped fragrant flowers. Brugmansia are common in tropical and subtropical America - from the West Indies - to Argentina and Chile, where they grow in a humid forest climate along river banks in the foothills and hilly terrain at an altitude of 250 to 1000 m.

Brugmansia are one of the most popular ornamental flowering plants grown both in the open ground of a warm climate and in greenhouses, winter gardens and apartments.

Wild-growing, as well as numerous breeding and hybrid forms of Brugmansia differ mainly in the external structure of the flower - its shape, size, proportions, the degree of narrowing and length of the tubular part, the degree of drooping of the flower, the shape of the bend and twist of the petals, doubleness, as well as the structure of the calyx . Brugmansia flowers have a rather intense pleasant (intoxicating) aroma, which they need to attract pollinating insects, mainly hawk moths. In some cases, pollination is possible only in the presence of a single species of hawk hawk, in which, in the process of evolution, the increase in the length of the proboscis went in parallel with the lengthening of the corolla tube of the flower.

The genus Brugmansia includes: Brugmansia arborea (tree-like),

There are also hybrids, for example:

Brugmansia versicolor x suaveloens = Brugmansia x insignis
Brugmansia x insignis "Pink"
Brugmansia x insignis "Frosty Pink"
Brugmansia x insignis "double white"
Brugmansia aurea x Brugmansia versicolor = Brugmansia x candida
Brugmansia x candida "double white"
In decorative floriculture, the most common is fragrant Brugmansia (B. suaveolens) and many hybrids and varieties derived from it, as well as tree-like Brugmansia (Brugmansia arborea). All of them go on sale, as a rule, under the old name - "datura".

In the nature of Argentina, Brugmansia is especially common in the northeast, where it grows in the area bordering Brazil and Paraguay. local view– fragrant brugmansia B. suaveolens. In decorative floriculture, it is she who is best known, as well as many varieties and hybrid species derived from this species and B. versicolor, for example, Brugmansia x insignis (B. suaveolens x B. versicolor) and snow-white Brugmansia x candida (B. aurea x B. versicolor). In flower shops in Russia and Ukraine, you can sometimes find small trees sold under the name "datura tree-like" (Datura arborea, or Brugmansia arborea), which in fact, most often, are complex hybrids or varieties of fragrant Brugmansia or snow-white Brugmansia, differing in the degree of drooping of the flowers - in the first they are semi-drooping, and in the second they are hanging.

Brugmansia fragrant is also most common as an ornamental plant in Buenos Aires. It is relatively low, usually up to 3 m (sometimes up to 4 m) in height, fast growing, evergreen tree or a shrub with large, up to 35 cm (actual leaf blade up to 25 cm) in length, oval-elongated, slightly pubescent, light green leaves, spreading crown and extremely brittle, semi-woody, heavily watered branches. Very large, semi-hanging funnel-shaped flowers reach up to 35 cm in length and have a variety of color variations in white-pink-yellow tones.

Sometimes, during heavy rain, abundantly blooming trees, which cannot withstand the load of hundreds of huge wet flowers, easily break even with small gusts of wind. In Gran Buenos Aires, Brugmansia, fantastically beautiful during flowering and filling the air with a delicate aroma at night, are planted as ornamental plants on lawns in front of houses, in front gardens and patios. Like other representatives of the nightshade family (see Brunfelsia and Nicotiana), Brugmansia and Datura are quite poisonous. They say that there is even a ban on planting floripondio, as they call brugmansia in Argentina, in crowded public places because of the toxic and psychotropic substances contained in large quantities in all parts of the plant, and especially in its seeds. The high hallucinogenic properties of Brugmansia have long been used by South American Indians in spiritualistic rites and for medicinal purposes. Currently, in the northern, warmer provinces of Argentina, Brugmansia are cultivated in industrial scale, growing plants for the needs of the biochemical and pharmacological industries in order to obtain valuable alkaloids scopolamine and atropine.

In cold and temperate climate brugmansia are considered greenhouse and indoor plants. In Russia and Ukraine, they are still quite rare, although Black Sea coast Caucasus and in the drier climate of the Southern Coast of Crimea, they can occasionally be seen in summer on fresh air in tubs and even in open ground. But most often in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine, species of real Datura genus Datura are cultivated in the open ground as beautifully flowering, highly decorative representatives of Datura. Brugmansia were previously included in this genus, however, now it includes only herbaceous annual plants with growing up (and not down like Brugmansia) bell-shaped flowers, naturally growing in warm climates mainly in America, but also in Asia and Europe.

About 10 species of Datura are known (Datura ceratocaula, Datura discolor, Datura fastuosa, Datura ferox, Datura innoxia, Datura leichhardtii, Datura metel, Datura pruinosa, Datura quercifolia, Datura stramonium), of which the Indian Datura D. metel, which grows in nature in the vast territory of Asia from the Caspian Sea to China, and the harmless South American Datura D. innoxia, the seeds of which are often sold under the name of its younger synonym, Datura meteloides (on the seed bags it says in Russian "Datura beautiful"). Recently, judging by the literature, new garden varieties Datura ordinary, or smelly D. stramonium, has been widely cultivated as a medicinal plant for many centuries and is found in the wild in Russia and Ukraine.

Brugmansia need good lighting prefer direct sunlight or partial shade. In the shade, the foliage grows more abundantly than in the sun, to the detriment of flowering. It is preferable to keep indoor copies in the summer in the open air or on a balcony, sheltered from the wind, in partial shade. AT winter time plants are kept on a bright, cool windowsill. With a lack of light, not only can the leaves partially or completely fall off, but the whole plant can die. Some recommendations suggest keeping Brugmansia in a dark, cool room or basement during the winter, where the plants completely shed their leaves.

