dried brug flowers

[JRL]

Any takers?

[Wakinyan]

Are those Culebra flowers or hybrids?

[Jaeda]

What kind of Brugs - and is there any viable pollen left in them?

[Wakinyan]

Unless the pollen was frozen, its not viable any longer. You can use a q-tip to collect the pollen and then simply freeze for a few years though.

[Jaeda]

Umm actually it doesn't have to be frozen... it can be kept dried at room temperature as well. The "killer" of Brug pollen is more often moisture and subsequent bacteria, mold, etc.

I use cigarette rolling papers to collect pollen from mine (esp. when one is in bloom but I want to cross to another that isn't yet in bloom) and then after letting them air-dry (covered to keep dust and other airborne particles out), I seal up the paper and write the name of the species.. sometimes a filename included if from a specific or unique bloom... leave them in a warm, dry area for awhile longer and then stash them away until ready for use. So far reports are that it will keep like that near indefinitely...

[Wakinyan]

Ahh, I must confess that is a new method to me. I can see that you like Brugmansia though. What species do you have? I know there are a great many hybrids out in the market. A pure species is often hard to find, especially when dealing with Brugmansia aurea. Have you had any luck with setting seed to any Culebra? I personally like many hybrids. One of my favorites is Rhapsody.
http://www.brugmansia.us/galleries/main ... temId=3499

[Wakinyan]

http://www.brugmansia.us/galleries/main ... temId=1750


Another favorite of mine. Georgia Peach...if you had some Rothkirch pollen it might be worth putting some on those hybrids as they both have some aurea in their genetics. Of course they both have some versicolor as well.

[Jaeda]

No experience with Culebra... and I found out pretty quick that I'm a bit of a "traditionalist"... I actually seem to lean more towards one particular plant than any other... a B. suaveolens 'White'... I tend to avoid yellows and reds (the latter in part because of the environmental conditions best suited to them) but love the whites, creams, salmons and pinks... I love a good gradient and the only reason some of the almost-orange hued ones have been allowed to stay is because of a metallic or similar type sheen to their blooms. Not really pearlescent... something else. I can post the urls for the pictures/slideshows if you want to see what I'm talking about but can honestly say that the photos don't do them justice.

This is my "iffy" list - by iffy I mean I can't at this time guarantee all specimens are alive. Rough winter and winter-into-spring transition for them this go around. It all began with an early frost last winter... I don't even want to think about the plants (not just Brugs) that were lost/died... made me want to puke...
Ecuador Pink
B. Suaveolens 'White' (honestly, probably my favourite)
B. Suaveolens 'Pink' (iffy at best)
Isabella
Creamsickle (iffy)
Enchanted Double White (iffy at best)
Valley Peach
Pink Beauty (iffy at best)
Cypress Gardens (likely dead)
Jean Pasko
Peaches & Cream - B. versicolor variegata (having a rough transition into spring)
B. hybrid (?) - Halo Peach
B. hybrid - Jean Pasko
B. hybrid Dr. Seuss (was renamed, originally discovered by/named Hetty Kraus - Pasto Columbia)
B. versicolor 'Temple Goddess' (B. versicolor 'Peach' x B. versicolor 'Ecuador Pink', she's giving it the ol' college try in transition)
Creamsickle B. ? f.p.
B. (versicolor?) variegata 'Sunset' (pretty sure she's dead)
B. hybrid f.p. Desiree
B. insignis
B. suaveolens var. 'Frosty Pink' (likely dead)
B. versicolor hybrid f.p. - Herrenhäuser Gärten (iffy)
Ollie
B. suaveolens - Rosa Traum
B. suaveolens hybrid - Betty Marshall (croaked)
Unknown #1 Variegated (thinks it's a Maya, iffy at best)
Isabella #2 (different source, want to see if it can be x'd with another Isabella since this name is synonymous with Golfito and Grand Marnier Pink)
"Big Pink" - (working name, iffy)
UCONN Treasure (iffy/iffy at best)
Unknown #2
"RGUnknowns" of various documentation tags, multiple specimens
Lemony Persnickety (working name)

You should see my "wish list" though LOL

There's a few hybrids I've tried acquiring, but it seems that my favourites are ill-fated... I'm still holding out for a "Mango Crush" (not so unlike Georgia Peach)... if it doesn't happen, then I'm likely to acquire ancestral plants and try breeding for it again... at any rate, Brugmansia are like a larger, less tender, and less noxious Datura for me I still love the Dats though... they hold a special place for me in respect to what I will intentionally be cryptic about by referring to "initiations"... take it however you will, just not at face value...

