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fragrant2008

blooming in october

fragrant2008
10 years ago

Hi a few of my fragrant plants blooming for me in october :)

Oncidium Meike very strong scent of vanilla well has to be strong to try and out power my cestrum :)

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Cattleya Pot creation lovely flowers and nice scent

one picked up cheap from a supermarket

The world famous Potinara Burana Beauty 'Burana' HCC/AOS wonderful fragrance of citrus

In full bloom crazy scent at night cestrum

and a very fragrant rare day scented cactus so rare that i have gone and lost the label

Comments (40)

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    So jealous of your 'Burana'! :)
    I got one in spike off eBay last month from Hawaii and it aborted. :(
    Maybe next year I'll get to sniff its citrus scent. I've read some people compare the scent to rose as well.

    Our Cestrum nocturnum has been going crazy as well. The scent is overpowering at night! The moths have been swarming it. ;)

    -Robert

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Almost forgot. I got two cattleya hybrid orchids to bloom. Woo hoo! Blc. Fatari 'Carmela' is on its way out however one I bought last year on sale with no tag is blooming. I think it's Lc. Purple Cascade. So far it's not that strongly scented however it did catch the attention of a bee yesterday. :)

  • fragrant2008
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    WOW! Robert i thought my cestrum was big yours looks
    huge and nice and bushy that must be a knockout fragrance do you have it in the ground or a pot? and how old is it?
    Beautiful Lc. Purple Cascade i just noticed the bee in the left sided flower as well :)
    sorry to hear about the aborted flower had the same thing happen to me earlier in the year on a orchid bought on ebay
    i guarantee the wait for it to re-flower will be worthwhile :)

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Thanks! The cestrum is in the ground. I've had it for years (I dig it up every year before it gets too cold). It hardly bloomed at all this year until now. I've also got about 4 rooted cuttings planted around it to increase the bushiness. :)
    The scent can be nauseating with so many blooms open at once.

    Here's a pic of my 'Carmela' when it was at its prime. Wish the blooms lasted longer though I guess I shouldn't complain since it's been blooming for almost two weeks.

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    These may be the world's most powerful flowers. There are not many blooms on this tiny new shrub, and they are barely visible, but strong enough to waft across the yard. Osmanthus fragrans.

    Also blooming now, Mirabilis jalapa (4'o'clocks,) butterfly bush (Buddleia.)

  • fragrant2008
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Now that is a stunner beautiful pattern in the flower that one is scented aswell right ? i know Cattleya walkeriana is in the parentage and that is definitely fragrant :)

    Hi purpleinopp, i love this plant to :) this is the first year mine has flowered and for such tiny little flowers the fragrance is a joy :) your plant is twice the size on mine and would love to plant mine in the ground doubt it would survive our winters :(

  • meyermike_1micha
    10 years ago

    HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU ALL DO IT???

    I have not a ONE orchid in flower and I have all of them..Over 30..
    Then the night blooming thing, nothing! I killed one plant, lost another to a critter, and then was given another and have yet to see a bud....Frustrating..lol

    They are all beautiful everyone..Great job!

    Mike

  • meyermike_1micha
    10 years ago

    Robert...

    When you dig it up, do you treat it for bugs and keep it growing in a pot all winter?

    What exactly do you do with it when you do? Do you bare root it? Do you grow it in the same soil as the ground?

    Thanks a bunch!

    MIke

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Hey, Mike!

    I dig it up and shake off the soil and plant it in a pot with the fast draining 5:1:1 mix. I cut it back a bit and spray both sides of the leaves with insecticidal soap and grow it under the lights in the basement. :)

    My Brassavola nodosa orchid has been blooming nonstop since late June and is producing more flower buds! Best show ever.
    The scent can be light to heavy at times. Reminds me of Brunfelsia gigantea but not quite as good as the brunfelsia. ;)

    -Robert

  • meyermike_1micha
    10 years ago

    Fragrant....In all the years I have been growing Oncidiums, I have never been able to get one to respike....What did you do? Do you shock it into flower? Like, let it dry out really hard, or expose the plant to cold?
    It's beautiful!