The plants are quite cold hardy. They tolerate temperatures below 10 degrees well, although temperatures of 13-15 degrees are the best option for winter maintenance. In Buenos Aires semi-deciduous, with high humidity air, Brugmansia can withstand short-term cooling down to 0 degrees, and even very rare morning frosts on the soil surface. In open ground, in a temperate warm climate, where there are slight frosts in winter, the above-ground parts of the plant die off, resuming in spring from the preserved root system.

Very moisture-loving plants that accumulate water in their slightly woody trunks and branches, therefore, during the active growing season, abundant watering and frequent spraying at air humidity less than 60-75%. In winter, watering is reduced, maintaining the soil in a slightly moist state and constantly monitoring the turgor of leaves and green stems, preventing their critical dehydration.

The soil should be well-drained, and the containers must be perforated at the bottom to avoid stagnant water and root rot. The soil mixture is nutritious, preferably slightly acidic, with an admixture of denser clay-turf soil. You can use ready-made flower mixtures with a pH of about 6.0-6.5. Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers in the summer once a decade is useful.

In apartments and winter gardens, Brugmansia, with sufficient light and air humidity, remain evergreen, only partially shedding leaves in winter, and some varieties can bloom not only in summer and autumn, but also in any season of the year.

Plants are easily formed by pinching into standard trees and tolerate even the most severe pruning, in which it is important not to damage the flower buds that are laid down for a long time. Therefore, pruning and transplanting is desirable, depending on the climate, to be carried out no later than the end of winter - the beginning of spring (end of January - mid-March).

AT room conditions Despite their toxicity, Brugmansia can be severely affected by spider mites.

Caring for Datura growing in the open field and, especially, in containers on balconies, in principle, does not differ from that for Brugmansia, with the difference that Datura are less whimsical in everyday care and are usually not stored for wintering.

Reproduction. Brugmansia propagate by seeds, but more often by cuttings, Datura - by seeds, usually in spring, or by cuttings. Rooting of apical and stem cuttings in water and light moist soil under transparent coating, providing the necessary humidity, occurs with amazing speed and ease. Brugmansia seeds untreated with a growth stimulator, especially in the crude form in which they usually go on sale, sometimes germinate in a month or two, therefore, before sowing, it is preferable to soak them for a day or two in a solution of "root" or "heteroauxin". Datura also often has a long germination of seeds, sometimes dragging on for up to one and a half months, and it is useful to treat them with a growth stimulator that accelerates germination.

Read: M. I. Gordienko "Datura, Datura, Brugmansia", N. Gidaspov "The Trumpet of the Archangel".

Interesting about Brugmansia and Datura on the site "Flowers of Argentina".

Monica Gottschalk (Germany) has been growing Datura for many years. The genus Datura (Datura) from the nightshade family includes plants of different life forms: annuals, herbaceous perennials, shrubs and real trees. Tree-like dope, which has long been introduced into culture, is often isolated in a special genus Brugmansia.

Since gardening books at the time had little to no information about this popular tub plant and how to grow it, Monica had to figure out a lot of questions on her own: what are the needs of this plant, what are its strengths and weak sides what annoyance it can bring.

Over time, she coped with this task and even wrote a guide to tree-like Datura. Communicating with lovers of this plant, exchanging with them not only cuttings, but also experience. Monica collected more and more information about him.

Currently, she has not only a rich collection of Datura, but is also breeding new hybrids, more powerful, hardy and diverse in color: with white, yellow and pink flowers, sometimes with a dark corolla border.

Datura in perforated buckets made of thick plastic, firmly fixed from the wind, grow in the garden or in spacious winter "apartments".

For wellness Datura needs an annual transplant fresh, rich nutrients soil. But there comes a time when it is simply impossible to increase the size of the pot. Monica plants the grown dope in a 20-liter bucket, in the walls of which three rows of holes with a diameter of 3 cm are drilled. In summer, a plant in such a pot is placed in a spacious tub or in the ground. Its roots can freely penetrate through the holes of the pot into fresh soil. For the winter, dope is removed to a greenhouse or basement. In the latter case, they simply place it in a large vat.

Datura prefers clay soil with a solid structure. When planting, a prolonged triabon fertilizer is applied. From May to August, plants are fed every other day with full mineral fertilizer at the rate of 20 g / 10 l of water.

The success of growing Datura and the abundance of their flowering is largely determined by the quality of the water with which they are watered. Water that is somewhat saturated with carbonates (hard) is preferred. When using rainwater or tap water, but soft, it is recommended to pour dope with lime milk once a season (1g / 1l of water).

Huge trees and Datura bushes overwinter in Monica's greenhouse. If there is no bright and cool (with a constant temperature of +8 +12 0 C) room for wintering plants, they can be removed to a dark, cool basement. In any case, it's important do not cut branches too short, so as not to lose the area that has reached the ability to bloom.

Datura shoots have a growth zone and a flowering zone. The symmetrical bases of the leaves indicate the growth zone. After the branching of the shoot, asymmetric leaves appear on it. This is the generative zone, or flowering zone. Young plants from cuttings taken from this zone bloom early, adult plants bloom profusely and for a long time. Cuttings from the growth zone must first form a generative zone. If it falls under the autumn pruning, the plant will have to start all over again. In high-standard forms, the crown is formed when flower buds are already laid.

A lot of trouble with dope is also due to the fact that the variety often dies from viral diseases, especially when working with blood-red dope (Brugmansia sanguine). Other species and their hybrids are more resistant. The virus is transmitted by aphids or with dirty garden tool. The first signs of the disease are yellow-green streaks on the leaves. Then the leaves curl up and some of the shoots begin to die off, which eventually leads to the death of the plant. Unfortunately, there is no remedy for this scourge. You just have to destroy diseased plants.