I read that hemingway is poisonous, now I don't have children, but I do have dogs. I really want to plant them but need to know more about them. Mostly I need help with the pros and cons. Also I have seeds, so how long will they take to grow from seed?

Hi @Lilbitroses

Pardon my ignorance, but I don't know the plant "hemingway". Does the plant have another name? What does the plant look like? Do you mean Hemlock?

Yes, please. Do you know the botanical name of the plant in question? Photos and/or links would be helpful.

JuneOntario said:Hi @Lilbitroses


Pardon my ignorance, but I don't know the plant "hemingway". Does the plant have another name? What does the plant look like? Do you mean Hemlock?

Sorry I should of added that its an Angel trumpet or sometimes called devils trumpet. Hemingway Datura

They're toxic to humans, domestic animals and foraging animals. I'm asking this question out of pure intellectual curiosity, even though in this format, it's going to sound snotty, but I don't mean it that way -- why do you want to plant this??

It's a beautiful plant with gorgeous flowers. Many of our garden plants are toxic, but in general, our kids and animals don't bother them.

Well, all snakes are venomous, but there's a difference between a corn snake and a rattlesnake. These contain cyanide, I believe, and at least for me, any chance is too much to take. Someone visits with a kid who does stupid things, a dog, someone's house cat gets out and into your yard. I've seen enough bizarre things with terrible results to take chances that don't need to be taken. Surely there are tons of gorgeous flowers that don't possess this level of risk

They really are beautiful, and bloom repeatedly through the summer even in northern climates with lots of huge, fragrant flowers.

As to the question of whether to plant it or not, just ask yourself if your dog has ever eaten a flower or leaf that has fallen from a plant in your yard. I've grown many of them for years, and my cat certainly hasn't had any problems because of them. She's 17 and still going strong.

When my grandkids (who are pretty small still) come to visit, I prune the plants so that the foliage and flowers will be well up out of reach. Or prune the plants so severely that nothing will be blooming at all while they are visiting. The plants are vigorous growers, and spring right back from a hard pruning.

Lilbitroses said:

Sorry I should of added that its an Angel trumpet or sometimes called devils trumpet. Hemingway Datura

Not that it's relevant really, since it's still going to be poisonous, but out of curiosity is Hemingway an actual cultivar name? All I found on a Google search for Datura Hemingway was someone selling seeds on eBay.

Sue, the best I could find for the Hemingway connection is not Ernest, but S.R. Hemingway, a researcher/scientist who was a coauthor of at least one paper on the toxic properties of the plant.

It is called devil's trumpet for a reason, and angel's trumpet as a screen, because when people first think of angels, they think of only the benign kind, whereas in theology, there are fallen angels. Perhaps this link and the author's take on datura might put things in perspective: https://pixiecraft.wordpress.c...

There is a difference between having the courage to take a calculated risk, and the arrogance of recklessness.