Greendale,

I grew up in New Eangland so I know how you feel. We used to visit CA and brought back plants for our dad but it was very hard to grow them in Boston. Just too cold in the winter.

Hi Laura!

I will definitely ask Bill. How do you like your Tuberose? I feel like I am cheating on my plumerias! Lol.

Robert it was a double i still have the packet they came in

they are late coming up this year! there only around 3inches high so might not get any flowers depends how good are summer is

No Clue, consider yourself an enabler (haha). I just got the ylang ylang vine and the jasmine also.

I ordered an Artabotrys hexapetalus a couple years ago and it was puny and eventually died. What a way to throw money down the drain, it was from a company people have warned against too. I hope this plant Green Mart sells is indeed A. hexapetalus. Daxin (a GW member) mentioned this one has a nicer scent the dwarf Cananga.

Also, did you mention pineapple? I think you may love the scent of tuberoses then. To me, it smells something like a gardenia with pungent pineapple notes. Glorious scent.

Michelia coco is also another one that has pineapple notes.

Also, I wanted to add, I smelled the Aglaia at Green Mart. It is wafting good in a green house setting and smells lovely, not too strong or harsh. The Aglaia I got from Logee's was small and did not have more than two panicles blooming at once. I suppose it needs to be a larger plant to have the wafting effect. I may get an Aglaia again in the future.

This post was edited by musaboru on Sat, Jun 1, 13 at 15:22

Thats your purchase musaboru? Man.. that bud is almost yellow, you need to do a scent report in a few days! Lol.

How lucky you two are. ! My artabotrys hex is only 3ft tall. Wonder if it will ever bloom.

Nc..tuberose has a coconut note to its scent too ;)

Fragrant2008.. look for the single type. Im not impress with the Pearl.

Yes. That one's the one I got. There were at least 6 other plants when I got there. This one had the most yellow flower which is why I got it lol.

Ok, time for some rambling.~
There is no doubt this is an Artabotrys. I notice there are "hooks" close to where the flower forms on a branch, which is characteristic for this genus, I guess so that plant can grapple onto the bark of trees among other things. I have feeling the plants from Green Mart may be Artabotrys hexapetalus.

I went perusing through some Thai language sites about the names. Artabotrys siamensis is called Karawek in Thai (it comes from a Burmese term for a mythical "bird of paradise"). While the Thai name for A. hexapetalus is "Kradang Nga Jeen" or Chinese Ylang Ylang. This vernacular name implies it is cultivated by the Chinese at least not that it is necessarily native to China; There are indeed indigenous Chinese Artabotrys species, yet the Chinese do cultivate A. hexapetalus anyways.

The nursery owners are Chinese or Taiwanese. So this is perhaps this species imported from Taiwan originally. If not Taiwan, then probably from Hawaii where A. hexapetalus is known to exist in the horticultural trade there.

Base on what I come across, it seems A. siamensis is also rare in cultivation outside of Thailand. There maybe some plants in the US already as we see some listed on eBay. But I think whether those listed on eBay are really A. siamensis requires a botanist familiar with it to say for sure if it's the straight species. There are indeed hybrids between the two that exist.

With that said, if you go to the link below, you can see a comparison of a "Karawek" on the left and a "Kradang Nga Jeen" on the right.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.magnoliathailand.com/webboard/index.php?topic=1801.msg247209#msg247209

Artabotrys is called dragon nails in vietnam, or at least thats the literal translation. Dhan on ebay used to offer rooted mature siamensis plants (not seedlings) which I regret not grabbing one back then. I heard that the hexapetalus type has a fragrance thats somewhat similar to the tree ylang while the siamensis is more lemony (?).

Anyway musaboru this thread inspired me to stop by my local nursery today and guess what I ran into... a magnolia called 'magnolia ashei'. Holy cow the flower is huge and it smells like watermelon and honey! Im so impress but the tree is huge thou.

