Hello to you all! I live in AZ and this plant is thriving in a container on my patio for one and half years. I feed slow release(acidic) granules. I have not seen any blooms. What can I do to make it bloom? Any help is appreciated.
Michelia alba
I dont have alba but Im sure someone will be along to help. If not The tropical forum should be helpful.
I will try that forum. Thanks for your help.
Some Michelias need to get to a certain age and/or size before they bloom, and I'm pretty sure alba is one of the ones in that category. If you want one that blooms when it's younger/smaller, I have Michelia x foggii 'Allspice' and it's bloomed for me two years in a row, even though it's only a few feet tall and still in a 1 gal pot.
thanks ecrane3 for your help. May I ask where you bought M.foggii from?
I got it from Sonoma Horticultural Nursery (in Sonoma, CA)--unfortunately I don't think they do mail order. There are probably other sources too, if you can't find one through mail order you could always talk to a local nursery and see if they could order one for you.
Ive had one of mine now for over two years now and still no blooms either, I got mine at toptropicals.com and contacted them about it, He told me that they can be tempermental, should bloom ion second yeay at least but if its not blooming try soom bloom feed if its still not blooming then its just not ready, so its one of those hurry up and wait situations.
Have you tried Ylang Ylang http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/592264/ some of the responses on this thread include Michelia alba pictures
Thank you Neil for the advice. I also got it last year from TT who claim that it is 'blooming size'. All of last year---I was looking at leafbuds thinking that they are flower buds only to find out that they are leafbuds.
But I have found out that leaf buds are curly and flower buds are straight--I think this may be a flower bud or wishful thinking.
How funny
Mine is covered at the moment with those plump buds and they only seem to have tiny leaflets coming out of them so far, but they have remained round even as the leaf emerges, unlike the long slender ones im used to seeing that peel back like a banana as the leaf emerges.
Hurry up and wait again,
I have another I got before the TT one, listed as the same tree but both have different growth habits and leaf texture and respond different to temps and water supply.
Ill try to get some pics tomorrow.
I just got one from here http://www.eldonaccess.com . I thought the tree was a good size for $ 19.00 ( I got the smaller size) Is this the same one you have?
Hi Tigerlily123,
Mine is bigger than yours. But you got a bargain regarding the price. I can't find michelia on their website. They have ylang ylang and it is 55 or so.
lovestropics-I called her to ask about the ylang ylang and she told me over the phone about the smaller one @ $19.00. Its not listed on the website-only the bigger size. All the plants I got from her were very nice size and the shipping was very cheap as are the prices.
Hello again
I got some pictures today if you are interested, its a bid hard to make them out with all the foilage behind. This one is a picture of my first Michelia that I got from mgonline.com.
Notice the upright symetrical growth of this one and the leaves have a tiny soft hairs that collect the humidity at night time they appear much paler and matt than my more recent one, I got about a year and a half ago 9 its been through 3 hurricanes) and it was tiny then only about six leaves so I would say almost 2 years old.
In finding the receipt I realised that it is actually listed as 1 Orange JOY live tree which is Michelia champak / Michelia champaca
http://www.mgonlinestore.com/JoyPerfumeTree/
I guess thats why it is different from
my most recent alba I always thought they were both the same
see next post
Heres a picture of my Alba , which definately has less symetrical growth and the leaves are a glossy brighter green, this one does much better in full tropical sun than the champaca, got this about a year ago and was pretty small sized .
Is covered with pods now and from looking at the pictures in this link we may be in luck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelia
Last one
This is a picture of the new pods, The one at the end is the leaf pod that I usualy see which develops at the end of the branch and peels back to reveal the new leaf but further back you can see the new plump one like yours
I was hoping that they would pop open with flowers , but so far just more leaves.
Thanks for posting the pictures Neil. I like your pots. Blue is one of my favourite colors. I think you are very close to getting the flowers. Some of the buds are looking pretty straight to me. One of my buds is turning light cream color(without the banana peel).Let's keep our fingers crossed. I will post a picture if and when it blooms.
PS: I have got a cold. so I am sure my fragrant flowers will bloom since I can't smell them.
I guess I got the right one from TT as I bought it a month ago, stuck it in the ground and just got our first blossoms. They smell great! But, it is a big one (4') as I live nearby and could pick it up... Hang in there - it's worth it! (sorry, no camera)
Ohhhhh such envy, congrats, cant wait for scratch and sniff web
Neil
Wouldn't that be great? And, nice pot!
"Lovetropics" - Yes, that is a flower bud you have!
Matt
You are correct Matt. It is blooming.
