Angel Trumpets

Mottled leaf / White Flowered Variety

Angel trumpet (Brugmansia) is tropical plant native from Venezuela to Peru (USDA hardiness zones 7-b to 10). Plants have shown to be surprising hardy outdoors in zone 6-b in protected sites. 

This beautiful shrub, often trained as a tree, may reach heights of 6-10 feet before cold weather arrives in the fall. It is a member of the Solanaceae family which includes tomato, potato, petunia, nicotiana and other great garden plants. 

Angel trumpets are highly prized for their enormous fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers, some 10 inches or more in length. The exotic flowers emit a strong lemony scent over the evening hours. Blooms are pollinated by moths. Flower colors range from white, orange, yellow, and pink. Some varieties exhibit variegated foliage.

If you live in a northerly area, purchase angel trumpet in early spring and grow the new plant indoors to get it well-established. Move it outdoors after the threat of frost has passed. Plant angel trumpet in a large 12-16 inch (or wider) container in well-drained potting soil (media). If you live in a mild temperate climate, plant directly into a garden bed in a well-drained soil and keep well mulched. You may want to place the heavy container on a dolly to move it around to different locations of the garden.

This fast growing plant demands lots of water, but it fails when over-watered. Keep soil moist and let soil dry out between waterings. Fertilize monthly with a water-soluble fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro®, Peters®, and Schultz®. In the summer, when plant growth is more rapid and most blooms form, feed every two weeks according to package directions. Cut back on fertilizing in fall and do not feed over winter.

In northerly areas, bring angel trumpet(s) inside as outdoor temperatures drop below 40°F. If you garden where winters are mild, protect by setting poles around it and wrap with milky white plastic. You may opt to cut back entire plant to the ground and mulch heavily to protect the crown during winter.

Occasionally snip off old spent flowers, and spur new growth. A container plant can be cut to the ground for winter. Beware: sap from this plant is highly poisonous when ingested by humans, pets, or livestock.

For a large selection of angel trumpet hybrids, shop on-line at Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, NC.

Pink variety

Small Leaved Anise

'Florida Sunshine' anise at Milliken Arboretum in Spartanburg, SC

In recent years there has been lots of interest in the anise (Illicium) shrub group. Anise shrubs (Illicium spp.) are fast growing, evergreen shrubs (USDA zones 7 to 10). They exhibit a multi-stemmed, upright, compact form. Their green foliage  is quite attractive and aromatic, the odor similar to anise spice when crushed. Their shiny, leathery leaves are olive green in color and the 1.5 inch wide flowers are dark red and appear in early spring.

Yellow anise (Illicium parvifolium), aka small anise, is a Southeast U.S. native. Popularity has soared with the introduction of gold leaf cultivars like 'Florida Sunshine' and Banana Appeal®. The cultivar 'Florida Sunshine' grows only 7-8 feet tall. Both cultivars are more tolerant of full day sun and dry soils. Their gold color becomes sharper over the winter months

In the wild, species shrubs eventually grow 10 to 15 feet tall and should be spaced at least 5-6 feet apart in the landscape. Their natural habitat is in the wet, swampy areas or along wooded streams in humus-rich  acidic soil from Florida to Louisiana. However, newer varieties have demonstrated winter hardiness further north into (zone 6) parts of Tennessee, Carolinas, and Virginia.

Illicium grows in partial to full shade, but reportedly will acclimate to full sun if irrigated. The anise shrub world is changing. Watch for new cultivars arriving at local garden centers.

Mulching- Not Always a Good Practice

A generation of gardeners have extolled the benefits of mulching around trees and flower beds. Sometimes, mulching is not a good practice.

Often, a heavy clay soil retains too much moisture over the winter months. Some dryland perennials, such as cheddar pinks (dianthus), euphorbia, and delospermum, prefer dry to moderately wet winter soils. Amending with coarse sand improves soil drainage, but adding mulch may be counter-productive.

Quality mulch contains very little cellulose (wood) fiber. A wood based mulch attracts structural wood -feeding insects such as termites, carpenter ants, and wood beetles. Wood-based mulches should not be spread around home foundations.

Fresh wood-based mulch grabs up available soil nitrogen. Nitrogen -starved plants appear yellowed (chlorotic). You may need to apply 2-4 times the amount of fertilizer to counteract the wood mulch.

Piling up mulch around the base of trees, called "mulch volcanoes", will damage tree trunks. Surface roots are deprived of oxygen. Often, weak adventitious roots grow in the mulch. When the mulch dries out, the weak roots die and scar the trunk.

Young fruit trees should not be mulched in the fall and winter where field mice (voles) are suspected. The voles create a home in the mulch and feed on live roots and soft tree bark.