Ps. So I just had to google some more on artabotrys hexa.. Someone in vietnam said it smells sweeter than the tree ylang and the scent is like ripe jackfruit?? I wish my tree would hurry up and flower already. Lol.

This post was edited by kemistry on Sat, Jun 1, 13 at 22:13

Way to go Musa! I am so glad you got one too! Lol.

Thanks for researching the plant. I thought the owner said he got his plants from Hawaii... and the fact that the lady worker there said hers smelled like melon, so it's quite possible our plants are A. Hexapetalus.

Kemistry I hope your plant will bloom for you soon. I am tempted to find the Ylang Ylang Cananga Ordorata. But it's not easy to find. And if I did find it I don't have room for such a large tree! What to do what to do? :)

No-clue,

did your artabotrys bloom? Can you please post the picture when it opens?

Thank you.

Hi Bunti,

Well the largest flower is getting less green almost like it's turning yellow? But I still can't detect any scent yet.

I'm not sure what to expect.

But in the mean time my Aglaia is blooming and filling the yard w/ sweet heavenly scent! I am looking to get a few more of these.

And as of this morning my Osmanthus Fragrans got a few tiny blooms on two branches! And oh my the sweet fragrance... so soft and so nice. I can't wait for more to bloom! I love them both!!

Hi Bunti,

Well the largest flower is getting less green almost like it's turning yellow? But I still can't detect any scent yet.

I'm not sure what to expect.

But in the mean time my Aglaia is blooming and filling the yard w/ sweet heavenly scent! I am looking to get a few more of these.

And as of this morning my Osmanthus Fragrans got a few tiny blooms on two branches! And oh my the sweet fragrance... so soft and so nice. I can't wait for more to bloom! I love them both!!

So this morning as my daughter and I walked out of the house into the front yard... suddenly we looked at each other and immediately with a panic look on her face she said "MOM! I have finals today you can't make me late! Just investigate that smell when you get back." So I told her to get into the car and I would be right there. I knew I have mostly roses in the front and most just finished blooming. My plumerias are just waking up so no blooms yet. That leaves my Champaca but last I looked she didn't have any buds (only my 3 M. Albas are blooming but in the back yard.). But I looked just to be sure and I saw a handful of buds! So by next week I should be able to compare Champaca to my M. Albas.

Anyway, after I dropped off DD, I went to the side yards and nothing there. Then I went to my backyard and started sniffing. And sure enough one of the Ylang Ylang blossom has turned more yellow. And oh my sweetness! She has this amazing fragrance... just like sweet melon! Definitely NOT perfume. I'm guessing as she turns more yellow the next few days the fragrance will be even more amazing! Holy cow that sales lady was not kidding when she said ONE blossom can fill her yard with sweetness. I counted a total of 4 more buds but small. Now I need to figure out how to make this vine produce more flowers.

Now my Vietnamese Gardenia is also blooming. She's on the sweeter side compare to other Gardenias but to my unsophisticated nose... all Gardenias smell the same? I guess I am used to Plumerias where they each have a very distinctive fragrance. So while it's nice, it's pretty strong like a cheap perfume (no offense to anyone who loves this fragrance.) But compare to other fragrance it's the least of my favorite. I even like the Jasmines way better.

The big surprise for me has been the Osmanthus Fragrans. I sniffed the flowers at a Nursery before and while it was nice, it was just too light and didn't leave a lasting impression. I ended up buying one from Green Mart because it was so cheap $29.99. Then a few days ago a few flowers on two branches bloomed and oh boy I was in love! To me they smell different than the ones I sniffed at a nursery. Much much more potent on my tree. Not sure why... unless there are many varieties.

