Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet)- root pruning

We have had a couple Burgmansia's in pots for quite some time. We have potted them up into larger pots as they grew, but needed to stop in order to overwinter them in the house.
I am wondering if they need to be root pruned if they become so large that they become root bound? If so, when would be the optimum time to do so? I was thinking the spring as they come into growth, if it is a necessary practice?

 

You can root prune Brugmansia severely when you bring them indoors for the winter. Make sure to also strip off all the medium & large leaves when you do. We do it as a space-saving feature in the garage, because those big pots take up lots of room for overwintering.
Keep them overwinter, though, in a pot just big enough for the newly pruned root ball. Don't store them with lots of extra soil, to avoid rotting-storage problems.

 

Thank you Tom,
I have brought them indoors now and did not do any pruning. Do you think it would be alright to root prune in the spring before alot of new growth begins?
We cut them back quite severely as they where becoming to large. Gets hard to manage moving them in and out.
The new growth was atleast 3-4ft before it branched and started flowering. Not sure if we started fertilizing too early and forced alot of green growth or light? We have had the two for 10-12 yrs. and they have flowered profusely each year. The only thing with this year is that they both didn't start flowering until end of Sept. Where last year the one had buds on it when we put it out end of May. Could not go out as early this past summer.
Any thoughts.
And thanks again,

 

I think you would be fine root pruning in spring, although there is a chance of course that they may not bloom until the end of the season while they recover.
When pruning the branches, did you know about the "Y"? When the core trunk is growing up, as it reaches somewhere between 3' & 7' high, it will make a balanced fork, or "Y" as we call it. It can't bloom before it gets that "Y", and will only ever bloom above there. If you prune it down to below the "Y", then it will take much longer to bloom next time while it waits to regrow a new "Y" with vegetative-only growth. So careful with your pruning! :)

 

Hello Tom,
Thank you again. I think that we are going to take them out now and root prune and let them settle in over ther winter months.
I am aware of the "Y" as they call it and have never pruned below this point. I do find in the spring that when they start growing, that there are no flowers until the new growth produces a "Y".
Question: When I take these out of their pots to prune. Will I find mass of feeder roots alone or will there be a large tap root structure. Have never taken one and looked at how their root structure is formed. Should I cut back the main root system or the feeder root mass or both?
Thank you for your time.

 

There's probably a tap root hidden in there somewhere, but they usually get thick dense mats of feeder roots. These really root vigorously in pots. I trim mainly on the sides, sometimes a little on the bottom. They're so tough that some growers will just chop the trunk off low and re-root it inside every winter, instead of digging them up.

 

Thanks. That taught me a lot.

gb