My Brugmansia Is In Trouble And I Don’t Know Why, I’m Hoping You Can Help Me.

Question

I have a brugmansia that is about 7 years old or so. I have repotted it several times as it has grown larger. Since I live in a cold climate, I bring the plant in during winter and have put it in my basement, make it go dormant and then “wake” it up in spring and put it back outside. The plant has become so large, this past year I could no longer carry it to the basement so I simply cut it back and brought it into my house. I watered it much more sparingly than when it was outside. All winter the plant looked fine but more recently, it started to drop many of its leaves (which were completely green) which made me think I wasn’t watering it enough. So I started watering a bit more. I have never saturated the plant in the house as it sits on my hardwood floor so I can’t afford water to leak out the bottom of the pot. The stalks of the plant are still green but new growth that was at the ends of some of the stalks have simply curled up and gone limp, again as though it isn’t getting enough water. My instinct tells me water is not the problem; I have not fertilized it since last fall but I’m afraid to do that now because I don’t know what is wrong. Do you have any idea what might be the cause? I thought maybe it is the deadly fungus wilt but my leaves and symptoms don’t align with what I’ve read about on line. I’ve never had any problem before; I feel that the plant is dying which makes me very sad. When it blooms it is loaded with beautiful blooms and it smells so lovely. I’ve attached pictures showing the problem. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

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Answer 1

I would first try watering it thoroughly until the water drained out the bottom. Is it back outside where this is easily accomplished? Do this everytime you water and see if new growth begins. When it does, you can fertilize again.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/brugmansia/growing-brugmansias-in-containers.htm