mysore mulli

Nice pictures, very crisp. Definitely can't get quality like that with my silly broken iphone! Those plants look awesome! Congrats :)

Ugh! So jealous you can just find awesome plants at your local nursery. Most of us have to order such treasures. :)

Were any of the M. albas blooming?

Congrats!

-Robert

I know, mail-order plants are so puny and expensive! It's funny because I passed by this nursery for years but never bothered to stop in until a year ago. Its owned by a Chinese family who specializes in asian fruits in addition to beloved asian fragrant plants. It is dangerous though as I've already spent lots of $$ there - I can't walk out without buying something and I've given away my existing plants to make room for more exotic tropicals. None of their michelia albas were blooming unfortunately. However, their michelia figos were.

congrats on a really nice and healthy looking michelia alba surprised about what you said about michelia figo but fragrance can be a bit hit and miss depending on atmospheric conditions etc i have had a bit of trouble growing figo in pots so i have 4 of them ( i do not give up easily )from all different parts of the world England Germany France even a grafted one from singapore :P from maroon color ,dark maroon, almost white , even a yellowish form and some times i dont even notice its in flower yet other times it can be like "wow what a fragrance" do not always go on first sniff ;)

phoebe368,
You have to go back another time for the Michelia figo. They don't retain their fragrance through out the entire day. But oh man, when those essential oils start to evaporate, it will waft several feet away and knock you out. Maybe try in the evening around 5pm to go sniff. It varies.

Phoebe, great plants! Almost glad there's no place called "Green Mart" around here. Holy crap I'd get in serious trouble.

Love your patio/courtyard, BTW! Not that you much need one, but it looks like a great microclimate with the surrounding foliage, structures, trees, and of course the bricks. Nice! Do you ever have to bring any plants inside due to cold?

Thank you for the compliments. Fortunately, I never have to bring plants in due to cold weather but I have the opposite problem - finding cool/shady areas so my plants don't get burnt. The sun here in Orange County, CA has been very strong this year and summer has come early. I didn't get the chance to enjoy the roses because they wilt a few hours after opening. I am ashamed to admit that I returned the michelia alba above because it had no buds on it and was air-layered. After hearing all the good reviews regarding this plant, I was too impatient to wait for it to flower. I exchanged it for a weeping tea mulberry and then went to Batavia Gardens on Batavia/Ball in Orange and picked up a grafted michelia alba which was already in bloom with lots of buds. It was expensive though - $90! But well worth it. I'll be shopping at the thrift store for awhile - ha, ha! Below are more pics.

flowers and buds

weeping tea mulberry Morus "Pendula"

Ugh! You're killing me with all your awesome finds!
Wow! For that many blooms/buds I would have forked over the dough as well. :)

Do you mind posting a pic of the graft union of your new M. alba?

I've been debating with others over whether my eBay one was air-layered or grafted.

I'm still going with air-layered but other folks think I'm wrong. ;)

Thank you,
Robert

This post was edited by robert1971 on Thu, May 16, 13 at 14:17

Here is a pic of the bud union. I think the one you got was air-layered because I e-mailed the ebay seller "epotsgroup". He lives in my area. I wanted to get a grafted alba in flower/bud from him but he said his albas are air-layered which is very misleading because the ebay description says they are grafted.

Yes! Thank you so much!

In your face, Springfield! Sorry...couldn't resist. ;)

I'm totally linking this thread to mine. Ha!

Yea. I think his eBay listing is very misleading as well but my tree is growing so I guess I'll just have to wait longer for it to bloom. :)

-Robert

phoebe368, I am very jealous.. I wanted to have climbing ylang ylang. I have got one from TT for $79 in quart gallon pot. And it died after coming to my home.

its not just in 5Gal... and its huge...

I wish i am in CA.

Phoebe,

Both plants look so healthy! How do you like the M. Alba? I loved it so much that I bought 3 Albas and 1 Champaca.

Now I have always wanted a Mulberry tree but due to limited space I never could get one. Are you planning to keep yours in the container or plant it in the ground? I definitely have to go check out the two nurseries you mentioned. Congrats on your trees!

I love my new michelia alba. Not only is it gorgeous but it has the most interesting fragrance which is difficult to describe. Some people say it smells like juicy fruit but it much more complex. I can't stop smelling it. The weeping tea mulberry is considered a dwarf mulberry and won't get much bigger than the one shown. It's not like the regular mulberry which gets huge. Also, it will send out more weeping branches which will pile on each other creating a fuller, lusher tree. It makes a great specimen tree and children love to hide in it.