Wow LT exciting stuff, how does it smell, anything yet. Good for you, hopefully im next.
Neil, it smells like the alba I know. You have to be close to it to smell but it does not fill up my patio yet. I was in Maui visiting a nursery----smelled something like champaca and followed by nose to find alba. In india I am familiar with champaca but not alba. It is worth the wait.
PS: the bud shape is same for flowers and leaves. Flower bud will change the color to cream from green. Then you know you have a flower bud. I am sure your's is next to bloom. please make sure you put up a picture when that happens.HTH
LT - Congrats! Champaca (yellow) is preferred in India while the alba is preferred in Thailand (they call it champaca though). I spent 18 years in Thailand and my wife is Thai so we are really happy to have one now. Both smell great...
Look what I got tonight, they aren't fully opened but i couldnt wait to start snapping.
The tree is covered with buds turning white or just about to open, some on most limbs,
about 4 are opening and I could smell it from about 5 ft,
(Temp tonight, 81 degrees and 77% humidity.)
Smells a bit like Jasmine but cleaner, not as heavy, if that make sense
How's yours doing LT.
Here's one fully opened, very cool inside
lots of geckos hanging out on the leaves tonight , must know that dinner is coming by to check out the smell
Neil,
CONGRATULATIONS. Awesome. Mine smells like vanilla+jasmine. I also have tons of jasmine around the area as well. Now I want to go and buy M.champak(orange) and artabotrys.
My michelia alba is also blooming! Wonderful fragrance. I bought the plant last winter so this is my first bloom. I also have michelia champaca, which is a larger plant, but no blooms. I understand the champaca does not bloom until it's a little older. I have michelia figo and michelia maudia (sp), neither of which are blooming, but I'm hoping... My figo bloomed this past spring.
Lovetropics, I have artabotrys in a pot and it's growing pretty well, but no blooms.
Bellehobbs
How old is your michelia champaca and what size is it, Im anxious to see the blooms. Ive never even seen any pics on line for them.
I purchased the champaca last fall, so not sure how old it is but it's about 4 ft tall. No blooms, however, but if I have some, I'll try to post a picture. The alba is blooming but it's grafted.
bellehobbs--how big is your artabotrys and where did you buy it from? I am delighted to meet you since we seem to like same plants.
It's a artabotrys hexapetalus and I got it from Aloha Tropicals, I believe. It's about a foot tall. I love tropicals but am experimenting with them as this is the first year I've grown most of them. Am waiting to see how they do this summer. Most were very unhappy during the winter...I only lost a couple though, notably my ylang ylang plant, which broke my heart....
Hey LT
Just sayw your alba picture on the ranking thread, very nice . Mine is just covered at the moment I bought a little wheel set to go under the pot so I could move it over closer to the door of the house,
Do you know anything about collecting seeds ?, are they worth collecting ?, and which part are they?
Ive been collecting all the fallen petals and bring them inside in a glass bowl.
Neil,
alba is sterile. so don't bother with seeds. I am thinking about putting the petals in oil ......I think if you want to propagate alba, air layering is the best--- I will try in fall when our temps are below 3 digits!!
neil, here are some pictures. http://images.google.com/images?q=michelia+champaca&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images
Hi Guys, I have a Michelia x alba, Michelia champaca, Michelia figo, Michelia figo var. skinneriana, and a Michelia chapensis. The Michelia x alba flowers nearly year 'round here. The Michelia x alba seeds are sterile, as Lovetropics said, and so they are propagated by airlayering mostly and sometimes by grafting so they will bloom at a very small size. I bought my M. x alba when it was two feet tall and in bloom. The Michelia champaca, on the other hand, is propagated by seeds and needs to reach a level of maturity before blooming. This level of maturity usually happens at around five years old. Mine started blooming when it was eight feet tall with a sizable trunk and was at least a few years old. It was six feet tall when I bought it from a local nursery. The Michelia champaca always looks terrible in winter, and even though it is supposed to be evergreen, it is actually semi-deciduous. Here is a good article about Michelias if you are interested: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/fragrant/2005034256008093.html My good friend, Kukiat, who lives in Thailand has a collection of them in his yard. Here is his picture:
Clare,
Love how the dog is marked!!
Me too, Chantell! It shows some perspective and how big these trees really are!
Just keeping track.
My last bloom opened tonight , no more left now. So that was almost two months of bloom time.
Maybe Ill get a second run later in the year ; )
I wasn't expecting to see any more blooms untill next Spring/Summer but to my surprise its covered again with buds and the first ones opened tonight.