Thanks Mike!! You'll have to move down one day... I'm waiting for more blooms to pop out on a few different plants too. Sharry Baby is in spike, Cycnodes Wine Delight 'Jem' just spiked. I think another spike is coming on Cycnoches warscewiczii. I have buds on Brunfelsia lactea, Nycanthes arbor-tristis, Hibiscus schizopetalus, & Hoya 'Joy'. I love October! lol. Tho the buds did blast on Hoya buotii, damn mealies got em! And I am battling mites on Brugmansia 'Xena'.

We are getting ready to put our gardens to sleep..Tom envy you!

My hedychium dr moy finally bloomed and how love the fragrance

Beautiful pics, everyone!

Jasminegal, I've been lazy and just creeping and not participating. You shook me out of my lethargy. Laugh. I'm slowly getting back to normal. Kind of mad that I finally did some gardening by potting up some petunias that were just starting to bloom and then a dang rabbit mowed them down! I've been thinking of you and your poor knee. I made the mistake of looking at pics of your surgery online. Hope you are healing quickly! I've been working a few hours but it's painful.

Today at work I caught the delicious scent of orange osmanthus in full bloom in the nursery. I wondered why we haven't moved the pots to the visitor center so the public could enjoy the incredible fragrance.

At home I've been enjoying one of my favorite scents, Brunfelsia gigantea. I snapped this pic in all the rain we've been having today.

I am glad you are back and recovering Robert :) I can't even imagine your pain. Just a meniscus tear was so painful for me.

Squirrels and rabbits are so cute but so destructive! My gigantea is still bloomless. We have had no rain in straight 6-8 wks but weather has been up and down. Had to move all the plants indoors due to the surgery. My knee is the size of a tennis ball right now but healing nicely. Very stiff and painful and a 8 wk pt required. But since it is now winter anyways no gardening chores. So enjoying the attention from my boys *wink*.

Thank you Jasminegal! One of the best parts about living in Florida :) I envy that your ginger bloomed.. Mine keeps growing but no blooms yet on my flavum. I might pot it up. I hope your knee heels quickly, glad to hear all is going smoothly! Make those boys wait on you hand and foot ;)

Just noticed my pitiful Osmanthus fragrans 'Fudingzhu' is blooming again. Now if only my orange one would bloom! 

My marigolds have been feeding monarchs which makes me happy.

Tom, I promise I'll get to your email though I'm starting to get disappointed with my brugmansia choices for scent. I did notice tiny buds on Audrey Lea but they probably won't have time to develop this year or will abort before blooming. Sorry to hear you're battling mites on Xena. Wanted to hear your opinion on its scent.

It's all good Robert, take your time lol. You were right about Dalai, not very fragrant, kind of disappointing. I could smell it but not strong enough. I hope Audrey blooms for you, but they may drop as doubles do.

Xena is still very healthy though she has lost some bottom leaves but they are all very green. I've been spraying her with water and it's greatly reduced the number of mites. I'm hoping she blooms soon, I'm very excited to smell her!

Now Shredded White is getting its butt kicked by the mites, has the classic burnt looking leaves but is still growing fairly well, albeit slowly, so I'm holding out hope.

What brugs disappointed you? I bought Schloss Burg, Audrey Lea, and Halloween from Green Acres Nursery. I'm excited to smell them all lol. I've made a list of brugs that I keep hearing rave reviews about their scent, I'll send it to you if you want, though I'm sure you'll know most of them, and you probably have had quite a few of them as well.

Tom, hey how are you! ? Thanks for starting this thread...Nice plants again! Here are a couple of mine flowering right now..

This is the first year that I have been able to leave my Brugs in the soil after the end of September and this is the result! I have always had to bring them in due to frost before they flowered. After 5 years I am finally lucky. It's been a very hot fall. Loving it. Smells so nice at night coming into my windows..Thanks

Roses are still blooming!

Hey Mike! I'm great. How are you? Very nice pics! Love the brugs, glad they're blooming for you! Which ones are they? I really like the lavender rose too, name? And is that orchid a brassavola hybrid? Looks kind of like Jiminy Cricket. It's been unseasonably hot and humid here in Florida, you can cut it with a knife! It feels more like July.

