VikingPrincess Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 I got some seeds from Tipcat (i think it was her!) and she said they were moonflowers; I was reading up on them and it says that they bloom at night and then they die by morning. Mine are open all day and night and not dying off, which is great~ but I am curious, if they are not moonflowers, what are they? The flowers are about 5-6 inches wide. They smell heavenly and are so beautiful!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSTeach Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 That's what our moonflower looked like. We really enjoyed it. Is there a prickly looking seed pod on it? We are ging to try to plant the seeds next spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Yes, that is a moonflower aka as Datura. I found a plant labeled "balsam" among the garden club's plants that I am supposed to be heeling in for the winter. I got a picture of the flower before I stuck it in the ground. I'm hoping it will reseed as I'm betting it is an annual. I'm wondering if it is the same as your balsam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikingPrincess Posted September 8, 2008 Author Share Posted September 8, 2008 Thanks. No pods yet, I don't think. I read that the flowers only open at night and that they only last that one night... mine are open all day and night, and have lasted several days so far. Maybe a certain species of moonflower? Also I image googled the seeds and they don't look like the ones shown in google? The balsam is different, I posted a pic on the other thread. I asked him to send me more seed, hopefully he will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 The white one seems to open in the daytime but the little purple one I have is only open in the evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 That is Devil's Trumpet (looks up from Hell!:-) Datura. alias Jimsom Weed, Loco Weed, is extremely hallucinagenic to animals and children and reseeds itself. Yes it is beautiful. Moonflower Vine is an annual that looks pretty much the same except it grows on a vine. Beautiful also and extremely fragrant. This must be seeded in the spring. Brugmansia, alias Angel's Trumpet (looks down from Heaven) is more of a shrubby tree and the flower looks the same, comes in a variety of colors, is wonderfully fragrant and is a tender Perennial which must come in for the winter. Mine smells like Baby Powder, emerges yellow and almost immediately turns pink. Mine got so big that I gave it to a friend who has a huge window in his business and it bloomed all winter and summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Being picky about common names is futile as plants are what people call them. That is why they are known as "common names". Moonflower vine also known as just moonflower is Ipomoea alba. It looks like a morning glory which it more or less is. The Datura, of which there are a number of species, are also known as moonflower. Jimson weed is Datura stramonium. It is also known as moonflower, thorn-apple, mad apple, devil's trumpet, devil's apple, stinkwort, Jamestown weed and datura. The purple one is Datura metel or D. fatuosa. It is commonly known as purple thorn apple, horn-of-plenty, downy thorn apple, Hindu thorn apple, hoary thorn apple and some of the names that are applied to Jimson weed such as Datura and devil's trumpet. I think the one we grow might be Datura innoxia. It is known as all of the above as well as sacred Datura. Did I mention Hells Bells. I really like that one! Here is a reference from the Center of Disease Control of the US government that refers to Datura as moonflower http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5233a2. htm If the feds can call it moonflower I assume we can too. It is also an interesting article on the effects of munching on it. Datura and Brugmansia were the same genus until the taxonomists decided to separate them a few years ago. Who knows, they may combine them again a few years in the future. Call it what you want, just don't have it for lunch. Sorry, I can't get the link to activate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikingPrincess Posted September 8, 2008 Author Share Posted September 8, 2008 I looked at your link, and it does look like datura inoxia. Thank you so much Petee and Lavender! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tipcat Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 vp, I am glad to see that your moonflower has grown for you. Mine blooms most of the day too but it is also in the shade. If anyone needs any seeds, pm your info. I should have plenty again this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tipcat Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 That's what our moonflower looked like. We really enjoyed it. Is there a prickly looking seed pod on it? We are ging to try to plant the seeds next spring. They will reseed theirselves if you don't get to the pods. I take some pods off and leave a bunch. If you don't pull the plant up, it will also come up again next year. I have had one plant for quite a few years. A neighbor gave me seeds that I started it from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSTeach Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 They will reseed theirselves if you don't get to the pods. I take some pods off and leave a bunch. If you don't pull the plant up, it will also come up again next year. I have had one plant for quite a few years. A neighbor gave me seeds that I started it from. Will it still do that in a large pot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tipcat Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Will it still do that in a large pot? I am not sure. If you let some of the seeds fall in the pot, I don't know why it shouldn't. I never planted mine in a pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 I think the seeds might get too cold/dry/wet in a pot above ground but save a few in a waxed paper envelope in a jar in the back of your refrigerator and you'll have them to sow next year in case they don't come back in the pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderer Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Will the deer eat them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tipcat Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 the deer don't touch mine at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 If the deer eat them you are going to have some wild and crazy deer. The plant is a hallucinogen It has been my experience that these things reseed themselves everywhere in the mulch, in their own pot and in everyone else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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