Friday, July 3, 2015

Darling Datura

This is going to be a fixture in my garden for a very long time going forward.


The datura has set blossoms. I've had daturas in the yard before. They were solid white and grew to about 2 feet tall. This one is compact, only about 18 inches tall. It fits perfectly in the pot at the southwest corner of the deck and it seems to like it there.

I noticed last week that it set flowers. The trumpet-shaped blooms are big and quite distinctive. Datura is a night-blooming plant so I would have to remember, if I was going to get any photos, to go out onto the deck before going to bed.

I missed the first blossom but not the second.


I took a flashlight to see the plant but then just pointed the camera in its general direction and hit the shutter. The alyssum is doing quite well, too, spilling over the side of the pot in a cascade of white. The primrose at the lower left is bigger than it was when I got it, but I am not sure it gets enough sunlight with the competition from the other two plants.


The flash washes out the colors and design of the flower. Here it is this morning.


It is so pretty and so distinctive. I love the deep purple and the multi-petaled trumpet. I want to emphasize again that datura is poisonous. This pot will not be used to grow any food crop unless and until I completely remove the soil and wash out the pot. That's not likely so this flower is in a good spot.

As I sit here, typing away, there will be an occasional scent come in on the breeze. Daturas are great for providing nectar to nocturnal or early morning moths, butterflies and, in the southwest US, hummingbirds. Mostly, they serve as a curiosity in the garden, a night-blooming plant with an intoxicating scent.

We had the white version set seed pods, some of which fell into the pot's soil and came up the next year. I think, for three year's running, we had a white datura sprout in the same spot. I'm interested to see if this plant will set seeds and if some of those will overwinter. If it doesn't, you can be sure I'll get another plant from Select Seeds. This is quite the flower.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

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