So as it stands my Top Five all time favorite plants in random order are:

1. Aglaia Odorata
2. M. Albas
3. Ylang Ylang
4. Plumerias
5. Osmanthus Fragrans

I am sure this will change as I branch out more and try other plants. Still have to get some orchids so I can find out what the heck Robert is talking about! :)

Wow, I am so intrigued by the ylang ylang vine now. I'm going to stop by Green Mart to see if they have any left. Where did you get your Champaca by the way? I can't find them anywhere. I'm also unimpressed with the Vietnamese gardenia - you have to really stick your nose in the flower to smell it, then you get pollen all over your nose.

Phoebe

I got mine at Green Thumb but check Green Mart. They have so many M Albas that they might have Champaca as well. Also check out their Osmanthus and Aglaia if you don't already have them.

Now I must hunt for a Ylang Ylang tree. :)

No clue so you dont like the scent of the vnese gardenia? Dont hate me!! Lol.

How tall is your champaca? Can you take a pic of your tree?

Kemistry

You have lost all credibility in my eyes! I blame it all on you. LOL. Nah... fragrance is such a personal thing... so it's all good. I'm going to plant them next to my two Camellias and Madagascar Jasmine vine by the front side yard where they will get some sun some shade. Besides you redeemed yourself when you recommended Aglaia Odorata. I'm afraid she's right up there as being one of my favorite... neck to neck w/ my M Albas.

Here are some photos of my Champaca. She's planted in the front yard in the middle of the circle. Don't laugh my kids already did that. They said it looks like a shrine! How rude. No respect for Mama's design. LOL. Anyway, Champaca is about 6 ft tall and starting to have some buds. I will take pics of the buds tomorrow. :)

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/plumeria/msg0517524620062.html?26

No clue you are at it again lol. I need to get that champaca if you say it's already blooming at six feet just hope it can fit into my car. There goes my paycheck.

Musaboru,

She's around six feet and showing some buds this week! I was HOPING she would since all my 3 M. Albas are blooming. And sure enough I spotted some this morning. The poor thing is definitely tougher than the M. Albas for sure. She's in the center getting sun from 11am to sunset and not protected from the wind either. While she suffers some sun burnt, she still pushing out new growth and now buds. So I'm hoping w/ time she will acclimate to her new home and grow stronger. Let's hope I like her scent or she will lose her spot to the Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata) tree I'm still searching for.

So right now my two Aglaia and Osmanthus are on a holding pattern (I can't plant them until I find the Ylang Ylang). Then I have to find the best spots for all of them. That's all the planting space I have... unless I bring my plumerias count from 80 to way down. We shall see.

But with a face like this and awesome fragrance how do you resist?

{{gwi:795659}}
Jungle Jack's Wizard

{{gwi:795660}}This bloom was as large as my daughter's hand! Moragne #23

{{gwi:795661}}
Kimi Moragne

{{gwi:795662}}
Jungle Jack's J105

Just a few flowers to entice you all. ;) Remember besides being gorgeous they each have their own amazing scent!

What a co indidance,

One evening i was sitting in my patio, I smelled something unusual. I knew it smells like ylang ylang. Because i grew up with this plant. Immediately i went to the plant and noticed one flower blooming and few other small flowers. I was so excited. I had quite few blooms that year. After that the plant died.

No-clue, can you please post the picture.

HI no-clue, where do you live? I have all of the plants your purchased, and have for years except the Ylang Ylang, I had one and killed it, I now have a ylang ylang vine that I have been babying for 4 years, I just transplanted it yesterday. I want the Ylang ylang that you bought, those are nice buds you have on it, they turn yellow, I'm still waiting for my ylang ylang to bloom hopefully this summer. Nice to know someone is as crazy about fragrance as I am, my backyard smells wonderful, the osmanthus is divine, smells like ripe apricots, I love it. and the perfume tree is beautiful but has to have warmth to have a good waft. I called Green Mart I have been there many times forgot their name, anyway they still have the Ylang tree for 56, they texted me pics of the flowers and said they are 5ft , I was gonna go buy one but found out it's the vine not the dwarf or reg Ylang Ylang tree so I decided against it, my vine has new growth on it but I think their new leaves, I just fertilized it so hopefully since it's 5 foot tall it will get flowers soon. :) Marilyn

This post was edited by rainpetals on Sat, Jun 8, 13 at 15:09

Hi Marilyn,

Yeah for fragrant garden! I am a sucker for scent.

