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jeelli

wrightia religiosa

jeelli
15 years ago

I own a Wrightia Religiosa- my second one, actually. The first one got thrown out because I thought it was dead. I later found out that they can go into complete dormancy during the winter, losing all of their leaves. Oops! My bad (my impatience!)

I came close to chucking the second one- all of my other plants resumed growth in March! Now it's April, and lo and behold- while coming close to losing almost all of it's leaves, the plant has new growth!!!

Do any of you out there own one of these plants? I know it is supposed to be very fragrant, but I haven't seen any postings discussing this plant. (I've tried searching, but came up empty)

I'd love to hear some experiences some of you may have had with this plant!

Thank You!

Happy Spring :0)

77 degrees in Connecticut today!!!!!! Oh Joy!!!

Jen

Comments (6)

  • saturniidaebreeder
    15 years ago

    I dont have that exact plant, but i do have a fragrant plant/ tree that is fragrant. I have never smelt any fragrance from it until about 10 years after I got it, on one of the plants. So if you are saying that you have not had any fragrance come from it, pacience is a key! use blooming fertilizer, treat it well, water when needed and Good Luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Jeremy- Moths and Butterflies

  • daxin
    15 years ago

    I have grown one for four years and it goes into dormancy almost every year. The fragrance is sort of like that of Pink Jasmine and Star Jasmine, not as nice as Michelia alba or Jasminum sambac in my opinion. Nevertheless, the dangling little white flowers are quite unique and interesting and the plant is one of the best for bonsai. I heard that it is getting popular in South Florida as a landscape shrub.

  • birdsnblooms
    15 years ago

    I first thought you were talking about Ficus Religiosa, but after doing a search, I came up with your plant, I think. Toni

    Oops, GW won't let me post the nursery. I'll try another.
    http://www.rareflora.com/wrightiarelsin.html

    Okay, they allowed that site to go through..Toni

  • jeelli
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Hi Toni!
    Thanks for the link. I've checked other websites about my plant, but Rare Flora answered my question. That's exactly what I needed- not what it's used for or what it smells like, what country the plant is from, etc., just the dormancy question.
    My Wrightia is only six inches tall- I had gotten it this past Fall, so it hasn't bloomed yet, but it's looking great. It's good to know they go dormant even in Florida. I wish I hadn't chucked the first one! Although that one came from the unmentionable place in Florida, and it really seemed dead- not just dormant, so who really knows!
    Thank You!
    Jen

  • jeelli
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Daxin- pardon my comment about not needing to know about the smell or anything- I just meant that when trying to look up the cultural info, I always find the same info about the bloom time, season, uses etc. I had that one other question that would kind of "complete" my "research".
    It's good to hear that I have something to look forward to when it blooms! Like I said above, my leaves have just started to sprout. Being in the Bay area, has yours come out of dormancy earlier? How soon after it springs back to life would you say you get blooms?
    Thanks again!
    Jen

  • jimshy
    15 years ago

    I've grown one for almost 4 years; it's now about 3 feet high and bushy, or would be if it wasn't partly leafless. If you search under wrightia religiosa bonsai there's an article by Jerry Meslik (spelling?) that has a lot of good cultural info.

    I've found it easy to grow so long as you watch out for scale, and you'll be battling mites in winter unless you've got great air movement. The fragrance is soft, not as intense as some other fave plants, like folks said, but it's quite nice and the flowers have a very elegant appearance hanging down like fuchsias from the stems. I've heard the best way to induce flowering is to cut back all new leaves (you can prune the heck out of this one, no problem) and it'll pop out new growth and buds. You can get wave after wave of blooms with this technique, so long as you also give it lots and lots of water in warmer months, and regular fert, of course.

    There's another wrightia species that I can't remember, with larger flowers but no fragrance.

    'scuse me while I go chop mine back, the temps are going into the 70s for the next few days (yikes! in April?) and I'm going to bake it back into shape!

    Jim

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