Datura Species, Southwestern Thorn Apple, Devil's Trumpet, Jimson Weed, Moonflower

Easily winters over in Zone 6 and we have overwintered in Zone 5. Seeds very freely. A beautiful night blooming flower. Almost seems t...Read Moreo glow in the dark with the huge white flowers over soft blue-green leaves. Fragrant (in a good way!) in the evening as well.

I got datura seeds in some leaf compost a few years ago so I never had to purchase seeds or seedlings. Right now (May 22nd) seedlings are...Read More about 6" tall HOWEVER...due to a very mild winter and an in increase from zone 5 to zone 6 in central Illinois the datura actually grew from last years tap root! I still have seedlings right now even though I tried my best last year to cut off all the seed pods before the seeds dropped. There is no doubt that some are growing from last years tap root. I dug one up two weeks ago to relocate it and discovered that I snapped a very long tap root. Last year I grew them in more than one location and found the same result. The ones growing from the tap root are already blooming (May 22nd) and the seedlings are only 6 inches. I know this page lists a higher zone for this type of datura...I can't explain...global warming perhaps?

Another single Datura that to me is not that impressive. I had one plant in the cornor of the yard and it was pretty at night when the s...Read Moreolar lights came on. It had a lumionus glow and looked pretty but during the day it was overlooked.

This plant is not to be confused with Brugmansias, which are often traded under the name Datura. The Genus of this plant is Datura. It ...Read Moreis a member of the deadly Nightshade family. I have one growing in my Xeroscape garden. The plants react well to water and will appear to wilt in the summer heat. If you want a drought tolerant plant withhold watering it. It won't die it will just put it's energy into making roots.

I've had success with Datura Wrightii overwintering here in zone 6b. It survived a couple of nights down to 0°F which killed the plant b...Read Moreack down to the ground, but it came back beautifully last summer and put on an incredible show. Definitely at it's best when it's given space and allowed to do it's own thing, the scent at night is fantastic especially when planted en masse. The huge 5-7" trumpets attract tons of bees and moths at dusk and are a sight to see at night glowing under a full moon.

Reseeds like crazy and is definitely as invasive as advertised, but still one of my favorites.

Regarding the LSA comment below: Datura species DO NOT contain LSA, or anything resembling LSD! Emphasis is important because LSA and LS...Read MoreD are physically harmless while the tropane alkaloids in Daturas are quite harmful physically. Misinformation could lead people to ingest Datura which could cause them great harm. FYI I believe it is the morning glory or woodrose families the previous poster was thinking of which do contain LSA.

A note on the tropane like alkaloids found in this and all datura species is that concentration varies greatly between plants and environments. Just because some people may have weak plants or environments does not mean that you will. Don't be afraid, but treat the plant with appropriate respect.

This is a very beautiful plant, my mother planted two 8inch plants together in a huge 10 gallon pot, and within just 3 weeks the plants r...Read Moreoot system merged as one plant and this doubleplant quadroopled in size! it is amazingly beautiful..the stout new glistening pearly white trumpets open here about 8:00pm and stay open and healthy till about 12:30 in the afternoon next day.remaing till following day wilted when i then dead head them..weve had the plant one month and yesterday counted 17 new trumpets about to open!! also people complain they have issues with it being poisonous, i dead head these contantly without any problems and usually no gloves, unless your a kid thats gonna put ur fingers in your mouth than dont be rediculous..most plants are poisonous if their not, then their called herbs..

I've had this in my garden for about 3 years, and I just experienced an allergic reaction to it last year while deadheading it. It was n...Read Moreot unlike what one would experience with a poison oak rash - very itchy, oozing bubbles on the skin. I know, yuck! I had a second reaction while cutting it back to the ground this year. A dead twig scraped my arm, and I didn't get a rash until the scrape had been scabbed up for a few days. My husband asks me why I keep it in the yard. Because I love it! It's worth the effort to wear long sleeves, gloves.....chain mail, when pruning it.

This plant is indigenous to the part of the Sonoran Desert in which I live, specifically, Tucson, AZ. It's seen in empty dirt lots and oc...Read Morecasionally poking through broken concrete throughout the city. It survives soley on the rainfall we get from the monsoons and whatever fall/early spring rainfall that we get as well. As a result, it is extremely easy to grow.

