Grow datura vines for a fragrant, night-blooming addition to your yard or garden. The pure white blossoms give off their haunting fragrance after dark, so plant them near outdoor living areas that are frequented at night. The trumpet-shaped flowers bloom in late summer and continue blooming until killed by frost.
Chill datura seeds for six weeks by putting them in a jar in the refrigerator. Datura seeds need a period of cold weather to germinate.
Scarify the seeds. Use an emery board or piece of fine-grade sand paper and rub the seed against it to rub off some of the hard outer coating. The scar admits moisture into the seed, which causes it to germinate faster.
Plant seeds in 2-inch pots. Use peat moss, vermiculite or other commercial seed starting mixture. Bury the seeds about 1/8 inch deep in the seed-starting medium.
Set individual pots into a large, shallow container. Fill the container with water so it comes about halfway up the sides of the 2-inch pots. Leave them in the water until the surface of the seed-starting medium looks moist but not wet.
Remove the 2-inch pots from the larger container and allow excess water to drain from the pots. Do not allow the pots to sit in standing water.
Put the 2-inch pots in a warm spot. Datura need warm soil temperatures to germinate. Set them on top of a refrigerator or on a heating pad set at the lowest temperature or on a seed-starting mat. Keep the seeds at temperatures from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit until they germinate.
Put pots of seedlings under fluorescent lights as soon as they germinate. Keep the lights about 3 inches above the seedlings. Raise the lights as the plants grow taller, maintaining them about 3 inches above the plants.
Plant datura seedlings outdoors in the garden after all danger of frost has past in your location.