One of our readers writes: I am sending you some pictures of my purple Datura. It has double and single blooms on the same plant. They have been and are still just beautiful. I live in San Antonio, TX. My seed pods do not look like the ones I have seen on the web I do have mine in a pot and did take it in the garage during a freeze last December. Enjoy the pictures. Freida Wright

Another reader writes: Datura stramonium is used in South American rituals as a hallucinogen. It is mentioned in 'The Travels of Don Quixote' by Carlos Castenada as one of a two part mixture ... the other being Aconite, which was known a 'witches flying ointment'

A note from a reader: Hello, Emily,

I just found your website by accident and was very interested in the Q&A about the Datura (Jimson Weed - White Angel Trumpet, upward) and Brugmansia (Angel Trumpet - pink, yellow, peach - downward). 
I live in zone 7/8 close to Columbus/GA and grow since many years both beautiful specimen outside in my garden.

The Datura dies back every winter to the ground and comes back every spring from the roots left in the ground - I don't even protect the roots - and not from seeds. It developes 100's of seedpods every year, so I cut them off before they mature and ripen to keep them from invading my garden.

My Brugmansia are treated the same way, i.e. after dying back the roots are left in the ground with no winter protection, and every spring they grow back from the rootstock and within 3 month they are about 10 to 12 feet tall and start blooming. Blooming happens in intervals of about 3 week from one flush of blooms to the next flush and lasts until the first frost, when the above ground parts of the plants die down.

The only thing I really do is give them plenty of water during the summer and lots of love - I talk to them (LOL)and once in a very great while I give them a little water soluble tomato fertilizer, since tomatoes and angel trumpet both are in the nightshade family.
The reward is a pleasure for eyes and nose and the many people slowing down and admiring these outstanding plants with often hundreds of blooms at a time.

I wish all of you growers and admirers of the Angel Trumpet good luck and a yard full of heavenly fragrance that so fits these plants.

Best regards,

Veronika ( www.vgriffinpottery.net )

Q: Is the Datura featured on your site the same as the angel trumpet? If yes, will it return next year? I am in Michigan and have the angel trumpet in white and purple.

A: The datura on my site will return next year only by seed....I am in zone 8b-9 and it does not winter over for me ....sometimes grown in the ground in a very micro-climate it will 'winter -over '.

The angel trumpets also need winter protection because they are tropical. Even in my area, I give them winter protection.

You can collect the seeds (from the mature brown pods) and start a plant by the end of next January. Sowing them individually or by cuttage and starting a plant that way.

Q: Hi, I am confused, to say the least. I've been reading all the wonderful articles on the Datura page and see the plant referred to as both Angel's Trumpet, upright and downward facing, and recently read an article in my local paper referencing the Datura as being true Belladonna/Deadly Nightshade. I disagreed with my paper's report so jumped onto your website to see. Can you shed some light on my confusion, please? (This is the first year I've had a Datura just "show up" in my garden: upright, white, low growing, and, just to confuse me, within close proximity to my potted Angel's Trumpet - downward facing - AND my Trumpet Vine!

A: Indeed this is confusing.

The datura/Jimsonweed/thornapple..... in many many cases is considered a WEED. And dangerous in the fields for animals, in case they munch on it .
Those who see it as a possible enhancement in their garden cultivate it. It grows annually and returns by its readily self seeding seeds. Its bloom is white and is upward, close to the ground or two feet upwards. It blooms generally for one evening at a time. There are many blooms on this plant and it grows fast and makes wonderful seedpods for the following year. Saving the seeds and sowing in the spring or letting them fall to the ground works well either way.

The angel trumpets (a common name applied to many plants)...... is a cultivated hybrid in many cases and also native to South America. It comes in singles and doubles and many colors. It is propagated by cuttage and by seeds. The seeds germinate easily and you can get a good shrub plant (tree) in one season and get blooms. Even the cuttage will produce a bloom the first year.

In zones other than tropical or even semi-tropical they need to be protected from the winter and cool months. After all, it is tropical. It will not die back, but just stop producing the flowers. I generally drag mine in the house or the garage. Just enough to keep the frost bites away.

I also trim back the trumpets in the early spring season. I grow them in containers, I have several that I can experiment in growing them directly in the ground to see how well they "winter-over ".

The key word is TROPICAL... the trumpets need to be protected......stretching the zone on this plant may or may not work, depending how severe your winter gets. Zone 8 is borderline for the having them grow outside during the winter.

I am getting two bloom sessions from my single trumpets. Early spring and in the fall. The plant may be out of sync for some reason. My double trumpets have bloomed for two months straight.

The trumpets bloom downward like a hanging bell, the datura blooms upward. Some of the trumpets are scented.

The angle Trumpet is in the SOLANACEAE family it is also a Brugmansia

Daturas (da- TOOR-a) what you have - a stramonium is native to the tropics but widely naturalized as a weed in North America all parts are poisonous. It has been suggested that this plant should be weeded out and destroyed.

Your call.

Both are poisonous (all parts)

In my opinion all are beautiful......

Your trumpet vine may be a native to your area, or a hybrid vine..... This is a vine not related to the other. Full sun or filtered sun through the tree canopy is nice.....

Q: When I lived in south west France my datura angel trumpet flowered very well every year. Now I am in Spain and my datura bought in April as container plants about one and half feet high both have grown well with good branches but no flowers. What can I do please?

A: Plants to not bloom for a variety of reasons.

Too hot
Too much water
Too little water
Lack of nutrients.
With a cold spring and this may put it in some stress.
Too much nitrogen in the fertilizer.

I would try and get a fertilizer that has a high middle number.

Something like 10-60-10. I believe Shultz has this is a water-soluble form.