    Robert..Thank you for that....Unfortunately I threw mine out..I don't think I will ever smell one in bloom at all:-(
    Thsi one plant seems to always be loaded with bugs no matter what I do and I couldn't risk bringing that plant anywhere near my others.....
    Yours is beautiful!

  • ordphien
    10 years ago

    wow! I've got a long way to go with orchids lol.
    all of your p lants are gorgeous!

    I've got this guy... NOID " blue" phal.
    smells like lemons in the morning, cinnamon buns during the day, and fruit loops in the evening.

  • ordphien
    10 years ago

    Gardenia radicans. aka mini gardenia.
    extremely on the coconut fragrance. I'm planning on keeping it indoors year round.

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Yay! We're keeping this thread going! :)
    Love the blue phal and how the scent changes throughout the day. Very intriguing.

    My Cymbidium Chen's Ruby is just starting to open and so far has a light, lemony magnolia like scent which is similar to Aglaia odorata (Chinese Perfume Plant). Love it!

    -Robert

    This post was edited by robert1971 on Mon, Oct 14, 13 at 11:31

  • fragrant2008
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hi Mike,

    I treat the Oncidiums much like cattleya i let them almost! dry out between watering and do let them dry out in the winter period also after they have flowered the bulbs have a tendency to shrivel abit which can then tempt you to water them but i do not i let them rest and i also give them very good light and it seems to work for me hope that it some way helps

    Have a similar question for Robert every where i read that Brassavola nodosa is easy to grow and flower! yet mine does not seem to want to do anything its one of those orchids i have had no really luck with :( what do you do regarding watering light levels etc

    Ordphien love your Phal the color and the description of the fragrance :)

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Hey fragrant!

    Sorry to hear your brassavola hasn't flowered. :(
    Maybe it's not getting enough light and warmth?
    I grow mine outside under the arbor in the filtered sun when temps are 60 and above.
    I hose them down once or twice a day depending on how hot it is outside and fertilize about every two weeks during the growing season.
    During the winter I grow them in a sunny window and only water maybe once a week.
    Maybe mine blooms since I'm closer to Mexico than you guys? ;)

    -Robert

  • fragrant2008
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Cheers for the fast reply Robert i have a feeling it might be warmth but i will give what you say a try :) i might have to make do with looking at your beautiful photos :)

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    My Hedychium 'Peach Delight' has been an October delight. Lightly fragrant. Still prefer H. coronarium but I do like the peach colors of this hybrid. :)

    -Robert

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Finally got a brug bloom this year!
    Brugmansia 'Cherub' is fully open and turning pinker by the day (it opens creamy white). It is indeed fragrant at night.
    Still too early to tell if it's a keeper. Ha!

    -Robert

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Brunfelsia gigantea finally blooming! It had a few blooms this spring but then I went and potted it into a larger pot and got no blooms until right before the end of the season. Doh!
    Can you tell I'm trying to keep this thread alive? ;)

    Smells awesome even during the day (but smells better at night).

    -Robert

  • kemistry
    10 years ago

    hehehe Hi Robert!!! (and Hi everyone!!!)

    I know..I know..I've been hibernating.

    Yay for your Chen Ruby! I threw my cymbidium out last month.. no more orchid for me lol :( The ginger looks great. And the brunfelsia, too.

    I see some buds on my brun gigantea too despite my negligence..gotta love these brun.

    My brun jamaicensis has been blooming on and off.. I love that scent the most.

    My dwarf cananga has finally bloomed.. it smells strange.. lol, herbal kind of smell at first, but if you get over that strangeness, you would smell something sweet, sort of like honey, and at times fruity and that does smell pretty good. A faint scent though. Doesn't wow me like sambac or brun or michelia..but I'm starting to like it. Hey at least I can smell something, I was worried that it would have no scent at all.

