Garden Angel's Trumpet Brugmansia × candida

☠ Toxic to humans

🐾 Toxic to pets

🌸 Blooming

🍪 Not edible

‍🌱 Hard-care

ABOUT

A large rounded shrub or small tree up to 6m tall with oval, downy leaves and trumpet-shaped, white flowers- sometimes cream or pinkish- that are strongly scented at night

Plant Info

Care

Common Problems

About this plant

Names
- Synonyms
  Angel's Trumpet, Angel Star, Trumpet Flower, Wedding Bells, Datura.
- Common names
  Brugmansia aurea × Brugmansia versicolor, Datura candida.
Characteristics
- Life cycle
  Perennials
- Foliage type
  Evergreen
- Color of leaves
  Green
- Flower color
  White
- Height
  5-15 feet (1.5-4.6 meters)
- Spread
  6-12 feet (1.8-3.7 meters)
- Plant type
  Shrub
- Hardiness zones
  9
- Native area
  South America

Benefits

General Benefits
- Ornamental Appeal: The angel's trumpet's large, showy flowers provide a stunning visual display that complements garden aesthetics.
- Landscape Versatility: It can be used in various landscape designs, including as a focal point, in containers, or as part of a hedge or border.
- Fragrance: The flowers of the angel's trumpet emit a pleasant fragrance, especially in the evening, enhancing the sensory experience of a garden or patio.
- Habitat for Wildlife: The plant can attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, contributing to biodiversity.
- Growth Habit: With its rapid growth, the angel's trumpet can quickly fill in garden spaces and create visual impact.
- Shade Provision: The broad leaves and dense growth can provide a natural canopy, offering shaded areas in gardens and outdoor living spaces.
Medical Properties
This plant is not used for medical purposes.
Air-purifying Qualities
This plant is not specifically known for air purifying qualities.
Other Uses
- As a natural pesticide: Brugmansia, commonly known as Angel's Trumpet, has been used in some cultures to create a natural insecticide, taking advantage of its toxicity to ward off pests in gardens and on crops.
- In spiritual and religious ceremonies: Certain cultures use parts of the Angel's Trumpet for their narcotic effects in spiritual rituals aimed at achieving trance states or spiritual visions.
- As a fish stupefier: In some traditional practices, extracts from the Angel's Trumpet have been used to stupefy fish, making them easier to catch.
- As an ornamental dye: The flowers of the Angel's Trumpet, ranging in color from white to yellow to pink, can be used to create dyes for textiles and artisanal crafts.
- Sound amplifier: In some indigenous cultures, the trumpet-shaped flowers have been used as a primitive form of megaphone or hearing aid to amplify sounds.
- As a natural rodenticide: Some communities have reportedly used Angel's Trumpet as a means to control rodent populations due to its toxic properties.
- In perfumery: Though not commonly used due to potential risks, the powerful fragrance of the Angel's Trumpet flowers has been considered for use in creating perfumes.
- For composting: The leaves and stems of the Angel's Trumpet, once properly handled to reduce the risk of toxicity, can be composted to help enrich soil.
- As a grafting stock: Horticulturists sometimes use specimens of Brugmansia × candida as rootstock for grafting other closely related species or varieties to create hybrid plants.
- Tool for horticultural training: Due to its robust growth and large size, Angel's Trumpet is sometimes used in horticulture courses for demonstration purposes, such as for pruning or training techniques.

Interesting Facts

Feng Shui
The Angel's Trumpet is not used in Feng Shui practice.
Zodiac Sign Compitability
The Angel's Trumpet is not used in astrology practice.
Plant Symbolism
- Beauty: Brugmansia × candida, commonly known as Angel's Trumpet, exhibits beautiful, hanging trumpet-shaped flowers, often symbolizing natural beauty and splendor.
- Inviting: The large, fragrant blossoms can signify an inviting or welcoming gesture, perhaps because of their visually striking appearance that seems to beckon observers.
- Mystery: The plant’s hallucinogenic properties are sometimes associated with mystery and the unknown, representing elements in life that are mysterious or not fully understood.
- Danger: Despite its beauty, Angel's Trumpet is highly toxic, and its symbolism can therefore include danger, warning, and the importance of respecting what is beautiful yet potentially harmful.
- Deception: The alluring appearance of the Angel's Trumpet belies its toxic nature, symbolizing the idea that not everything that looks appealing is good for us.
- Transformation: The transition from bud to full bloom can represent transformation and change, perhaps signifying personal growth or development.
- Spirituality: This plant is often associated with spiritual experiences due to its psychoactive effects, symbolizing spiritual awakening or enlightenment in some cultures.

