Meet Sommer Gardens' newest Introduction, Brugmansia 'Buttercup'!  'Buttercup' was recently registered with the International Brugmansia and Datura Society (iBrugs.com).Brugmansia 'Buttercup' evolved from an Angel Trumpet seedling I grew out from a Brenda Delph cross of Brugmansia 'Lady Liberty' x 'Jamies Monkey Business'.  The photo above shows the cool weather color and the bloom form on the first day the bloom opens.  In the warmer summer months the blooms are more of a cream color. As ...

Today's featured Angel Trumpet seedling is from a cross I made between Brugmansia 'Herenhauser Gold' and 'Langenbuscher Garten'.  It is just one of dozens of new yellow Brugmansia seedlings in my growing area that have bloomed this summer.The golden yellow blooms are large in size and thick textured.The blooms on this seedling have a slight resemblance to their mother, 'Herenhauser Gold', but with a darker color.   This is the sixth seedling from this cross to bloom, and so far all six have ...

Here's an Angel Trumpet seedling that has been in my watch zone for three years and now I'm ready to make it a keeper.  The seedling is from a cross I made between Brugmansia 'Rosalie' x 'Inca Sun'.The blooms have a thicker texture like those of the mother, ,Rosalie' and the color is a deeper yellow than its father, 'Inca Sun'.  It is a fast grower, frequent bloomer and has remained pest free in my growing environment.I plan to put it into production later this summer and make it available ...

Here's another Angel Trumpet seedling I have been watching for a couple of years and now must decide if should be a keeper. It is from a cross I made between Brugmansia 'Bert' x 'Naughty Nick'.It definitely has its father's growth genes and It is pushing up the top of my shadehouse, which is about 9 feet high in that location.  The blooms are mostly all triples and are slightly larger than those of 'Naughty Nick'.  The corolla skirts are often extended, much like those of Brugmansia 'Angels ...

This Angel Trumpet seedling was a standout in last week's group of bloomers in my watch zone. The seedling is from a cross I made between Brugmansia 'White Magic' and 'Orange Zest'.The photo above shows the color and form of a mature bloom.  When the blooms first open they are a cream color as you can see below. The blooms on this seedling are elegant and always perfectly formed.The great parentage in its family tree shows through in the blooms.  'White Magic' has 'Pink Smitty' in its gene ...

One of the showiest Angel Trumpet seedlings in my shadehouse this past week was this one from a cross I made between Brugmansia 'Cassies Curls' x 'Lizzy'.This seedling started blooming last year and the medium sized blooms are always doubles with separated skirts.  It has a similar growth style as its father, 'brugmansia 'Lizzy', but is not as fast a grower as 'Lizzy'. When the blooms are fully mature, like the one above, it is not uncommon to see a tinge of cantaloupe color show through.So ...

I was pleasantly surprised to discover this new bloom on one of my Angel Trumpet seedlings from a Brugmansia Joli x Charleston cross.The seeds came from German hybridizer Volker Sanders.  One very interesting trait associated with this first set of blooms is that the inner corolla skirt is larger and darker than the outer skirts. I'm growing out at least 25 seedlings from this cross and I have had several bloom prior to this one.  Although they were nice, there was nothing super special ...

I'm sure he is eying that plump little fruit fly that is buzzing towards him for a midnight snack...or perhaps he's got his eye on the one off to his right? Actually the spiders have gotten out of control amongst my brugmansia plants, especially the crab spiders. It is nearly impossible to walk down the isles without running into several spider webs.  I lost count as to how many times I've felt one these pointy crab spiders scurrying across my face. If I would look straight ahead rather than ...