Friday, July 22, 2011 / Author: Sommer Gardens / Number of views: 9292 / Comments: / Article rating: No rating A busy bee attempts some summer hybridizing Now that our summer heat has settled in I have completely given up on attempting to make any new Brugmansia crosses until fall. Meanwhile this busy bee has arrived for a quick drink and perhaps an inadvertent attempt to pollinate this bloom.I'm sure the nectar from this bloom is quite refreshing on this hot summer day. It's cool the way its little legs are laden with pollen. I have lots of great blooms open now so if the bee does manage to create a successful cross, the outcome could be ... Categories:HybridizingBrugmansiaGarden Pests Tags:beeBrugmansiahoney beepollinating Read more
Monday, January 7, 2008 / Author: Sommer Gardens / Number of views: 8996 / Comments: / Article rating: No rating The aftermath..... Now that both myself and my plants have thawed out, I can assess the freeze damage. It is not a pretty sight around here as you can see by looking at this picture of one of my larger angel trumpets, brugmansia Coral Glow. Fortunately it did not get nearly as cold as many forecasters had predicted. The low temperature hovered around 29 for a couple of hours and briefly dropped to 28. That is much better than the 24-26 that was forecast to be the low.Over the weekend I was able to assess ... Categories:BrugmansiaWeather Tags:Angel TrumpetBrugmansiacoral glowfreezepollinatepollinatingseedserendipitysommer gardens Read more
Monday, November 19, 2007 / Author: Sommer Gardens / Number of views: 6710 / Comments: / Article rating: No rating So many blooms, so little time That's my current dilemma as many of my brugmansia plants start their fall blooming cycle. I've been anxiously awaiting the cooler weather to make it easier for my crosses to take. This weekend I focused on my variegated varieties because the blooms were prime. I'm hoping to find some type of variegation in a plant with a pink, yellow/orange or double bloom. I know it is a long shot, but you never know. Here are a few of the many crosses I made:Sun Sport x Axel RoseSun Sport x MayaSun ... Categories:HybridizingBrugmansia Tags:Brugmansiabrugspollinating Read more