Angel Trumpet is lovely — and deadly

On a recent trip, we visited a botanical garden and came home with two questions. First, I saw a beautiful shrub (or maybe a tree) labeled, Brugmansia candida, "Angel Trumpet." Can we grow it north Florida, because I’d really like to have one. Second question is what makes one garden a “botanical” garden, and another garden just a pleasant park with plants?

Too bad you couldn’t visit the garden at night when the Angel Trumpet blossom’s sweet scent is strongest. But, day or night, the Angel Trumpet plant is striking when it’s in bloom. The trumpet-shaped flowers hang downward from summer through fall and come in a variety of colors. They can be up to 12 inches long and make a dramatic display in the landscape.

A close cousin of the Angel Trumpet is the Datura with the trumpets facing up, sometimes called devil's trumpet, devil's apple, mad apple and even stinkwort. While the Brugmansia can be trained as a small tree or large shrub, the Datura is more wide-spread, less “woody” and does not grow as tall.

On second thought, perhaps it was good that you didn’t have a chance to smell the flowers because inhaling the flowers can be toxic. Both varieties are members of the Solanaceae family, also known as nightshade. All parts of the plants are toxic and ingesting them causes hallucinations, dry mouth, muscle weakness, increased blood pressure and pulse, fever, dilated pupils and paralysis … none of which is pleasant. Keep children and pets from playing with the interesting flowers or intriguing seed pods. If you decide to put one in your garden, wear protective clothing and gloves when planting and pruning, avoid getting plant juices on the skin, and always rake and discard the pruned plant material to avoid accidental poisoning.

Both plants are usually available at nurseries, but if you have a friend with one, you can easily propagate them from cuttings in summer, or from seeds. They are rapid growers and will want plenty of water and fertilizer to keep them blooming. Container gardeners take note: Angel Trumpets make good container plants as long as you can provide lots of water.

An article produced by the LaBelle Garden Club has extensive details and photos. (http://labellegardenclub.org/docs/AngelTrumpet.pdf)

As for your second question, what makes one garden a botanic garden and another garden just for pleasure, the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) defines a botanic garden as “…institutions holding documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education.” The list of activities botanic gardens engage in is quite lengthy and wide ranging. It is clear after reading the BGCI website that the distinguishing feature of a botanic garden is the emphasis on science, plant conservation and education for the public. For more information, see their website at https://www.bgci.org/resources/1528/.

My tomatoes have had it. They’re coming out of the garden and headed to the compost pile. When can I start new tomatoes for fall, and which varieties are recommended?

Yes, we’re all getting ready to pull out our unproductive vegetables about now. With days consistently in the 90s and nights near 80, few edibles are thriving. And some, like my tomatoes, are so tired they’re down-right sad. Some years July is the time we start clearing them out.

But be careful about what you put in the compost pile. There’s a possibility that your plants are harboring disease, insects or fungi. Most compost piles do not reach the 145 degrees needed to kill off pathogens, which could remain active and attack your garden next season.

Additionally, old tomato plants are often woody and thick and will take a long time to break down. It might be best to leave the plants for the yard waste recycling trucks.

For recommended tomato varieties, check out the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021) because there are simply too many varieties to list here.

Notice I said “unproductive.” For planning your next garden, be aware there are several newer hybrids, such as “Sun Gold,” “Sunmaster” and “Solar Fire,” bred for heat tolerance. Check seed catalogs to find some new-to-you varieties to try.

If you want to start your tomatoes from seed, there are a few things to keep in mind. There are always exceptions, but as a rule of thumb, it takes tomato seeds 4-5 days to germinate, and 4-5 weeks to reach transplant size. The Vegetable Guide says we can plant our fall tomatoes in July and August. All this to say this is the ideal time to start.

Now, if your interest in starting your fall garden is piqued, or even if you’re only slightly curious, mark your calendar for Aug. 18, when Mary Puckett, Community Gardens Program Assistant for the Duval County Extension Office, will offer a seed-starting workshop for cool-season vegetables. You’ll learn how to start plants indoors, which plants to start, and what to do once they’ve started. Contact the Extension Office at (904) 255-7450 for details.

Paula Weatherby is a Master Gardener with the Duval County Extension Service and the University of Florida/IFAS. For gardening questions, call the Duval County Extension Office at (904) 255-7450 from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. and ask for a Master Gardener.