Few ornamentals announce dusk quite like Datura metel 'Fastuosa'.
As daylight fades, its tightly furled buds begin to unfurl into enormous upright trumpets, revealing elaborate layers of purple and white. The flowers become particularly fragrant after dark, adding another dimension to an already extraordinary display.
'Fastuosa' takes the architecture of the ordinary trumpet flower much further. Its double or triple corollas can appear almost like one flower nested inside another, with deep purple outer surfaces contrasting against much paler inner petals. Purple pigmentation can extend into the stems and branches, giving the plant a striking presence even between flowers.
Unlike Angel's Trumpets in the genus Brugmansia, whose flowers hang beneath the branches, Datura presents its trumpets upright amongst the foliage.
The 'Fastuosa' name also has a long botanical history. Linnaeus published Datura fastuosa in 1759, while modern taxonomy now places that name within the accepted species Datura metel. Breeding research has likewise documented the fastuosa form as purple flowered with distinctive double or triple corollas.
Plants raised from seed are living genetic individuals. Some variation in flower shade, degree of corolla layering, stem pigmentation, vigour and overall growth should therefore be expected.
In frost prone regions, Devil's Trumpet is generally grown as a fast growing warm season ornamental. In warm, frost free conditions it can enjoy a considerably longer growing and flowering period.