Q: I have been given a lovely Datura plant. However, I live in Canada (just outside Montreal), and have been told that I will have to bring this plant in during the winter and therefore, I have re-potted it to make sure it has root room.

I have put it outside and when the flowers open (one at a time), they droop and go brown and simply don't stay open. I decided to bring the plant back inside as we were having extremely hot weather and thought that might be the problem. I kept it on the patio as the sun was burning some of my plants like the Hibiscus. Now, the buds are dropping off.

I haven't a clue on how to keep this lovely plant, can you help me?

A: The Datura, should acclimate itself into the full sun. It is a seasonal plant and probably would not grow through the winter in the house. Unless this is an Angel Trumpet and would go dormant for the winter season. (Angel trumpet blooms hang down and Datura will bloom upright.) Neither would mind being pot bound. Too big a pot will keep things wet and this would affect the blooming.

I do agree with you that the burning sun would affect the bloom and the plant.

The plants should summer out well. They should have morning sun and protection for the afternoon in the beginning.

Do not over fertilize.

Good drainage.

Let dry a bit before watering again.

Q: I was given some Datura seeds. The plant they came from does not look like any of the others I have seen on the net. The seeds I have look a lot like green pepper seeds, dried out, but a little larger. They came from some sort of pod. My question is, when can I plant them????

A: You can safely plant the datura seeds now, in the spring. If you indeed think this is a datura seed the weather in most of the county (and I do not know your zone) will be warm enough to plant this seed. Water well so they will germinate and in 3-4 weeks you should see little seedlings. They do grow large and you may want to thin out later on. Slight fertilizing once the plants get to be 6 inches or so.

Q: Emily, I have a question in regards to our datura plant. We purchased it approx. 4 years ago. I have it in a planter in my office. It has grown to approx. 5 ft., has a beautiful green color, and has filled out to a beautiful plant. The problem is: it has never had a flower. What do I need to do get it to produce flowers? I water it regularly and fertilized occasionally.

A: You have done very well to have a datura live in your office, This plant is tropical and requires tons of sunshine and perhaps it is surviving but not thriving.

There is a possibility you can use a water soluble fertilizer of 10-60-10. I believe Shultz cares such. Using too much nitrogen will not benefit the plant to bloom, so the middle number is important.

It may also have to be pot bound to bloom. And of course, this means maturity of the plant.

Q: My wife has been given a datura plant, can you please tell us how tall it grows? Also we live in middle England, is it OK to plant and leave outside? Thank you.

A: It depends upon the variety. Datura (Jimsonweed) is a low growing annual plant. It grows to about 3 ft. and twice as wide. The more cultivated plants grow into shrubs and small trees, about 6 ft or more Depending on the amount of good and great conditions it might encounter. Full sun for this plant. Lots of warm temperatures and water.

Is it in a container or in the ground?

In a container it will be lessened in size, in the ground it will get larger much larger.

Q: Can you tell me where I can obtain some Datura seeds? I used to grow them in France but have been unable to find any either in the U.K. or here in the US please help.

A: This is not an easy seed to find. It is considered very poisonous in some states it is considered invasive.

Q: I have recently purchased two datura, but I'm concerned that they may be poisonous, and would not like them in my garden if they are. Can you give me any other information regarding this plant?

A: My deduction is that indeed the purple datura is poisonous. It is related to the white Datura/Jimsonweed that is poisonous. It is of course cultivated and the seed for this plant is often seen in catalogs. I would still grow it.

Most plants have a dark side to them and could be dangerous in some form, stem/bloom/roots/seeds.

Q: I have recently received a Stramonium (Datura) White Angel's Trumpet seeds like that shown on your web site: at least I think it is the seed? It is a spiked round globe that has a collar and stem...I am hoping to plant this spiked globe and have it turn into a Stramonium plant. Is this the seed? Do I need to open it up slightly before planting it? What are the conditions it needs when planted. What does it look like when it first sprouts?

A: Yes, what you describe is exactly the seed. It should be brown and mature for the seed to germinate in the spring. I would save them in a dry airtight container. Or open the pod and spread on a paper towel and get them dry. The pod does not get planted. It is amazing such a tiny seed will make such a big plant.

Then in the earliest spring after the frost I would sprinkle the seeds in the desired area. Full sun/not particularly great soil/ and plenty of room. One seed makes a HUGE pant.

With one pod of seeds you will have much to share.

When the plant first sprouts it will have oval leaves and they will be a little fuzzy.

Already I am looking for new areas to try the seeds. This is a 'wow' plant so I am going to try for the frontage of the buildings.

Q: We have a question on Datura. We live in Ohio , Cleveland area. And have some growing in the yard and love them but are new to raising them. They came back on there own this year. Is this normal? What kind of care should we be giving? Any and all information you can provide us will be helpful. We inherited these plants and were told they come back every year but all we have read says other wise.

A: Yes, it is normal that the datura would reseed themselves for another year. They are great self seeders.

Since the plant requires very little other than sun and some occasional rain they do fine.

I always harvest a few round pods in the fall before the plant dies entirely and save for the spring, just in case no seeds make it.

The pod must be brown and mature. I pick open and dry seeds and then store in an envelope.

Q: Would you tell me what kind of reaction one has when exposed to the datura plant if its so poisonous?

A: Datura contains toxic alkaloids hyoscyamine, atropine, and acopolamine, which make up about 0.3 peer cent of the dry weight of the plant. All parts of the plant, particularity the seeds , are poisonous. Children have been poisoned by eating the fruit or sucking the flowers.

Reaction??? Constriction.

Cats and dogs have a 6th sense to stay away from the plants. Adults should be know better, but children are hard to capture in a garden. So........ being responsible in planting this plant is always recommended .