I noticed that kittysue wasn't sure why it's sometimes referred to as "sacred datura". This is NOT because of the blooms. The common name for this plant is Jimson Weed, and historically, it's seeds have been cultivated by Native Americans for their hallucinogenic properties (it contains an alkaloid known as LSA which is very similar to LSD). Unfortunately, it can be very dangerous since there's no easy way to know exactly what the percentage of this substance or more toxic alkaloids are contained in each plant's seeds, thus overdoses occur frequently amongst the uninitiated. Best to admire - not to ingest.

I saw this plant frequently, when I was in Arizona. This plant gets bushy when it is kept hydrated. There is usually a bloom coming on at...Read More all time, while previous blooms drop off to produce seed pods.

For being in the Datura genus, and as poisonous as it is; I think it is strange that one of it's common names is "sacred datura". Obviously because it's large beautiful white blooms.

Devil's Trumpet, Datura wrightii is native to Texas and other States.

I've seen this growing in the wild on the 'El Camino Del Diablo Trail' (Devils' Highway) that runs between Ajo and Wellton in Arizona in ...Read Morethe Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Elevation 1600 ft.

I dont remember planting the seeds among my nasturiums and rose campions.. but i obviously did.. I just found out what the name of this p...Read Morelant is.. and Ive been in LOVE with it, since i have been watching it grow.
It grows well, with minimial care. It has just flowered for me, my walkway smells delightful!!
Ill be letting this flower go to seed, and next season will plant the seeds in a better place more suited to the plants growth.

Yes its a completely poisonous plant, and caution must be used around children and pets..

I started my Daturas easily from seed. The large white flowers open early evening and are perfect for a moonlight garden. The fragrance i...Read Mores very sweet and can fill a garden. I deadhead flowers throughout the blooming season to keep from getting too many seeds, then toward the end of the summer I allow a few blooms to develop into the large spiny seedpods. I have heard that Datura makes a good companion to pumpkins. I will be trying this relationship this summer.

I received one small Datura plant last year, now I have it growing everywhere! They are pretty, but very invasive, so much so, that I kil...Read Morel them regularly, still each morning I have more.
They sprout up between the planks of our deck, in the grass and in the crushed granite patio around our fountain (with black plastic under it!) Not to mention my flowerbeds...
I would never planted the first one, if I knew than, what I know now.It is such a big chore to deadhead them and pick the seed pods, so I just keep chopping them off and placing them in trash bags to dispose of them.
This plant was named to me " Angel Trumpet", but it is really "Devil's Trumpet" and believe me, it really lives up to its name!

A very common and beautiful wild plant in my area.

I truly love this plant, it is an annual here for me, but it reseeds and each year I get a few more, I transplant them to where I'd like ...Read Morethem. This one has a lovely "halo" around the edges in a lavender to blue tone. It really stands out in the morning or late at night when it opens. On an overcast day they will stay open all day long.

These seeds like winter sowing, they start better if having that cold shock hit them, they seem to germinate much faster.

This is a low, sprawling plant that grows pretty much all over western San Diego county, CA, in gravelly areas along roads, etc.
H...Read Moreardy enough for frosty areas. Known generally as Jimson Weed and Devil's Trumpet. Dangerous if ingested - very poisonous.

I have grown this plant for several years. It grows rapidly and large. After bloom, each branch divides in half to produce two more bloom...Read Mores and so on. My neigbor has hers in the center of her yard and it has an 8 foot spread about half-way through the season. Blooms open in late afternoon into evening and will stay open until they are wilted by the sun. Mine are in shade until about noon. Deadhead each day. Limp flowers look and smell bad. Seed pods form quickly without deadheading. Pods get about the size of a golf ball and have sharp spines. I cut my plant back to just a few inches every winter and it grows huge each summer. I have 22 open blooms tonight in early July. They are fragrant until pollinated over-night by a moth. Also known as Jimson Weed. Has medicinal uses but is NOT for internal use. Wash hands after handling the plant. I think it is gorgeous and fairly carefree. I grow spiderwort in the same space. Just as the spiderwort is starting to look too leggy, datura leaves cover the base and allow spiderwort flowers to peek over the tops. As spiderworts die, the blooms on datura start to produce. Tap root is very deep on datura, very hard to get rid of it once it is in.

This heirloom datura has been growing at my farm for many years. Flowers are lovely and fragrant at dusk through dawn and on cloudy days....Read More Foliage is deep green with white veins and pretty. But perennials have grown here so long they have become woody. So every other year or so I replace. Also, if too many seeds fall and soil is fertile, the seedlings may tend to take over.