First off..

Robert, HOW ARE YOU feeling lately? I did not even see know you had Cancer until I went back and read the September post and somehow I missed that. I too am quite amazed at your attitude...But it does not surprise me. You have almost been an upbeat positive influence here and that my friend is something I would miss if you should for some reason not be here..I'm thinking your plant react towards your kind and positive demeanor too..Great looking plants buddy! Thanks as always..Good luck and I wish you all the best. You will be in my prayers for sure...I have been away for a bit too..My Mom sick, me busy, and now the loss of a real good friend to that Vegas shooting....I missed everyone here..Stay strong and please keep us updated. Feel free to e-mail me anytime for a chat..mikerno_1@yahoo.com

Tom, I am doing much better and the weather certainly helps! For me, as long as it's warm and humid, like my home town Cayey in Puerto Rico I am much better off than having to bring everything in and wait out the rest of the year until it's warm enough again to bring everything out again..This year I have been lucky..Loving it and nothing soothes me more than watching it rain on all my Orchids still outside..Does it not bring great joy to see your plant watered by rain than to have to depend on the hose crappy tap water?

The lavender rose is called..."Stainless Steel", one of the most sweetest fragrant ones you can get your hands on. It's a Hybird Tea..The best way to keep the leaves from developing any disease that I have discovered is by spraying with either a natural spray once the leaves appear using 'Serenade' or a chemical if you prefer with a product called 'Infuse'. Both have never let me down and I figure with your high heat and humidity, mildew and brown spots would be a problem?

Yes the Orchid is..Man you are smart! Wish I could take a stroll in your yard and get a feel for what you are growing, everything.ha I am sure I would be in fragrant heaven..Love that kind of humidity if I could wear t-shirts and sandals every day or use A.C when needed...

As for the names of the Brugs, man oh man, I am not good with keeping labels, but one smells like pistachio with a hint if vanilla ice cream and the other very strong scent, likk the scent of brunmansia....

Good talking to you)

So sorry to hear about the loss of your good friend Mike. Such a senseless act. And you are absolutely right. The positivity of this group and the lovely flowers help to forget the negativity of the outside world. If not for my passion for gardening I would be sinking into deep depression.

I'm also very sorry to hear you lost a friend Mike. It's sad to know there's people like this out there, many more than we even know, seeing how numerous shootings like this are becoming. We just gotta move on and not live in fear, as scary as it is..

I agree, I do like seeing the plants green up nicely after a rain. Can't get that effect with tap water and fertilizer lol. It's been raining on and off this week. It'll rain in the middle of the day and then the sun comes out. Weird weather. I like to collect rain in two 5 gallon buckets and I just use that on the plants I have under the porch.

At first I wondered if the rose was Lagerfeld and then I thought maybe it's Stainless Steel! I do love that silver color. I've had Blue Moon and Blue Girl and they both died. They both looked and smelled the same. I think they hated the heat. You're right about the spots, some worse than others. Double Delight was beautiful but it never took off and it died too, even on fortuniana. Yours looks my great! Must be serenade. I'll have to try it.

I would love to show you and everyone else my yard! I do plan to put more plants in the ground once they get large enough. It can smell very good when the right plants are blooming.

And thanks Mike! I can be smart when I want to ;) lol. The blooms on Jiminy look great and I do love the brugs, the scent descriptions sound amazing. I'm waiting for a few of mine to Y and bloom. I love the humidity and the plants do as well. When I feel sticky and nasty I just tell myself the plants love it!

Tom, I have a long list of brugs that have disappointed me when it comes to scent. Of course remembering all of them is a challenge! Laugh.

Mike, thank you. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer in late April. I've had two surgeries and four weeks of chemo. The urologist thinks he got everything on this last surgery (RPLND for those curious) so let's hope so. It's been a painful and slow recovery (though everyone keeps telling me it's amazing how fast I heal). Got worn out walking around Costco with my roomie today. Did notice they have plant lights and bulbs. I'm very sorry to hear about your mom and the loss of your friend.

