Brugmansia 'Short Standards'

At Country Garden  we have a need for standards in the three to four footrange. We use these for our displays at the local market. Cuttings are rooted by most in the brug community but not everyone realizes you can root long  pieces, or in this case we can make instant standards.

Select a straight piece with a well-shaped canopy or at least with a good “Y”. Remove every leaf including the very small ones at the tip. For our purposes we will use pieces about three feet long.

Put five or six inches of clean water in a five gallon bucket. Add 4 ounces of hydrogen peroxide. Place the cuttings in the bucket and place in a shady spot.

Take care to have these cuttings remain plumb. If they are leaning they will grow toward the light and be crooked.Check the cuttings after a couple of days and every day thereafter until you see the formation of white lenticels, called nubbies by some. This usually occurs within three to six days. When you see these lenticels it is time to move the cuttings to potting soil to finish rooting. 

Some leave the cuttings in water to root but this forms weak roots and the plant takes longer to recover when planted. It is a good idea to keep the new plants staked until the root system is well formed. When these are rooted and growing, they make beautiful, well balanced plants that serve us well at the market and would make good showpieces for the patio.

Don't forget to label your cuttings. Without the labels you will forget which is which.You don't need to ask how I know that. There is one last thing to watch for. The tips of the longer canopy arms may die. The dead part is trimmed and you still have a nice canopy.