Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
easygoing_gw

lawsonia inermis ** fragrant henna plant **

Easygoing
18 years ago

Has anyone ever tried growing "Lawsonia Inermis" aka FRAGRANT HENNA PLANT here in the metro=Phoenix area? The info I read said it is considered to be the most fragrant plant on the face of the earth, and is indeed the henna used to make hair and nail dye. Would love to hear your experiences with it.

Easy

Comments (56)

  • paperwhite
    18 years ago

    All,

    I am sorry if i came across harshly.

    No the flowers do not have any smell if i recall. They are very small, no significant shape to them.

  • Easygoing
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    So eh, Paperwhite....

    How log is your recollection ;) Hehehehe...just teasin ya :)


    Easy

  • Easygoing
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Usha must be on vacation or something...haven't seen any posts from her, and she's very quite. I miss her writings :)


    easy

  • usha
    18 years ago

    I just got back from disneyland!! I have pictures of my daughter as well as plants from there. I am working on posting some pictures for ID soon. Collected the seeds that I could. EZ, if you are looking for fragrant(out of heaven) flowers..look up Artabotrys hexapetalus and Micheli champaca. Perfume is made from them and when you smell them you will know why. Don't grow henna for flowers. It is for leaves only.
    usha

  • Easygoing
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Hi Usha,

    Hmmm...well, if I end up with red hair, you'll know what i did with it, right? ;)


    Easy

  • mitha
    17 years ago

    Can some one tell me where to buy henna plant or seeds?

  • rabies1313
    15 years ago

    Question. I know that henna is a dry loving plant, but I would like to grow it in Illinois. In the summer it can either be really dry and hot or very humid and hot. Will the humidity effect it's growing? I would really love to grow it because i love to do Mindi, and it helps cool you down on those really hot days.

  • niludi_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Hello
    I am a local henna artist in phoenix area and I was also queries about henna plant so I bought this small tree from this website.

    http://companionplants.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=203&osCsid=ae93e94fb54f3924b683527138ce4e69

    plant is really small so it will take long time to flower it ��.

  • sheeba123
    11 years ago

    I planted some seeds and nothing happened. I got it from my previous neighbor and now she moved out. How can I get some seeds of Henna in Florida

  • Haname
    11 years ago

    Saw it at Amazon

    Here is a link that might be useful: Lawsonia inermis Seeds

  • Pagancat
    11 years ago

    Interesting - they have a lot of unusual heirloom seeds.

  • Haname
    11 years ago

    I found a site with a map showing where henna is grown. According to the map, henna needs a climate where the temperature stays above 60� F. I would try to grow it here in a large pot If I could move the tree inside during the cold season.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The Henna Page

  • yachman
    11 years ago

    Weird... Definitely an old thread, but seeing as how I just bought this plant two days ago I thought I'd offer my 2 cents.

    Was browsing a local nursery for the first time and as I was walking through the jasmine/gardenia/magnolia section I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks...for I smelled the most magnificent scent EVER. I'm not exaggerating. I crawled through the dense thicket smelling every single flower I could, thinking it was some type of jasmine. Then I come face to face with this 3 foot tall shrub/tree...nothing fancy, almost looked like it was drying out aside from these little tiny buds and blooms on the ends of these twigs. And the SMELL...ooooooohhhh the smell!

    I had discovered the plant known locally (deep south Texas) as "Resedad"...English name Reseda, also known as Lawsonia inermis. As i later found out, turns out I knew this scent--my grandmother has owned three huge specimens for years. Every whiff is a travel back in time, hard to explain...but proves just how well scents trigger memories.

    I could care less about the henna ink properties...and if you smelled this plant, you too would quickly forget all about the henna history. Needless to say I bought the plant. It's sitting in its pot 25 ft from the front door, and even though only 10% of the blooms are open, I can't open my front door without being overwhelmed by its intoxicating perfume. This plant is Heaven sent.

