How to Plant and Grow Angel's Trumpet

A showstopping shrub that transforms any space into a tropical getaway, angel's trumpet boasts huge, pendulous blooms that perfume the air after sunset. With its unique trumpet-shaped flowers and quick-growing nature, this aromatic beauty offers a multitude of reasons to give it a try in your garden.

Angel's trumpet hues are as varied as the plants themselves—saturated oranges, soft yellows, bright pinks, and crisp whites round out the spectrum of colors. If the stunning visual appeal of angel's trumpet isn't enough to make you fall head over heels, try planting it indoors near your favorite nighttime hangout spot. You'll fall in love with the intoxicating fragrance that wafts from these beauties after sunset. Try it as a fragrant houseplant, too!

All parts of the angel's trumpet plant are toxic. Take care when planting or touching it, and avoid areas where children or pets frequent. Also, check local restrictions before planting angel's trumpet, as several communities have banned it.

Where to Plant Angel's Trumpet

Angel's Trumpet grows as an annual in Hardiness Zones 7 and 8 and as a perennial shrub in Zones 9—11. It enjoys warm days and cool nights and is ideal for sloping terrain.

Angel's Trumpet Care Tips

Light

Angel's trumpet needs six to eight hours of full sun to support profuse blooming. As long as the plant receives a fair amount of sun, it will produce blooms all summer long and grow several feet in just one season.

Soil and Water

When planting your angel's trumpet, choose an area with moist, well-drained soil. In the garden, angel's trumpet plants need regular (not daily) watering. The plant's leaves wilt when the soil is dry—a sure sign you need to start watering.

Temperature and Humidity

The plant thrives during summer's warm days and cooler nights. It prefers a comfortable 60°F to 75°F location for the best blossom production. If the temperature falls much below this range, the plant won't form buds. This South American native welcomes a humid environment.

Fertilizer

Angel's trumpet plants are heavy feeders that benefit from both liquid fertilizer, which dissipates quickly, and a slow-release granular fertilizer. Use a balanced (15-15-15) granular fertilizer for strong roots and a liquid bloom-specific fertilizer with a high phosphorus ratio of 7-9-5 for bloom production.

Pruning

If you prefer to maintain a treelike look, remove the suckers that pop up at the plant's base. If left to their own devices, angel's trumpet plants send up suckers at the base and create a thicket with major blooming potential.

Potting

Several angel's trumpet varieties are amenable to container culture. These plants tend to be much shorter and offer more of a low-maintenance, shrub-type habit—making them a great choice for cold-winter regions. Enjoy angel's trumpet year-round by keeping the potted plant outdoors throughout the summer and bringing the plant inside when the mercury plummets.

Flowers and Foliage

Angel's trumpet blooms hang in wonderful masses and sometimes explode all at once for a spectacular show. Flowers in sheaths of green quickly grow into long tubes that later burst open at the end, like a swirling skirt.

Angel's trumpet leaves are medium green in color, fairly large, and differ slightly with each variety. Some plants have smooth-edge leaves, while others showcase more serrated leaves. A few angel's trumpet varieties have variegated foliage. For example, 'Snowbank' angel's trumpet has leaves featuring deep-green centers with mid-green edges and a bright-cream outer border.

Pests and Problems

Angel's trumpet plants attract spider mites, aphids, whiteflies, weevils, thrips, and scale, all of which can be controlled by with insecticidal soap and neem oil.

Tomato hornworms also enjoy the plant. Pluck these plump caterpillars off by hand and drop them into soapy water to prevent the damage they'll do if given the chance.

How to Propagate Angel's Trumpet

If you'd like to share angel's trumpet with family and friends, cut a tip from the plant and remove all but a few small leaves at the top. Stick the cutting into moist soil and keep it in a humid environment; the plant should root in just a few weeks.

Types of Angel's Trumpet

Common Angel's Trumpet

Brugmansia arborea is an open treelike plant with 6-inch-long trumpet-shaped white flowers with a delicate scent. It grows 6-12 feet tall.

'Charles Grimaldi' Angel's Trumpet

Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi', a very large and vigorous cultivar, has 12-inch-long orange-yellow flowers that are fragrant at night. It flowers in summer and fall. 'Charles Grimaldi' grows 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

'Double White' Angel's Trumpet

Brugmansia 'Double White' is a hybrid with pure-white double blooms. The plant is intermediate in height between common angel's trumpet and yellow angel's trumpet.

'Grand Marnier' Angel's Trumpet

Brugmansia 'Grand Marnier' produces peachy pink flowers with the strongest fragrance at night. Blooms may be nearly a foot long.

'Mango Crush' Angel's Trumpet

Brugmansia 'Mango Crush' produces large, mango-peach pink flowers. Outdoors in the tropics, it can grow 15 feet or more. In containers, it usually grows about 6 feet tall.

Yellow Angel's Trumpet

Brugmansia aurea bears either yellow or white blooms up to 10 inches long. They are fragrant only at night. The plant blooms from summer into fall and can reach 20 feet tall.

Angel's Trumpet Companion Plants

Celosia

Few flowers are as showy as celosia. Whether you plant the plumed type, which produces striking upright spires, or the crested type, which has a fascinating twisted form, you'll love using celosia in bouquets. The flowers are beautiful fresh, but you can also dry them easily, and they bloom in all the colors of a glowing sunset. Plant established seedlings in spring after all danger of frost has passed. Celosia likes rich, well-drained soil with moderate water. Spider mites can sometimes be a problem in hot, dry weather. Shown here: 'New Look' celosia.

Daylilies

Daylilies are so easy to grow that you'll often find them growing in ditches and fields, escapees from gardens. Yet they look so delicate, producing glorious trumpet-shaped blooms in myriad colors. In fact, there are some 50,000 named hybrid cultivars in a range of flower sizes (the minis are hugely popular), forms, and plant heights. Some are fragrant. The flowers are borne on leafless stems. Although each bloom lasts only a single day, superior cultivars carry numerous buds on each scape, so bloom time is extended, especially if you deadhead daily. The strappy foliage may be evergreen or deciduous. Shown here: 'Little Grapette' daylily.

Zinnias

Want fast color for just pennies? Plant zinnias! A packet of seeds will fill an area in just weeks with gorgeous flowers in an amazing array of shapes and colors—even green! There are dwarf types of zinnias, tall types, quill-leaf cactus types, spider types, multicolor, special seed blends for cutting, special blends for attracting butterflies, and more. Zinnias are so highly attractive to butterflies that you can count on having these fluttering guests dining in your garden every afternoon, but to attract the most, plant lots of tall red or hot pink zinnias in a large patch. 'Big Red' is especially nice for this, and the flowers are outstanding and excellent for cutting. Zinnias grow quickly from seed sown right in the ground and do best in full sun with dry to well-drained soil.