This is my first year trying brugmansia seeds, and I am curious when I should plant them. It says on the packet it may take a while to get them to germinate (as much as several weeks) but then again if they germinate right away it will be months before they can go outdoors (read--I have to keep them alive inside for a few months ) Any ideas?

Just want to say
I don't know a thing about brugmansia, but I am sure someone will respond here.

Thanks for the welcome Seedfork!

If you don't get a response here, soon, try this forum, it might be your best bet. Can't really tell you much about it being I have never opened that door, yet.
http://garden.org/forums/view/...

If you have a window that gets a lot of light, you could start them indoors and put them out after you're last freeze.

duane456- I do plan to plant them under my grow lights/sunroom inside as I don't think they'll do well here if I don't give them a head start (I live in zone 4 so the last frost date is around mid-May). You have a brugmansia picture in your header--any tips on starting them from seed? I've heard they can be hard to germinate.

Thanks for responding!

It's been many years since I've tried to start one from seeds. I do it from cuttings these days. I do believe they are hard to germinate. I could send you a cutting or two if you are willing to pay for the postage. They are very easy to start from cuttings.

Oh my, how very generous! That would be well worth the cost of postage. : ) What kinds do you have? Do you root them like coleus in water? Or with rooting hormone in soil?
I'm sure we'd have to wait until warmer weather as it is often well below freezing here for a couple more months at least. I am definitely interested though...I could see myself getting addicted to these plants. I am starting a tropical garden this year--a tall task for our zone 4 property, but it is a fun challenge. I'm mostly trying to use plants that look tropical but are hardy for here, and mixing them with things like cannas and bananas and brugmansias for the full tropical effect. Not having grown bananas and brugmansias before, I'm sure it will be a learning experience and probably not postcard-worthy, but I am excited to try.

I've never tried them, but here's some information that might be helpful

http://www.brugmansia.us/growi...

Karen

Nice work, Karen. Good info.
Mine are sitting in a unheated garage. I bring them out around April-May hear in Oregon. They look pretty ugly at the start, but well worth the wait.
Gardenliz---just get a hold of me in the spring if you want a cutting.
I have tropical sunset, xena, adora, charles grimaldi, jamaican yellow.

Thanks Karen! I think that gives me pretty good info. I'm going to try a few of those methods and see how they work.

Duane--Wow, I had no idea there were so many kinds of brugmansia! I bought the only kind Baker's Creek had (a pinkish one). I will definitely contact you when it warms up to see if you have some extra cuttings. Thank you!!

I'm just going to start a few seeds in the next week or so and see how they go, and probably start a few more in the next few weeks so as to not put all my eggs in one basket. I'm excited to see how they do!