Mandevilla 'laxa' (several questions)

I've been trying to find a white mandevilla to intertwine with a pink variety for next season. This one apparently has the added bonus of being quite fragrant. =)

Obviously, finding a plant would be better than starting from seed, but I'm not having much luck. Is this plant *that* rare? I've never seen one at any garden centers or nurseries (including wholesale). I did, however, find seeds in several places. One, in particular, was on Ebay, but there are no entries in the Watchdog about them.
Has anyone ever dealt with "Seedmart" on Ebay?

If I were to purchase some seeds for this cultivar, would the plants be "useable" [1] next season? Or, would I need to wait a couple of years for such a plant to establish itself? I have a small, heated greenhouse to provide the environment. It holds low temps of 60's and highs around 80, during winter.

Does anyone actually grow Mandevilla from seed? Or, only from cuttings?

Should I just forget about this elusive vine because it's so nice that everyone is reluctant to share it with the rest of humanity? =(

[1] Able to climb a 6-8 foot pole.

Thanks for any info/advice!
Eggs

I see it fairly regularly in nurseries out here, I think you just live in the wrong part of the country for it--for whatever reason it's not as popular as the more tropical mandevillas so you won't find it in big box stores across the country like you will with the other ones, but in areas where it's hardy I don't think it's that hard to find. I'm pretty sure I've seen it on some of the mail order websites that I browse regularly, can't remember specifically which one but here are a few names you could check: Kartuz, Logee's, Gardino, Zone 9 Tropicals, and Top Tropicals. All of them sell plants rather than seeds (TT sells seeds for some things but typically has more plants than seeds, the others are strictly plants).

I don't know how fast this one will grow from seed--the other mandevillas are typically grown from cuttings since they're named cultivars that won't come true from seed, but this is a straight species so it's fine to grow from seed. My guess is that it probably won't bloom in its first year from seed, but I don't know that for sure.

Thanks, ecrane. I knew it was a true species, and the seeds (as long as they're the right seed, but one may not know until it blossoms) should produce the correct plant. I have no idea how fast it grows, though. It's a bit smaller than the Mandevilla I'm used to, which leads me to believe it's probably a bit slower. Call it a "gut feeling". =)

I deal with wholesale nurseries here, on a regular basis, through work. None so far have had it. I'll keep looking for plants on mail order (not my favorite way to get plants), and will probably try some seeds, too, just for fun. =)

If you're looking for wholesalers, Monrovia has it. I'm not sure if your nursery regularly orders from them or not, but I think they ship all over the country so hopefully you can get one from them.

We get Monrovia plants, often. Thanks again! =)

I have a M. laxa in my garden, and will gladly send you some seed. Got it from my mom that lives in a much colder part of the country. There it dies down in winter, and starts growing from the bottom again. Here in Pretoria, it just sheds it's leaves and come back with a vengeance once it heats up. Mine has been flowering since the end of September.
I am sure you will be able to have it grow up a 6-8 pole without trouble. It also do smell lovely. That together with my corkscrew vine are the top performers fragrance wise in my garden. The honeysuckle is flowering like crazy at the moment, but then it slows down. Not the case with M.laxa. It flowers non-stop the whole Spring/Summer, so give it a try.

Elsa

Elsa you've got D-mail. =)

I grow M.Laxa here. Its easy and tough. I grew mine from seed and it didn't take that long to bloom, probably a couple years. It is easy from cuttings so if you get a plant or know someone you can get cuttings from it will flower the first year from cuttings.

If you do grow from seed, make sure its fresh. Fresh seed germinates much better from this plant. It is hardy to 15 degrees. When I was living in CA it bloomed all year and did not drop leaves at all, here it goes dormant in winter, comes back nicely in the early spring.

The fragrance is really nice, not overly sweet, more like spicy. I love this plant.

Thanks, rebeccanne. I'll be starting from seed, which should be here shortly. =)