Brugmansia plants love the summer but when it comes to UK winters they need a good deal of protection from the frost, snow, cold wind and freezing fog! Brugmansia rarely like it below 2 to 4 C for prolonged periods of time, so they are a little like lemon/orange trees when it comes to winter protection.
In the UK always keep Brugmansia plants in a pot so they can be transported to a protected location in winter, somewhere like a greenhouse, summer house or conservatory is perfect. Brugmansia seem to do best if these areas are heated with a tube heater to take the 'nip' out of the air.
If protected in a greenhouse with a tube heater over a mild winter Brugmansia will hold onto their leaves. This may vary depending on the variety of Angel Trumpet plant you have as some are cold varieties and some are warm varieties (See the Brugmansia page for more information on temperatures tolerances of different varieties).
This winter 2017/2018 we have seen a mild December and January and many of our Brugmansia species have held onto their leaves. However, in late February the 'beast from the east' plunged Devon to temperatures of -10 C with accompanying blizzards, snow drifts and ice. This has been a very testing winter for the stock and most have now lost their leaves even though inside a heated poly tunnel. This is fine and totally normal in colder climates.
Another mini snow system hit us last weekend but fortunately temperatures were not so low. Before this weather arrived I huddled the Brugmansia stock together and fleeced it over inside the heated poly tunnel and they seemed to be happy. I checked them yesterday and this method has worked well.
Plant Status:
Brugmansia Sanguinea plants are already reviving which is unsurprising given they are the cold variety originating from the high Andes area of South America.
Brugmansia Sauveolen plants are taking more time to recover as these are a warm variety from Brazil.
Spring is on the horizon!