Your plants are gorgeous. Love the light blue/purple petunias and am jealous of your brassavola hybrid. I've been waiting and waiting for Kiilani Stars to bloom. It seems to just want to grow leaves for me. :/

That's a good looking plant Robert! Definitely blooming size haha. Maybe it needs more sun or fertilizer? Though some orchids will grow new leaves instead of flowers if fertilized too much. My two brassavolas start blooming in the fall and keep blooming for months.

Hey guys, thanks for your kind words..

• Robert, so happy you are coming along....It's good to hear you have not lost interest in your plants since it can be so easy to not have any drive when you go through so much. We are here if you need us buddy. E-mail me any time. You have a problem getting something to flower? Are you just saying that to make me feel good?.Laugh...Listen I use to have that problem until I started fertilizing mines and giving them very high light, highest of all, just as Tom suggested. It still looks very very healthy..I am collecting the seeds as time goes by. I LOVE these petunia.
• Tom, thanks a lot. I had some weather that reminded me of yours yesterday! Down pours and very warm temps. Rather unusual for October but I will take it. It is suppose to be cold and even frost by now, but no need for heat in my greenhouse or to bring them in yet. Yahoo. Oh I have the Double Delight and Blue Moon too. Too funny. I am thinking we here have a HUGE amount in common and would make great friends. We all like the same plants to start,weather too.ha. Collecting rain is a great idea! I try and use as little tap water as I can since it's loaded with dangerous salts...You should see what the roots of my arial orchids look like after a few weeks of just tap. Disgusting..So I use the hose then come after with a spray bottle with rain water to rinse them off...
• Have a beautiful day and here is a MUST, I mean a real MUST if you like fragrant flowers..The one WAFTS through the air from many feet away. It greets me when I pull into my yard and through my windows from outside early in the morning. It just opened again for a second time..
• Stanhopea..........
  
  
  

Hedychium Dr. Moy after fully opening

Wow! You've still got a lot of stuff to sniff. Love it.

I know with all the recent tragedies in the world I should be counting my blessings but I just gotta gripe about the spotted cucumber beetles eating all my flowers! They're eating my old fashioned vining petunias that are just now beginning to really bloom, Brunfelsia gigantea, sambac jasmines, salvias, etc. And the real kicker is we're having a garden party tomorrow night and all my flowers will be tattered if I have any left by then. :(

Uh oh Robert..those are nasty little bugs. Have you tried spraying them with neem yet?

Mike, I love the Stanhopea. I've wanted one like that for a while. Can only imagine what it smells like. I'm not a fan of tap water either but it'll do the job if there's no rain. Glad you enjoyed the warm weather and rain. It only went up to 85 today! It feels like heaven now that it's not in the 90's anymore. Some of the aerial roots on my orchids don't look as good as others..burned some with fertilizer and others dry out and look horrible, like Encyclia alata. That one looks like it wants to die lol. I agree, we have a lot in common. We are friends, houzz friends anyway!

Jasminegal, the blooms are beautiful. You have a lot of pretty flowers in your garden! I bet Dr. Moy smells heavenly. Still waiting for flavum. Mr. Lincoln has been blooming for me too.

Robert, you can gripe guilt free ;) Garden bugs are my nemesis too. Mealies are the worst of them all. I've had such huge infestations of them I swear I was going to go crazy. I'd squash those nasty little suckers. Or just spray them so they don't eat the rest of your flowers! Bad timing for a garden party, it's like they did it to ruin the fun..

Brunfelsia lactea blooming & gigantea just started making small buds.

Hibiscus schizopetalus isn't fragrant but it's blooming for the first time. I love the pendant blooms.

Thank you Tom! Our fall has been very warm so still lot of blooms but I am not complaining :) I am in love with Dr. Moy. Fragrance is wonderful and that beautiful color is so rare.. Mr. Lincoln is a wonderful surprise. Its been blooming for me since pretty much spring. Have many buds still. But I guess at some point cool air will come knocking. So enjoying for now these wonders of nature.

Beautiful flowers, Tom!

I've thought of spraying with neem but it's stinky. I've just been doing my old barbaric method of knocking them into my hands and then crushing them. Pretty gross but it's organic. Laugh.

