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[martysteele]

Curious about a few things from anyone with experience with this plant.  I just got a couple and transplanted them into pots.  I'm using 2/3 potting soil and 1/3 perlite.

when i transplanted the plant from it's shipping container to the pot, should I have crushed the soil and spread out the roots?  it was rather solid so I basically put it into the pot and surrounded it with soil.  is my soil mixture adequate?

any particular fertilizer (worm casings, anything natural) that will help it flourish?

thanks!

Marty

[Mandrake]

Hey Marty,

As far as I know, Daturas are not particularly demanding when it comes to soil and resources. They will easily gobble nutrients if you provide them (and grow quite faster - they are known to be invasive when planted outdoors) but they will keep going fine in drier, poorer soils. Regular, well drained compost should suffice, and you can add a fertilizer rich in nitrates if you want. 1/3 perlite sounds fine to me for the soil mix.

As for the roots, spreading them out a little does help the plant to establish earlier, but unless the plant was pot-bound or very water-logged it's not necessary. Maybe you can water around the new pot, and not in the middle, the next few times you do it in order to encourage roots to spread. 

[martysteele]

As for the roots, spreading them out a little does help the plant to establish earlier, but unless the plant was pot-bound or very water-logged it's not necessary. Maybe you can water around the new pot, and not in the middle, the next few times you do it in order to encourage roots to spread.

That's actually a good idea.  i do that with my cacti for that exact same reason.

marty

[Carnival]

In my experience, Datura are a really fickle bunch, and if they don't want to grow for you, no power on Earth or Heaven will change their minds, but if they do feel like growing, watch out.

I grow mostly d. stramonium plants and don't have a tremendous amount of experience with inoxia, but I have had batches that refused to grow, no matter how much I pampered them, and others that would continue growing in a trash can after I tossed them.

I wouldn't worry too much about spreading out the roots. If they're growing well in potting mix, they should be good to go.

1 Like Scarlet Dragon likes this.

[EVENEVE]

Hi i found this article interesting as im propagating alot of the Datura varieties atm.... they looooove coco peat and hydroponic nutrients.... water flow.... dynamic lifter and excellent drainage..... and they like alota room for their roots,,, they transplant well and love to be cross pollinated.... i had a weird moment with my first few flowers.... they were almost responsive physically to me pollinating to ensure maximum seed production..... i love their smell.... so the regular fish emulsion and seasol drinks i give em are a little disturbing.... they love thrive.... and are eating up everything i offer.... the wind is a bad thing and also clutter and stuff invading their space....causes damage and destruction.... the seeds drop n sprout almost instantly...... i love the variation between growth and form...and species and im currently on the hunt for sanguinas.... the reds.... i have had no luck finding a true red...or crimson and hope to cross breed up something purple red or dark soon as i find some good coloured dark stock.....if you have any seeds or plants id love to trade or buy...and id love to share any info you have on growing...propagating, cultivars, experiences, pics, and cultural information or artefacts or lore or links to sites on this subject or any other id love to share with you... so i can collaborate the info and share on a we page... and id love to gather as many plants and varieties as possible to keep diversity and variants available and accessible....xxxx Catara

1 Like MorningDew likes this.

[Scarlet Dragon]

EVENEVE- I also feel a love for datura. I am only growing one variety of stramonium now and appreciate their smell and zest/enthusiasm. They're all growing so well! I broke the trunk of a young one by accident while transplanting and put masking tape around the broken part thinking, well this is the best I can do, not expecting much. That plant is still thriving, growing bigger each day.! Lol. Another one just popped up in a pot of an Acacia seedling and I couldn't pull it. It's now much bigger than that Acacia! I figure it will live one season, die off and the Acacia can have the pot back! I don't know if that will work... But I'm having fun with them.

2 Likes MorningDew and EVENEVE like this.

[EVENEVE]

Hi Scarlett.... i have some really beautiful ones if your interested in seeds i have sooooo many let me know your postal address and ill send some to you .....im on EVENEVE999666@gmail.com i am in NSW Australia.....heres some pics of my favourite.....

[Scarlet Dragon]

Thanks for the photos! Super rich. Great shots. They are beautiful plants. I would love to hear your sense of their spirit/character. I get this sense that each species of plant (in general) has its own character, not only like and dislikes in terms of soil, watering schedule, nutrients, amount of sun, temperature, humidity, etc. BUT more than that, a personality with attitude, maybe even a particular outlook on life that it will try to convey to humans who cultivate them. Some species have a much more developed, complex, attitude than others perhaps (just like humans :some are philosophers and some are cooks and some are both). With datura I had a strange sense that they were calling me, speaking to me in a language difficult to understand, way before I started growing them. I resisted that calling in fact for a long time, feeling very cautious about their influence. Of course there is ALOT of lore behind these plants, some saying even that they are "evil" in some way. I am interested in your take on this particularly because you seem to feel some deeper level of appreciation to them (which I am learning, may be much more common amongst their growers then even these forums let on). Maybe others who feel this way can post on this thread too.