It is a bush and grows 6' tall can be used as a hedge.

Thanks Susie, from the looks of that picture I may not want to obscure my dining room window with it. Shame, cause I love the smell, perhaps in the back yard.

So funny story to relate about todays trip. When I came home with the Meyer Lemon, I noticed a bird dropping on the leaf so I flicked it off and set the plant down in my driveway to catch some sun.

After picking my kids up at school, I looked at my Meyer and there were two more bird droppings. I'm in dismay, that can't be more bird poop! Nope, those little tigers have spikes and move, definitely not bird poop. You know I told you all that I didn't know much about gardening but I'm learning fast.....hahaha. So these little 3 gallon Meyers have at least 3 caterpillars on them, maybe more. Should I keep them away from my other citrus that I have, all my stuff is new this year? Am I blessed or what?

I'm under the impression these are Giant Swallowtail from my research but love to hear what you think.

Darren

We keep ours trimmed and they still bloom after growing back. We like the fragrance and look of the plant but the fragrance is very faint. Have you checked out orange jasmine? Might also be too big but the fragrance is awesome and pretty strong (very similar to lilac). We have some in our hedges and new ones sprout all the time. A neighbor has trained one to a single trunk and it looks like a small citrus tree. Only about 6-8 feet high.

I'm a sucker for fragrant plants even more than pretty ones! Thanks dunedindan, no I have not seen one of those yet but will keep my eyes open. Funny how you mention your neighbor, I had thought about doing that to this plant but what I think i'm gonna use this to create more cuttings so I can have these all around my yard. I can't have enough of these sweet smelling things.

By the way, do you know anything about all the lime trees in Hammock Park? I couldn't believe my eyes as I walked the trails recently. Neat park, great butterfly garden.

Darren

Yeah - Lots of orange trees there in the woods. I think I read that some are wild orange. Not sure how they got there. Nice scarlet hibiscus there in the butterfly garden.

Orange trees, wow, all the fruit was dark green so I assumed. Interesting. I did not see the scarlet hibiscus at the butterfly park, hmmm, I may have to go back for another visit. Thanks.

Darren

I have a crape jasmine and I agree that the smell is not that strong, mine is about 5 ft tall now, I imagine that if it didn't get frozen back every year it would be huge but each spring it has to start all over again. If you are looking for more compact wafting fragrance I would try a brunfelsia americana shrub maybe?

Darren -

Yes, those look like the caterpillars of the Giant Swallowtail (a.k.a. Orange Dog caterpillars).

Depending on how small your baby Meyer Lemon is, three of them may not do enough damage to be concerned with. I like the butterflies, so actually when I see the caterpillars on my baby Meyer Lemon or red lime seedlings, I move them to my big satsuma tree. It would take hundreds to hurt that big tree, and I never have more than a few at a time in my yard.

Here is a link that might be useful: Giant Swallowtail caterpillar pictures

So many wonderful plants out there,how to choose? Thanks Lea for the tip, I guess I'm gonna have to keep visiting the good nurseries (not box stores) to see what is available. On the prowl now for Lady of the Night and Orange Jasmine.

I have a raw back yard that has been, literally dying for attention. Working on the layout now and hope to include all kinds of sweet plants. Originally was thinking of large patio slab but that would limit what I could have out there decorating it, so I think I'm going to scrap the large slab. So many options with garden walkways, small firepit, etc...

L that website is sweet. Those images are exactly what I have. I'd love to move them to another tree but alas I don't have any that are significantly bigger. At the moment there are 5 caterpillars, there were two that I didn't see originally. If they eat all the leaves I guess I'll have to transfer them to another plant so they don't die but I hope the one plant will be enough....... we'll see. We are so excited just to have them, we'll be sure not to let them starve.

I've seen more butterflies in my yard in the last two days than I've ever seen because some errant lantana on the edge of my property is blooming like crazy. Loving every moment.

i know this is an old thread,
but i am looking for a cutting of Crape Jasmine.
Happy to pay for postage.
cant find the plant locally....

can you PM me from the forum ?

thanks
Brad

Orange jasmine is banned to be sold by nurseries in Florida because it can be a host to citrus greening, which is so devastating to Florida's citrus industry. My neighbors have them as a hedge and they pop up all over my yard. The smell is very intense ( in a good way) and far reaching.

Brad,

I fertilized my 3 plants I had last year and they took it hard, I burned them. Careless with the application of the granular fertilizer I suspect. They looked to have died but are returning. Perhaps later in the season/summer will they be in good enough shape to share some cuttings.

Darren