2010 Datura pics

2010 was my first year growing Daturas. My dad purchased and collected several different varieties and split them with me. We began starting our seeds in February 2010. I started my seeds in my basement constructing a small grow room in an unused closet. He started his in his sun room. With neither of us having prior seed starting experience, we made it a point to compare notes daily and trade pictures( my dad lives in SC and I reside in IL). We were both thrilled with the results not to mention the added excitement of seeing and talking about each others progress. Much of my seed starting knowledge was gained from this forum so I thought other members might enjoy seeing my pics as much as I have enjoyed seeing yours.

Once I got started I just couldn't help myself. I just keep adding more lights and more seeds.

What started out as seemingly unlimited space quickly became rather cramped.

When it came time to put them outside new beds had to be put in.

I underestimated the amount of work and time involved.

But when the blooms started coming on, it proved to be well worth it.

Of course the next step was buying a new camera capable of capturing the beautiful blooms and doing them justice.

The next issue would be the bugs and off I went to buy insecticide

As bad as the bugs were, their damage to the leaves never seemed to slow down the blooms.

Although the battle of the bugs lasted all summer long, I did succeed in ridding the majority of them.

I found it amazing the amount of damage they could inflict over night

The bugs seemed to dislike the flavor of the Inoxia, almost leaving them alone completely.

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This message was edited Jan 17, 2011 3:13 PM

I averaged 20+ new blooms a day

The fragrance produced from the Inoxia was splendid

The Tatula was my least favorite due to smaller flowers and almost weed like plant, but it still produced beautiful blooms

This seed packet was labeled Datura Unforgettable. Out of three seeds only one germinated, I found the blooms to be very appealing.

Wow well done! Did you collect seed? I have never had one that smelled nice..I have some seeds from a trade wonder if Inoxia is in there mmmm : )

Thank you Kim. I did collect seeds! The fragrance of the Inoxia was a lot stronger at night. Maybe because that is when the majority of the blooms opened.

Another pic of Datura Unfogettable

By summers end the purple daturas were 5-8 feet tall

All of my plants continued producing blooms well into October

Half way through August we had a major storm come through that uprooted and laid over almost every single Datura plant in the yard. I carefully re-planted them and staked them with Bamboo. It seemed to spur their growth rather than stunt them.

This message was edited Jan 18, 2011 3:17 PM

Most of the seeds I germinated in the basement took over a month to sprout. I still had seeds sprouting in starter cups at the end of May. Not wanting to waste seeds, I dumped the seeds that hadn't germinated into flower beds. Some of those seeds which didn't sprout till early June outgrew the plants that had started in February. As with most of my plants, I found the key to success was finding the right spot with the conditions most favorable to the specific plant. I don't plan on starting nearly as many Daturas indoors this year. I will sow them directly to the ground instead.

The seed pods were nearly as impressive as the flowers. By the end of the season the Inoxia seed pods were as big as tennis balls.

The purple seed pods were also fascinating to watch develop. I had a very nice surprise at the end of the season when I was cutting down the plants and removing the seed pods. I had one branch on a purple Datura that had spikes on the seed pods. Of course I have keep those seeds separate and can't wait to see the results of the cross pollination.

A picture taken the day after replanting and staking my plants due to storm damage.

I found it to be a very good thing each plant produces so many seeds. I have happily shared them with all my friends and family and still have plenty left for the approaching season.

This year we will be adding triple yellows and triple whites to our Datura flower beds .

Of course I will be putting in some new flower beds to accommodate :)

Beautiful! I wish I had more room : } I only have room for a few. Thanks for showing your lovely blooms! love the seedpod too! I have to find my seeds and send some to you..for your new bed : )
One is named Mr Purple.

Gorgeous!! How many did you start last year? Any idea what your germination rate was? Any particular ones better than any others? And how did the ones do that your Dad started? Did any particular variety out perform the rest? Any under perform? Curious, so hope you don't mind all the questions, :-)

Running out of room will not be a problem for me anytime soon. Just last month my neighbors put a ten acre hay field on the market that borders the side and back of our current lot and I was lucky enough to be able to purchase it. I can picture lots of new flower beds in my future. I would gladly send you some of my fragrant Inoxia seeds in return.

Wow, can only imagine 10 acres of flower beds! How awesome! And just think of the size of the greenhouse you can fit in, lol! Your plants are gorgeous! If you have any extra purple seeds, I would love some sometime. Just curious, did you start your seeds in a soiless mix, or what kind of soil?

Thank you skellog, I don't mind answering your questions one bit. I would guess my germination rate to be around 85% Probably better than that, because late in the season I gave up on some of the seeds that would have likely germinated.

At one point I probably had fifty seedlings. I lost a dozen or so early on making the mistake of using expanding peat pots creating mold/fungus issues. I quickly found that sterile seed starting soil was a better method.

I used a heated seed mat to germinate my seeds, my dad didn't, my seeds germinated twice as fast. I had florescent grow lights my dad had afternoon sun. Once sprouted my plants grew faster. Germination time varied a great deal in both situations. Somewhere between 30 - 120+ days. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as far as varieties went. Some seeds popped quickly while others took months.

My dad had all but given up when his seeds finally started to germinate. We both used Jiffy organic seed starter soil the only difference was I microwave mine before using it. Mine averaged three weeks from sprouting till they had their second true set of leaves, then I transplanted to miracle grow soil. I used a combination of fish emulsion and sea magic to fertilize periodically.

Most of mine were transplanted twice during their stay in my grow room. Judging from the roots when I transplanted them, most should have been transplanted a third time. Mine spent a week outdoors during the hardening off phase, my dad had his outside for several weeks. His temps were considerably higher so he thought it would take longer for the plants to adjust. We both had a noticeable shock phase for several weeks after transplanting to the yard.We both lost several during that time.

My dad had one of the hottest summers on record in South Carolina. He had almost no measurable rain for two months. He had bug issues far worse then mine with some of his plants having all the leaves completely eaten off the plants. In spite of all of this his plants survived and by the end of the summer had rebounded and were blooming profusely. The frost didn't do his in until November.

totally new at this so I wonder how bad an idea it was for me to start seeds 3 days ago..lol 10 of the 12 seeds i started have already sprouted...