    Don't know if anyone will read this old thread, but if anybody does and wants to see a picture of my specimen just say the word. This plant is supposed to grow wonderfully down here in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas...and my grandma's three large mature plants are a testament to that.

    Cheers,
    Josh

  • tomatofreak
    11 years ago

    Well, of COURSE we want to see a picture!! And can you tell us a little about your growing seasons, like how hot is your summer, how much rain do you get, how cold (freeze/frost) in winter, etc. Thanks for dropping in!

  • yachman
    11 years ago

    Well we're an area that's prone to drought conditions. Rain is scarce and heat is common year round. Last year never dropped below 35 degrees and "winter" typically consists of 50-70 degree mornings and 80+ degree afternoons. Cold fronts come and go, dropping the temperature for 1-2 days before it quickly warms up. Spring and summer are HOT. Highs have been 90+ for the last two months, with the worst yet to come. 100+ degree days are common July-September. A big difference between Arizona and southern Texas is the humidity...here we constantly battle high humidity as we're right by the coast (South Padre Island area), so it's a very muggy heat. Went outside today and took some pictures...noticed several more blooms open today, much to the delight of my olfactory system.

    Here's a close up of the bloom.

  • yachman
    11 years ago

    And here's a not so great picture of the entire plant...still trying to decide where to plant it!

  • yachman
    11 years ago

    ...and one final shot.

  • tomatofreak
    11 years ago

    That is a fanciful flower! Wish computers had a smell feature. Thanks for posting the photos. After hearing about your weather, it seems that humidity is the biggest difference. I would love to try this plant, but I don't remember seeing it at a nursery anywhere.

  • yachman
    11 years ago

    I had my girlfriend smell it last night--she flipped. She had to do a double take. For the last two days (basically since i bought the plant) I've smelled several scents throughout my day (my girlfriends perfume being one of them) that just takes me back to this plant. That's actually the first thing she said after her double take..."It smells like one of my perfumes!" Oh I hope she wears that perfume daily from here on out...! The scent carries a long ways, which is great because I can work on training my passion vine collection over the patio arbor and still smell the blooms!

    I had never seen it sold anywhere until Saturday. I guarantee my grandmother never bought hers at a nursery, which leaves me wondering how in the world she obtained hers. I'd be MORE than happy to ship you some seeds if I can figure out where they're at. I think I've already spotted some of the little "fruit" on the plant, just need to verify that. Also, if I remember correctly, I should be able to take a cutting and send you a rooted specimen. Let me know if you're interested! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, deserves to smell this plant.

    Cheers,
    Josh

  • Pagancat
    11 years ago

    LOL, you are about the best promoter of this plant that I've ever come across, Josh- thanks! You make it very tempting. I have to read back on this thread to see if anyone else has had success with it in the desert.

  • yachman
    11 years ago

    Lol...yea, and the funny thing is that I still don't feel like my words were enough to truly portray how magnificent that scent is! Hah!

    There are definitely some differences in our climate, but for all of Arizona's sake I sure hope y'all can manage to get this plant growing! Just put my bad boy in the ground this morning...!

  • Pagancat
    11 years ago

    I got stuck on Haname's Henna page last night, seems like I might become strawberry blonde in the near future, lol. They didn't offer any seeds or plants there, so I would guess that is my next search.

    Josh, were all of the plants you've known (yours and your grandmom's) all in full sun? Usually that's pretty much a no-no here, very few plants can handle our sun full time. Any other peculiarities you might think of - soil pH, etc?

  • yachman
    11 years ago

    Well I know that the area I placed my plant at will be receiving full sun. One of my grandmas plants, the larger more mature plant, is also in full sun. The other, I'd estimate, receives around 4 hours of afternoon shade...and it's doing just fine! That specific plant is around 8 ft tall while the other stands probably closer to 10 ft tall. As far as soil pH goes, I know my grandma pays no attention to that...and I know that I personally also don't really pay attention to that, so can't really chime in there. My grandma also doesn't really water hers anymore...and we have some dry, drought-like conditions here. I'll probably water mine every 3rd day until it becomes better established.