Jasminegal, thank you! I'm glad you get to enjoy the warm weather and your flowers. I'm spoiled that most of the year the plants can grow, I feel like I take my weather for granted when I hear from you guys in colder zones. I think Mr. Lincoln is one of the best red roses. Perfect form and fragrance and a very hardy plant. I can't even kill it with neglect! You're lucky to have him blooming so much! He can be stingy.

Thank you Robert! One reason I love October is because I seem to get a bunch of blooms when everything is supposed to be winding down! Good, I'm glad you're squashing those suckers. I'd do it with joy lol. I do advocate for organic when possible, although I do use non-organic fertilizer on my orchids and hoyas.

Tom, there you go again with some of the nicest flowering plants next to Robert of course,Lol Hey, 85 for us would be a heat wave and what I would do for that right now. 30's tonight and I should of brought my Hoya and other tropical plants in before I left for work. So that means no gym tonight and straight home after work to bring them in before a frost hits! God, I hate doing that. Suppose to be in the 70's for the next few days again, so they will reside in the kitchen all over the pace until Wednesday..lol Everyone MUST have a Stanhopea if they love fragrant..It's too bad the flowers drop off so stinking fast, like within 5 days, but they do re bloom more than once thank God. What a beautiful Hibiscus there. Never seen anything like that! Stay warm my friend..

Thanks Mike, Robert does have some nice plants, you do as well. Good luck with the cold and enjoy the 70s. It's been heaven here. It's 71 tonight and it feels cool outside, I love it. I do love the hibiscus, it's one of my favorites. I wanted it for a while and finally got it from accents for home and garden. I've had it for almost a year, it finally just started growing and blooming. It was a twig when I got it.

It's been an odd October so far here in Wisconsin. We have yet to have a hard frost... Only one night so far that even dipped down near 40 degrees. So everything in pots that I usually bring indoors is still outside enjoying the sunshine and relatively nice weather. Sunny and 76 degrees today!

Tuberose

Clerodendron ugandense

Aglaia odorata

My murraya and agalaia are doing wonderful indoors

Jasminegal, truly splendid to have those blooming that well indoors. The murraya looks beautiful, like wax. My aglaia died after I forgot to water it. The worst part was I thought it would make it and I had to watch it die slowly for over a week. Yours looks great.

Thank you Tom. They are giving so much joy especially since my recovery is slow. You need to get agalaia again :) I got my murraya from logees and didn't does not disappoint at all. Even though the fragrance nothing compared to jasmines its a stunner nonetheless. I have a baby sprouting from its roots now!

Robert how are you doing buddy? Recovery all ok I hope.

I just moved my Aglaia odorata into the garage for the night and it smells amazing. I really should cut it back for the winter but it's loaded with buds...of course now I'm thinking I should water it! Lol.

Jasminegal, my recovery has been slow as well. I took for granted all the strength I used to have. It was a challenge moving plants inside tonight. I'm sure eventually I'll regain my strength but for now I'm just thrilled I've worked 2 eight hour days in a row. Let's hope we'll both be ready for spring! :)

Definitely we will be ready Robert! We still have to explore many more fragrant beauties. I completely understand how happy you must be to just do that much. My knee still swells up if I do a little extra work and my therapist scolds me that were you in the garden. LOL!!! Ofcourse I was not that I tell her or my family *wink*. But on a serious note get some rest and enjoy the season. You have gone through a lot and deserve a break for as long as you want.

Who has time to rest when there's so many potted plants to bring inside before the cold hits? :)

The small Brunfelsia gigantea I purchased from Almost Eden has opened a bloom inside for the first time. My other plant is gigantic so we might let the cold kill it or we might severely hack it back to see if there's room in the basement or not.

Very nice Robert. My gigantea had 6 blooms and there's 2 more coming. I'll post pictures soon.

Brunfelsia gigantea in its full blooming glory.

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. I love picking up the fallen flowers in the morning

Hoya 'Joy' twofer. Love how much it blooms.

Aloysia virgata has jumped to the top of my list of favorite fragrant powerhouses. I love the spicy, sweet smell!