The Ylang Ylang you have now is that a tree or a vine? I have the vine. And today, both hubby and my youngest said the flower smells like ripen melon!! I will take a photo later... since I have to head out soon.

I am still looking for Cananga odorata tree though so I can sniff and see if I like it. I can't wait for my Osmanthus to bloom more.

If you go to Green Mart can you see if there are anymore Aglaia Odorata in the larger pots? I know they have the smaller one Gal ones but I want the larger ones for $39.99. They were sold out last time I went. I wouldn't mind picking up two more. :)

What other fragrant plants do you have?

so so so jealous :P soooooo want my Artabotrys hexapetalus to arrive now after reading all the comments :) and your so lucky to have a place where you buy such a large flowering specimen :) some one buy me one a ship it over to the uk just label it picture frames ;)

Here is Artabotrys Hexapetalus...

Full Plant...

Flowers...

Dwarf Cananga Odorata, full plant..

Flowers...

Desmos Chinensis, Full Plant

Flowers...

Hello Radha!!! I haven't seen you post for so long! Your trees look great (as always!) : )

Radha you gotta tell us which one is your favorite lol

Wow Radja simply amazing! Where did you get all your plants? How old are they? Are they all planted in full sun? I see some flowers near the first two plants...what did you plant next to them? It looks so nice together.

Also I thought the Artabotrys Hexapetalus is a vine, yet yours look like a tree form? I am so confused I don't know what I have any more. Can you describe the scent from all three please?

Thank you!

I can't smell a darn thing on BOTH my Odorata! Odorata Nada is what mine are.

I try at day, night, morning, humidity, dry weather, and nothing worth talking about.
Once I did get a slight whiff, with my nose in the middle of my plant on a very sticky day in the early a.m.

For me, these plants just take up room and are pretty. I just don't get it. My Iris's and my Champeca are to die for smelling the whole yard up every day!

I have yet to find a Hoya that has a very powerful fragrance whaffing an entire area up like my Australlis.

Great job with yours and wonderful looking.

Mike

Hi Kem,
Thank you..hope all is well with you.
Musaboru,
The best of all is Artabotrys Hexapetalus. I could smell it all day.The sweet fruity smell is my all time fav.
No-Clue,
I got 2 Artabotrys plants almost 10 years ago as 10 inch plants, one from Hawaii and the other also from west coast . Those days!!!! it was hard to get them locally. But now they are available as bigger plants. I posted the one i have in the back. I think there is slight difference in flowers and their fragrance. Love them both. It took them almost 6 years to bloom and for me it was worth the wait. Now they are more readily available in local nurseries in South Florida. They are in full sun. Arta is entangled with Louis Phillipe rose. Dwarf Cananga is with old blush rose and Allamanda and Thryallis which is in buds now..

Arta is a shrub / woody vine. It is easily grown as shrub as you can see. I think it prefers it. It does have hooks that it can use i guess for a vine, but does very well as shrub. Mine have been cut back many times and it does well.Your pics show a good Arta shrub. The flowers are still in bud stage in the pic. The smell is when the flower is full grown and is just about to turn yellow. When the flower is ripe and if you are near the plant you will not miss the smell..

The other two, Dwarf Cananga and Desmos Chinensis are not as sweet smells as Arta. Kind of musty. I would not have got them if I smelled the flower when I bought them. I do have Cananga Odorata tree that I planted in the back woods of my home and it doesn't get any water other the rains.The flower and fragrance is similar to Dwarf variety.
Good to be back in touch...

No-Clue Can you post a more mature flower? the small ones look a little leafy, and like I said there is slight difference in fragrance in the 2 Arta I have.