    I was talking to my mom about how the leaves are used to make Henna ink and she got mad excited--she's always wanted to take that "natural" route when it comes to dying her hair, so seems she'll be ordering a Henna hair kit in the near future! Hah!

    If YOU'D like to be the Arizone guinea pig and try and give this plant a shot, give me a holla! We'll figure it out! ;)

  • Pagancat
    11 years ago

    Well, I found some seeds on Richter's site, so I'll be giving it a shot here soon, wish me luck! Josh's reports on the scent just *have* to be tested, lol...

  • abdulsattar
    11 years ago

    i want to buy henna plants,if you know some one in phoenix , az. please let me know. abdul

  • Erik777
    10 years ago

    Wondering if any of you folks who said you were going to try to grow henna had any luck?

    After reading this thread back in July of last year, my curiosity was piqued so I bought some henna seeds online and have had zero luck in getting them to sprout. Tried sowing them directly in soil and germinating them indoors. No luck with either method.

    Just curious to know if anybody else managed to get some going and if so, any tricks to it?

    Thanks.

  • yachman
    9 years ago

    Hey you guys! Just wanted to follow up on my plant, in case any of y'all were still trying to propagate. My initial store bought tree is now roughly 7 ft tall. Last year I planted another companion "tree" 10 ft across the walkway from the original. Both doing great, even after an unusually frigid winter for us. I've given two 1' tall cuttings to patients of mine that were taken from the original that are now a good 2-3' tall and blooming. My original plant dropped seeds in two pots that are underneath it and I now have 3
    1' tall new blooming plants. I've smelled lots of new plants since planting my Resedad, and there's still nothing that tops it's sweetness! PM me for seeds, I have tons and will have plenty more after bloom season starts shortly.

    Cheers,
    Josh

  • 786farkhanda
    8 years ago

    Josh do you have henna seeds you want to sell I am allergic to regular hair dye and i want to grow a henna plant in my backyard as Henna is the only thing i can use to dye my hair

  • cs15
    7 years ago

    I have a henna plant here in ohio, that I have been growing for 2 years now. I made hair oil using the leaves just today. I am waiting for the plant to flower


  • iandyaz
    7 years ago

    I was thinking of trying this one, but if it can't tolerate temperatures below 60 for very long, it won't live long in my back yard in the winter.. it's gotten down to 20 degrees back there a few times.

  • MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
    7 years ago

    Ohio certainly gets below 60 for long periods, maybe cs15 has the plant indoors.

  • cs15
    7 years ago

    Yes. I keep the plant indoors during winter. I don't know when it will start to flower though. When it does I can actually talk about it. I tried to germinate the seeds before but was never successful.

    The key to raising the plant in winter is to bring it indoors and water when the soil is completely dry.

  • cs15
    7 years ago

    I need a help from all. I bought pomegranate cuttings from online.

    please tell me how to propagate the cuttings for a healthy plant.

    right now I placed the cuttings in plastic bottle and filled it with little water, and screwed the cap on it. This was suggested by someone from YouTube to help develop roots.

    Please let me know if you have any other suggestions. This is my first time trying to raise a plant from cuttings

  • iandyaz
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Hi CS15, in my opinion, pomegranate is fairly easy to root, although most of the time I do it from dormant cuttings. So if you fail with these, just wait for winter and find more cuttings from a dormant tree. They do take longer to properly root than most plants though. In general I try to wait at least 4 months before moving them out of their rooting area, probably longer with non-dormant cuttings.

    This is how I root almost all cuttings nowadays:

    I first wash the cutting really well with dish soap and warm water (you want to avoid fungus/mold as much as possible).

    Then I put it into a small clean container (usually around 2 inches wide) filled with perlite and then give the perlite a little water (just enough to get the perlite damp).

    Then I put the container into a solo cup with a sandwich bag over it with a rubber band around the bag. Then cut the 2 corners off the bag to allow some air movement.