    But what's smelling great for me yesterday & today is this:

  • fenius
    10 years ago

    hey guys!!Such nice blooms for autumn!!
    Fragrant who sold your magnolia rajaniana in your other post???
    Robert your brassavola looks great!
    Kem my coco died in the summer, now you are going to make me replace it while I'm trying to save up for orchids!!
    Ok here's what I have:
    one of the last of gartentraume


    my alba is setting a lot of seed thanks to these little guys

    one no id brug with a scent that reminds me of baby powder and citrus

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Yay! People are keeping this thread alive and it's my old friends I haven't heard from in forever! :)

    Kem, I've been wondering what's been blooming for you! Has Randia ruiziana ever bloomed for ya? Still tempted by that one. ;)
    Think you would enjoy the cym. Chen's Ruby since it's very easy to grow and has been blooming inside under T5 lights AND you can smell it inside! :)

    Fenius, so glad to hear from you and such gorgeous pics as usual!

    My Jasminum grandiflorum 'Flora Plena' has been blooming. It's covered in pink buds. Wonder if I should have gotten the single variety since some blooms don't fully open?

    -Robert

  • dl99
    10 years ago

    Thank you friends for sharing these lovely pictures. They make me so happy.
    Robert, do you bring Jasmine Flore plena inside or is it planted in the ground? How is the fragrance?
    My next wish list includes Brassavola.

    My small Madagascar jasmine is putting out buds.
    I was greedy and did not want to trim them before I brought them inside. Wish they would open soon so I can enjoy their delightful fragrance

    Also Jasmine Mysore mulli and Arabian Knights have been constantly blooming. Mysore mulli refuses to open fully , I think due to lack of sun.

    This post was edited by dl99 on Sat, Oct 26, 13 at 12:52

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Hi dl99!

    This thread is bringing out all my old friends! :)

    Congrats on your Stephanotis floribunda flower buds! I tried sniffing some at a local nursery and got no scent. Perhaps they're only fragrant at night? Who knows!

    Your sambac jasmines look goregous.

    Remember back in spring when you recommended the single tuberoses to us?
    Well I've been impatiently waiting for my Polianthes tuberosa 'Single Mexican' to bloom. I had a few flower spikes shooting up. One was real close to blooming. I keep them down in the basement under the lights at night. This weekend I went to check on them and noticed they had fallen from the black nursery pot I had placed them on and fell upside down. All my flower spikes were crushed. Wah! :(
    I was real upset with myself for being so stupid.
    Oh, well. Maybe I'll see some cut tuberoses for sell at Whole Foods again and buy them. :)

    My Jasminum grandiflorum 'Flora Plena' is in a pot. I'll keep it down in the basement when it gets too cold.
    The scent is subtle compared to sambacs but I like it. It smells like the essential oil I use to sniff when I was a kid (my first introduction to the scent of jasmine).

    -Robert

    This post was edited by robert1971 on Mon, Oct 28, 13 at 7:33

  • ladylotus
    10 years ago

    Oooohhh I love all the photos of your fragrant plants. Wish I had some to add, but at this time I do not.

    Fragrant, is your epiphyllum Fruehlings Gold? It sure looks like my FG.

    I love reading this forum, as I have added many plants in my greenhouse due to all your suggestions.

  • fragrant2008
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Good job keeping this post going guys/girls , only realy my orchids & hoya flowering now. My Brugmansia was flowering but totally forgot to take any pics :(
    Really sorry to hear about your tuberoses Robert i never even got 1 spike this year and really wanted to give them another chance after last years none fragrant show

    Hi ladylotus , no its not Fruehlings Gold i know that as i have just found the label it was written with ink on one of
    the leaves :P Its Disocactus macranthus

    fenius my possible magnolia rajaniana was sold to me by
    bkinterfruit on ebay

  • fragrant2008
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Just found this on the internet " Disocactus macranthus Used as a cross by Kurt Petersen for 'FRUEHLINGS GOLD" :)

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    I finally had the pleasure of smelling Plumeria yesterday. It smelled like jasmine and citrus mixed, to my nose. Lucky enough to come home with 2 FAT cuttings too. Just what I need, another plant I'm allergic to (latex sap.) But at least I know up front with this one. Maybe next summer I will be able to smell some blooms again of my own. Surprisingly pretty flowers too, to be so scented. The vast majority of scented blooms are white.

    Fragrant at night, Datura.