Thanks Mike..
Do you have Arta or Cananga? Can you post a pic?

Thx for the description Radha now I can take the desmos and canangas off my mind and put those on a no-buy list, LOL. I had read they were musky too and the ylang ylang candle I smelled at target has a musky scent too. Not my kind of scent....

The scent in mines started out smelling like jackfruit and then it changed to the smell of bananas with a sharp note in the background similar to that of crazy glue. I guess that could be described as melon also or perhaps they smell a little different because they are seed-grown. It reminds me a lot of the scent of michelia figo which to me is not just bananas it has apple like notes to it too.

Will take some photos as soon as I charged my battery.

Radha, THANK YOU for describing the fragrances!! Like Musa I now can stop searching for the other varieties. I'm not into the musty or musky scent. Heck I'm not even crazy about the perfume scent like on my Charlotte Ebert plumeria. I'm all about sweetness though so I'm happy with this Ylang Ylang vine.

Musa you are correct about the Jackfruit scent! I knew it reminded me of something but I just couldn't put a finger on it other than melon. LOL Luckily my nose didn't detect the banana scent that yours did. Because I don't like bananas.

So can we confirm that what you and I bought are indeed the Artabotrys Hexapetalus vine based on the fragrance?

Also Radha, why did you turn this into a bush rather than a vine? Is that just because you like the shape better? I am not sure what the advantage of growing it in one shape over the other. And when you said you pruned it do you cut from the top or the bottom and when do you do this?

Last but not least... I only found 4 more smaller buds... any idea how I can entice the plant to bloom more?

I will post some pictures shortly. Thank you!!

No-Clue, It is mostly shrub type. The upper ends are however vine with flowers , but I have not seen them in India to be grown as vines. I have always seen them as shrubs and that is indeed much better for me as there is more control. I had to prone them as one one was top heavy and leaning forward and had to cut both top and few canes at the bottom. No particular time but doing in the growing season, plant can recover better.But do it after blooms are done as the flowers form on new canes.HTH..

man, from the sounds of them two plants, now I want one!

Where doooo you get any of these plants? :-(
Your plants are amazing!

Hello to everyone by the way.

Kemistry, the Chicken Feet cuttings are doing great!:-)

Mike

How do you not cook the roots on a cement walkway and that close to a brick wall ?

Mike, Gardino Nursery sometimes has Artabotrys hexapetalus for sale. This is the species I believe that me and No Clue has. The nursery we got it from just labels it as Ylang Ylang Vine though.

I had another flower "ripen" today. It seems to got bigger than my first flower and the scent developed better and stronger. Love it!

This post was edited by musaboru on Wed, Jun 12, 13 at 0:10

Sweet! How many more blooms do you have on that vine? Are you keeping it in the pot or will you plant it? I am not sure where to plant it.

Ok I took pics but I can't find my cable thingie to plug the camera into the pc to download the photos. You are not going to believe what I did!

I went to another nursery today and saw tons of blooming banana shrubs. They are so strong but I don't like the scent. But they all look great.

Radha,

How far from the wall did you plant the Artabotrys Hexapetalus? Did you have to provide any type of support or just let it flop over into a bush form?

What kind of fertilizer do you use and how often? I am getting ready to plant mine but I just don't know where!

This post was edited by No-Clue on Wed, Jun 12, 13 at 9:45

The one in the picture is about 3 feet from the wall and is close to the fence. Another is about 2 feet from the wall and is doing well also. As I said before they do have slight differences in flower and smell.. May be one is Atra Hexapetalus and the other Arta Siamensis.. I just left both alone and that is how they grew. Fertized them what ever I have handy...They are in full sun in South Florida..HTH.