    Here's some fig cuttings rooting right now with this method (the red cups in the front):

    The plants behind them were mostly rooted with this method (the sugar cane just roots in water, then transfer directly to soil, it's very easy at this time of the year).

    I rarely have failures using this method and the only time I do is when I forget to check on the plant for a few weeks and it either dried out or got fungus. If you ever see fungus on the plant, just take it out, wash it, and put it back in. If it ever feels very light, give it a little more water, but make sure it's pretty dry first. Also, keep these cups out of direct sunlight while the bags are over them.

    One of the main problems when rooting anything with any method is trying to rush it and take it out early and put it into soil. This is very easy to do with a non dormant pomegranate cutting because it shows a lot of leaf growth before it has enough roots, wait until it has a *lot* of roots before you move it out.

    One more note, I avoid soil when rooting because it holds too much water and causes rot/fungus to grow much easier (unless it's a very easy to root plant like Gardenia). Also, I try not to let anything grow too long of roots in water because the roots usually have to change when they get into soil and that causes them stress.

    Sorry for the novel. :) Good luck with the cuttings!

  • cs15
    7 years ago

    I really appreciate the long message! Will definitely help me. I got the cuttings from online. I don't know what is meant by dormant cuttings

    I didn't get any instructions on how to plant. Before my henna plant, I sacrificed a couple of plants because I had no idea how to raise a plant.

    Since winter is cold in my place, I am not sure how to go about the cuttings.

    Plus I don't have any other cuttings left with me. I saw a small shoot yesterday in one of the cuttings, but today it looks burnt. That's what I'm worried about.

    I don't want to lose any more of my plants.

    Thanks iandyaz for the helpful tips. It has helped me learn a lot more than seeing YouTube or browsing!

  • iandyaz
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Dormant cuttings are just cuttings from a dormant tree. Usually a dormant tree has lost all it's leaves for the winter, but sometimes they keep their leaves and just stop growing.

    If you are trying to root when it's cooler (below 80 degrees F), I'd get a heat mat to increase the speed of rooting. If the growth looks burnt, it might be drying out. Basically there needs to be enough root growth to support the new top growth and you can prune the tips of the new growth off so it stops growing and directs energy to the roots. Also, occasionally misting the top growth if it's not in a dome will help.

  • cs15
    7 years ago

    Here is a picture of my cutting. I have a small doubt. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I have to keep the cutting in a perlite filled small cup.

    Do I need to fill the second cup with anything else before placing the first cup inside?

  • iandyaz
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Nope, I just use the outer cup to trap more humidity. It's probably not even required really but this is just how I've done it all along. The inner square container is easier for me to get roots out of than a cup when it's time to check the roots or remove it from the container. You could just put perlite or sand into a cup and put a bag over it, but I'd probably need to check the humidity of the perlite a little more often (also if you don't use holes in the cups, make sure the perlite is fully drained).

    Also, regarding perlite, I hear gritty sand works just as well if you don't have perlite on hand. I've never tried sand though.

    One additional note, when I use cuttings without a tip (where both ends are cut), and I only have a few cuttings, I put grafting tape over the top cut. I've had good luck doing that with plants that take a really long time so the top won't dry out and die first. Not really required but it seems to make cuttings last longer.

  • cs15
    7 years ago

    Good thing I attach a picture. Now I have a clear idea about everything. Thanks a lot for the help!

  • iandyaz
    7 years ago

    No problem! Let me know how it goes.

  • cs15
    7 years ago

    Update on my pomegranate cuttings: none of them survived. I don't know where I went wrong!

    On the positive note, there is a website companion plants, and they are selling henna plant.

    Anyone looking for a henna plant can buy from this website. Hope it is helps!

  • iandyaz
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Sorry to hear that. Did any of them start roots at all? In my experience, they take a little longer to root when not dormant. You could try again late winter/early spring with dormant cuttings before they start to grow leaves.

    Once you've done a few of them, it's easier to know how much moisture the cuttings need to stay alive. That's kind of the main thing, it's a balance act to keep them from drying out while not giving them too much moisture to rot them.

