Last autumn Sister #4 rooted several Angel's Trumpets and she gave one of them to me. I planted the small plant in my front garden in an area that gets less than full sun. My intentions had been to remove some small trees near the area that would let the sunlight fall on my Angel's Trumpet for another hour. Plants that are labelled as full sun plants need six to eight hours of sunlight a day. Many areas of my front garden do not get enough sun and it does limit their growth and blooms.

My Angel's Trumpet reached a height of about 183 cm (6 ft). However, it appeared that it was not going to bloom, and I was concern that the soil may be lacking the proper nutrients to produce blooms. Since Sister #4 had grown Angel's Trumpets for the last several years and always had plants loaded with blooms, I asked her if she knew why my Angel's Trumpet was not blooming. She did not have an answer and told me to search for information on the internet. That research never happened; however, in the last few days I noticed the bloom structures had suddenly appeared on my Angel's Trumpet. Yesterday I had my first blossom to open. While my Angel's Trumpet is blooming late, it is blooming!

The blossoms on an Angel's Trumpet have a strong fragrance and there are several moths that will gather around them in a frenzy at night. I have seen my sister's bush shaking with the activity of moths feeding on the blossoms. Angel's Trumpets are very toxic, both the leaves and the blossoms. If you have an Angel's Trumpet in your garden, be careful about letting animals and small children around the plant. If you touch the leaves or blossoms with your hands, wash your hands afterwards as soon as possible.

Angel's Trumpets are not winter hardy in my zone. They will freeze to the ground in the winter and if it gets cold enough, will kill the roots as well. To winter over the Angel's Trumpet if you live in a cold region of the country, cut the stalks back to about 30 cm (1 ft) above ground level. Place a generous amount of leaves or straw over the top of the stalks and cover with a protective cover that will prevent the leaves and straw from compacting, as well as getting wet. The idea is to insulate the ground from freezing with the leaves or straw, and it is the trapped air that does the job of insulating the ground from the freezing temperatures. In the spring when the chance of freezing weather has passed, remove the leaves or straw. Hopefully you will see new growth appear as the weather warms and the plant starts to grow again.

Angel's Trumpets can also be grown from rootings; I got my Angel's Trumpet from rootings my sister did last autumn. Take one of the stalks you remove from the Angel's Trumpet and cut it to about 30 cm in length. Place the stalk in a pot with some potting soil, keep in an area that doesn't freeze such as a garage with a window, and keep the soil moist. You will want to put several stalks in the pot as the rooting ratio is about 50%. Hopefully you will see some of the stalks put forth new growth. Angel's Trumpets are a wonderful plant to add to your gardens.