Hi No Clue I am posting the pic of My Siamensis Ylang Ylang vine, there is the Siamenisis and the Hexapelaus, I read on another blog that The hex has thicker leaves than the Siamensis. I bought it small on ebay, and it's this tall now, I just tnansplanted it, gave it more sun and fertilized it so I'm hoping to get flowers soon. When I purchased it I thought I was getting the Dwarf Ylang Ylang but recently found out I have the vine. A long time ago I bought a Ylang Ylang normal tree from Gardino's I didn't have a house then and it died in the pot. I have 3 m. albas all in the ground, also 3 sweet olive in the ground, a michelia figo in the ground, and the perfume plant Agaila odorata, which I love too. I have star jasmine, Madagascar vine and of course multiple Angel trumpets... that smell my whole yard, I have pink, white and yellow. I love them they are easy to start from a branch, If you want starters I can give you some. I also have 120 rose bushes, I was addicted to buying all the fragrant plants in 2006, my name on this blog use to be Angelsmell. I met a lot of really nice people here. I also purchased a couple of fragrant white flowering plants from gardino that are still blooming in the ground. I love all of them the same they all have different personalities. I can hardly wait for my ylang vine to bloom, I just bought a second baby on ebay. What city are you in No Clue?

Here is a picture of my Ylang Ylang vine siamensis

I am looking for a Sweet Almond Verbena (aloysia Virgata) it smells so wonderful ! like Almonds, If anyone knows where I can buy one in the inland Empire in CA let me know. please♥

Oh my goodness thank you for posting that! Now looking at your Siamensis Ylang Ylang vine I think that's what I have! The leaves look very similar and not thick at all. But the second Ylang Ylang vine I bought a few weeks ago in SD, the seller INSISTED that it's a Hexapetalus! He said it was air layered 6 years ago and was imported from (shoot I don't remember which country!). I got two blooms from that vine and they smell just like sweet melon! So I'm so confused. But whatever ... I love them both!

Wow 120 roses! Amazing. I only have about 20. All fragrant of course. But I do have around 80 plumerias. :)

Funny thing... my family doesn't like Banana Shrub. They said it smells like nail polish remover. Good thing too because I don't like bananas. So I won't be getting that one.

Thanks so much for sharing. I lost the cable to my camera so I still can't post my photos! :(

My Madagascar Jasmine vine has some buds so I'm dying to sniff. I don't have Angel Trumpet so I will have to investigate those.

I am holding off planting my two Ylang Ylang vines until I am done buying other plants. This way I will know exactly where I will plant what. Already I had to move a few plants around.

I was just at Upland nursery today looking for a grafted First Love gardenia but all they had were Mystery and Veitchii. They had some Banana shrub plants. I took a whiff of the flowers and immediately thought of nail polish remover!!!

Gosh... where did I see grafted First Love Gardenias? Shoot I have been to so many nurseries recently that I forgot where I saw them!! I almost bought some but decided against it. I already met my quota for the year... when I killed the two standards so I will have to wait for next year to try again.

I will call around tomorrow to see where I saw these and if I find them I will let you know.

So you also think Banana Shrub smells like nail polish remover. Haha... and I thought my family was strange! LOL

That is really nice of you No-Clue. First Love gardenia is my favorite out of all of them. The blooms are as big as roses! They now graft them on thunbergia stock so that they can with stand alkaline soil and full sun.

Green thumb, and Plant Depot both carry grafted First Love gardenias.
Shouldn't be too far from you.

Cool, I'll take a trip to South OC tomorrow.

Yep it was at Green Thumb. They have grafted First Love and Mystery and one other one. They were all blooming profusely and HUGE. At least 3-4 feet tall. Some have very nice shape to it. I want to say they were around $49.99.

Yup.... they carry lots of different varieties at greenthumb.
The First Love might be listed as Aimee.

The large grafted shrubs are $50.... I believe they also carry smaller grafted shrubs for less....

hey, no clue.

if you're still looking for a belle of india, i just received a very nice belle from hirt's thru amazon.

it's in a 6'' pot and is covered with blooms and buds. they are mostly triples. good price too.

susie