[Wakinyan]

I've heard that you can get double pinks like Desiree by crossing Ecuador pink to Rothkirch. And I agree with you, Herrenhauser can be hard to set seeds on. I typically like the multihybrids that have enough suaveolens to cause a slight flare and enough aurea in them to give them a nice short full bodied shape.

[Jaeda]

in my list - those noted with "f.p" are in reference to being double-flowers... so genetically speaking, if you take anything that is fp and cross it, you run a fair chance in seed to seedling offspring being doubles...

HG I am told does not like to have her roots disturbed. I began with a cutting last year, she produced meager foliage that accidentally got ripped off (tag slipped down)... I haven't given up on her yet. If she survives through all this with me, she will get the largest pot I can supply and be a container specimen rather than risking digging her up in winters here.

I was just informed low of 30 tomorrow night - I am so hacked.. this warm/cold crap... I don't see a choice but to move every single Brug in a pot onto the deck and try to protect them and keep them warmer there... there's no way I'm bringing them back inside. Even if I were willing, their spaces have already been filled with starter trays and the like...

[Wakinyan]

Crossing a pure aurea to a pure versicolor should also get you a few doubles. If the two are both pink as is Ecuador pink and Rothkirch you should get a few Dark pink double pinks. Doubles are simply candida hybrids or Aurea x Versicolor hybrids which equals candida or f.p. Of course crossing any aurea, versicolor, or candida hybrid to a double hybrid or f.p. can yield a double as well.

[Jaeda]

This is NOT all-inclusive, but this is a quick reference guide that I use...
//http://jaeda.cat-basket.org/Botanical/BrugmansiaCrossPollinationChart.htm

I don't know how to use the basic html code I have on that page to just have it show up here in the message, so I'm afraid you'll have  to actually follow the link unless you can tell me how to do the code in a message..

[Wakinyan]

http://www.spiritplants.org/phpbb/galle ... m=6&pos=25

I'm still searching for some of my photo albums as I used to hybridize as well. Albeit, probably not with as nice of hybrids as you mentioned, but then I think our tastes are a bit different. If I had to have just one or two Brugmansia I would have Brugmansia Culebra, Brugmansia Butterfly, Brugmansia Rhapsody, and Brugmansia Rothkirch. Okay, so I can't count. But with those Brugmansia you have a nice heavy load of aurea genes and still have plenty of versicolor and just a tinge of suaveolens in the mixture. I would have to go with Isabella for a nice old pink which is exceptional in setting seed as well as a pollen donor though if I were going to introduce more suaveolens into the mixture. Of course I am sure that by now there are plenty of nicer multihybrids available with suaveolens in the mixture. Georgia peach has a nice amount of suaveolens in the mixture for instance.

[Jupe]

.....and I thought my yellow ones were cool  :roll:  :roll:  :roll:

I can't believe the amount of cross breeding and work that has been done!!!!

Our trees are very fragrant......is there a particular cultivar that  has a reputation for rapturous smells?

[Wakinyan]

Suaveolens x aurea hybrids typically have more fragrance in my oppinion than pure versicolor hybrids. I used to have some super fragrant and very large white hybrids from seed, but as I was going for color at the time I eventually got rid of most of these. I had one or two that when a single flower opened up you could smell their intoxicating fragrance from the next yard over. Never mind when they all opened up and you hand hundreds of blooms infiltrating the air.
http://www.brugmansia.us/pollination.shtml
The above is a short movie clip showing how to cross pollinate Brugmansia.