Scrawny angel plant produces huge blossoms

When Cape Girardeau resident Bob Davis sent away for an angel plant that his wife saw in a seed catalog a few years ago, he never thought the scrawny 4-inch-long root would someday blossom into an 8-foot tree-like plant with 17-inch blooms.

The Ecuador pink "Brugmansia" blooms all summer long but really started blooming like a house afire, according to Davis, with 40 to 50 flowers in late fall.

"The fragrance is heavenly," said Davis, adding that it sometimes wakes him up at 3 a.m.

At first he kept the potted, scrawny root inside but decided to move it out when it grew too big. It loves hot, warm weather, and Davis must supply three gallons of water per day for the plant.

Plans for the winter include cutting it back and wrapping it in straw. Davis said, "It should do fine if I cut it back severely." To be on the safe side he's started cuttings of it in the house.