  • cs15
    7 years ago

    The cuttings completely dried out. I kept checking the perilite and made sure that weren't dry or soggy. I covered the top with grafting tape, ziplock bag on top.

    Didn't work. I must have done something wrong but don't know what!

  • iandyaz
    7 years ago

    One problem with my old method is it's very reliant on a difficult to control moisture level. I have a new method that's much more flexible and I didn't want to mention it before because I hadn't had any success with it yet, but now I've tested 3 different tougher plants with it and they've made it, and it takes a lot less watching than the older method. I'm trying a hard to root plant right now (Michelia Alba) and if it works, then I'll know it's a winner.

    It's sort of a hybrid of what I do and some people do on the fig forums. I still do everything as before except I put a small amount (1-2 cm) of slower draining medium (like pure peat moss) in the bottom of the smaller container with the perlite and wet it thoroughly before putting the perlite and plant in. Then I don't add any water to the perlite at all and put the cutting in so its cut end is about 2 cm above the peat moss. Basically you don't let any actual water touch the stem, but the moisture from the peat moss comes up through the perlite slowly. When the peat moss starts to dry out (2-5 weeks later depending on heat) I just pour a small amount of water into the cup holding the container and it soaks it up. This way it's pretty obvious when the container needs more water, and it's not too bad to put water in early. Also, I use rooting hormone on tougher to root cuttings.

  • ezhilmalini
    6 years ago

    Cs15 do you have henna seeds to share.thanks

  • chewsigirl
    5 years ago

    Hi guys!! I came on to see if there was any suggestions for trimming and legginess.

    I know this thread is old but I wanted to offer my experience with the henna plants.

    I live in Miami, Florida and have 6 mature trees that I planted about 7 years ago.

    They are all healthy and grow robustly. They DO in fact offer a wonderful fragrance when in bloom. The flowers emit a delicious and mesmerizing fragrance. The scent is more potent when 1) right after they receive water, whether by me or mother nature and 2) as the evening is arriving....like at sunset. I know some on here say that only the leaves offer fragrance and that may be the experience they have had with whichever strand they own. My experience is the total opposite from these comments. My home sits on a corner and the neighbors walk past my home when walking their pets just to grab a whiff from my garden. They constantly tell me that I have the "best smelling corner in the neighborhood" ;)

    My trees bloom year round! I do not fertilize them directly, ever. The only time they get any type of "help" is when the run off water from my other plants around them that I do fertilize, reaches them. In my experience, the less you do for them, the prettier and healthier they perform,....mine offer me full, flower packed blooms all year. My only chore with them is trimming them back so they do not become leggy. I have some in direct, full blazing sun and a few in partial sun (30% direct sun from sunrise til about 11 am) The ones in full sun are much less leggy than the others. I am certain this occurs because they are searching for the sun so the tops grow more rapidly in that direction. In the past, I have trimmed the trees and planted the cuttings directly into the soil around the existing tree. Some have taken, others have not. I also take the little pods (balls) that develop (which are packed with seeds) when they turn brown and crush between my fingers to spread the seeds around the existing plants. I do not "bury" them into the soil, I just simply let the drop on the soil bed. I have had growth from these little buddies many times.

    This is most definitely one of my favorite fragrant plants and they have performed wonderfully in my garden. I will add some pictures for you all to review as soon as I snap some.

    Hope this info helps a bit ;)

    Love & light to all!!

  • ezhilmalini
    5 years ago

    chewsigirl can you share henna cuttings if you trim the plant.Thanks

  • ezhilmalini
    5 years ago

    chewsigirl thank you .I tried to grow from seed from last year. still no success.

  • ladybug A 9a Houston area
    5 years ago

    Companion plants still offers it if anyone is interested. I just got a small rooted cutting. Not sure how fast it grows or when it will flower.

0
Sponsored
Iris Design Associates
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars22 Reviews
Northern Virginia Landscape Architect - 13x Best of Houzz Winner!