Now that my Brugmansia seed pods are starting to ripen, it is time to enlist some friendly help to keep pests away.This friendly Anole appears to be quite happy on his new resting place.  Because Brugmansia seed pods are actually a fruit, they can be impacted by small beetles and tiny larvae while they are ripening. Both are great snacks for these guys!

While working in my Brugmansia jungle yesterday I found several ghost seed pods like this one.  I hate when this happens!In our hot and steamy Florida summers, when seeds pods ripen they must be harvested quickly or you'll end up with a pod skeleton and Brugmansia seeds scattered all over the ground.  This can happen in just a couple of weeks.  However, when pods ripen in the winter and spring, the pods would just dry and could hang on the plant with seeds intact for months. 

The skin on some Brugmansia seed pods can be as tough as leather, allowing a ripe pod to hang on the plant for weeks and weeks after it has dried.  For others, the skin disintegrates in a matter of days.  Within a couple of weeks after ripening the pod may look like the one pictured below.I caught this pod just in time.  When I held it to snip it off the plant, it completely fell apart leaving me clutching a handful of Angel Trumpet seeds.  Fortunately the weather had been calm for the week ...

Last night was was what I would call a bug-a-palooza.  I went out with my headlamp on to check on a few about to open flower buds and I was bombarded with insects.My headlamp is a giant bug magnet anyways, and last night the bugs were out in force.  When I stopped to check on a couple blooms, these bugs decided to quit harassing me for a few seconds by taking a break on a nearby seed pod.  Lucky for them they were non-threatening to my plants so I let them be. This beetle seemed to be guided ...

I just found my first Angel Trumpet seed pod of the fall season!  One disadvantage of hybridizing brugmansia in Florida is that it is nearly impossible to get crosses to take and set pods when the temps are in the 90's.  A couple of weeks ago we had a mini cold snap that lasted for a couple of days.  The first night it was cool out I went outside and pollinated about 30 blooms.   A couple of days later the temps were back up in the 90's and breaking records.  Because of that i did not expect ...