💧

Every 2-3 days

Water

☀️

2500 - 10000 Lux

Light

💦️

Humidity

🪴

Every year

Repotting

🌱️

Spring-Early Summer

Propogation

✂️️

As needed

Pruning

Water
Angel's Trumpet should be watered thoroughly when the top layer of soil feels dry, which may mean watering once every few days during the growing season. In hot, dry climates, this could require up to a gallon of water for outdoor plants every other day, while indoor potted specimens might need slightly less. Over the winter months, reduce watering but don't allow the soil to completely dry out. Depending on the size of the plant and its environment, adjust watering frequencies accordingly, ensuring consistent moisture but avoiding waterlogged conditions.
Light
Angel's Trumpet thrives in full sunlight to partial shade. The best spot for these plants is in an area that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily, while some afternoon shade can be beneficial in hotter climates to prevent scorching. Avoid placing them in deep shade, as this can reduce flowering and cause leggy growth.
Temperature
Angel's Trumpet prefers a warm climate and does best in temperatures between 60°F to 85°F. It can survive minimum temperatures down to around 35°F but growth and flowering will be reduced. Protection from frost is essential, so in regions with cold winters, it's best to grow Brugmansia in pots that can be moved indoors or to provide appropriate winter protection.
Pruning
Prune Angel's Trumpet in late winter or early spring before new growth begins. This promotes a more bushy growth habit, increased flower production, and removes any damaged or diseased branches. Pruning can be done annually, cutting back up to one-third of the plant to maintain its shape and size.
Cleaning
As needed
Soil
Angel's Trumpet thrives in a well-draining soil mix with loam and sand or perlite, with a pH of 5.5 to 7. A blend of equal parts peat, pine bark, and coarse sand is ideal to ensure proper drainage and aeration.
Repotting
Angel's Trumpet should be repotted every two to three years or when it becomes root-bound to encourage healthy growth and bloom production.
Humidity & Misting
Angel's Trumpet prefers high humidity levels, around 50-60%, to thrive and produce its stunning, fragrant flowers.
Suitable locations
- Indoor
  Place Angel's Trumpet in bright, indirect light and maintain high humidity indoors.
- Outdoor
  Full sun to partial shade and protect from strong winds for outdoor Angel's Trumpet.
- Hardiness zone
  9-11 USDA
Life cycle
Brugmansia × candida, commonly known as Angel's Trumpet, begins its life cycle when seeds germinate in warm, moist soil, typically in spring or summer. After germination, seedlings establish a root system and produce their first set of true leaves, entering the vegetative stage where they focus on growth and photosynthesis. As the plants mature, they develop woody stems and large leaves, and upon reaching maturity, they generate distinctive trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom primarily in the evening, attracting pollinators such as moths. Following pollination, the flowers give way to seed pods that mature, eventually splitting open to release seeds that can be dispersed by wind or animals. Apart from seed propagation, Angel's Trumpet can also be propagated through cuttings, which will root and grow into a genetic clone of the parent plant. After several years, as the plant ages, growth slows and it will eventually die, completing its life cycle.
Propogation
- Propogation time
  Spring-Early Summer
- Propogation: Angel's Trumpet, commonly known as Brugmansia × candida, can be propagated through several methods, but one of the most popular is via stem cuttings. To successfully propagate by this method, a healthy stem tip cutting about 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) long is taken from the plant during its active growing season, which is typically spring or summer. The cut end of the stem is then dipped in a rooting hormone to encourage root development and is placed in a pot filled with moist, well-draining potting mix. The cutting should be kept in bright, indirect light and maintained at a consistent humidity level to promote rooting, which usually occurs within a few weeks. Once the cutting has established a strong root system, it can be transplanted into a larger pot or outdoors if the climate is suitable.