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Ladylotus,

    Welcome! So glad you're getting new ideas from this forum. I've added lots of new fragrant plants this way as well. :)

    Fragrant,

    I've got a couple of tuberose flower spikes that look like they made the tumble! Woo hoo!
    I'll let you know my thoughts on their scent should they bloom. :)

    Purple,

    Beautiful brugmansia! I planted the white variety 'Betty Marshall' in the ground this spring and it's finally starting to bloom!
    That's the downfall of planting in the ground vs. keeping in a pot. It takes forever to finally bloom. They bloom much sooner in a pot but of course you won't get as many mass blooms like I'm getting from growing in the ground. She does smell wonderful at night!
    Also it grew freaking huge in the ground so I don't know if I'll cut it back and dig it up or just mulch heavily and hope for the best.

    Do you have problems with Spotted Cucumber Beetles eating your flowers and leaves?
    They seems to love my brugs.
    I'm constantly picking and crushing them. :(

    -Robert

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    Robert, AWESOME plant!! I've seen some chewed leaves but all I found was armyworms (or some similar caterpillar.) Hopefully mine will be big enough to have enough blooms to waft next year. It's by a window!

  • botaniphile
    10 years ago

    Wow, I haven't been here in a while! I know it's technically November, but I figured I'd cover all my bases by commenting how amazing everyone's pictures are and posting my own.

    Most of my plants are all tuckered out from the ridiculously hot summer here in Florida. Osmanthus isn't in bloom (maybe it's still too warm here? Crossing my fingers.) and neither are my roses. However, feast your eyes on these puppies:


    Oncidium 'Heaven Scent Sweet Pea': Got this one early this year in a bag from Lowes. I didn't think I'd get it to bloom, so this is an awesome surprise! The spike has been developing for a couple months... I can't wait for the buds to open!


    Oncidium 'Twinkle'! I've heard how notorious this one is, so I didn't have high hopes for it, either. These spikes have been developing for a couple months as well, and this is the FIRST one open! No scent yet, though.

    I'm pretty sure the secret is neglect (water once a week or so). They are in clear plastic containers with an orchid mix of bark, charcoal and pumice and sitting in a west facing window. I stick some of those orchid fertilizer spikes in there whenever I think about it (although I haven't done so in a few months since they've been in spike). I group them close together for humidity as well (they are on a plate with rocks that I used to fill with water, but I got lazy).

    My poor little artabotrys h. seedling is chilling next to them. He's hiding in the back of the first pic. I had two, but lost one after an unexpected dry spell this summer (along with my m. champaca, darn it!). I'm too scared to put him back outside for fear that I will neglect him again :(. Out of sight, out of mind is definitely true for me. Maybe once I stop being lazy and repot he will take his place out on the big, scary porch. Lol.

  • ladylotus
    10 years ago

    Fragrant - yes, Disocactus macranthus it is. I don't have that one but have seen photos of it. I've been outbid a couple times on ebay for it. I needed to stop ordering for awhile now since it is starting to get so cold.

    Robert - Thank you so much for the very kind welcome. I meander through this area frequently in hopes of adding more plants to my greenhouse that will infuse it with a dreamy scent.

    I purchased a Caroline Jasmine after seeing someone post here about it and mine is finally getting big enough that it should start blooming soon. It was so tiny when I got it.

    I am looking for more large growing/climbing plants that will have strong fragrance for my greenhouse. Are there any fragrant passifloras? Or should I stick with jasmines?

    Love everyone's photos.

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Hi ladylotus!

    If you keep your greenhouse warm I suggest Jasminum azoricum.
    If cool then Jasminum grandiflorum 'Single'. The double variety (Flora Plena) tends to not always fully open.

    I'll start a new thread for fragrant passifloras. :)

    -Robert

  • plantlover49
    10 years ago

    I would Love to add my Brugmansia Blooming in my basement,
    I have to take mine in, during the winter, zone 6B gets very Cold
    this is a Seedling, it just Bloomed a couple days ago

    Elizabeth

  • Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
    10 years ago

    Wow! Gorgeous color, Elizabeth. Congrats!
    Have you detected any scent yet?

    -Robert

  • ladylotus
    10 years ago

    Thank you for the suggestions Robert. I keep my greenhouse at 45 deg F and during the day it climbs into the 80's if the sun is out and it is not cloudy.

    I have the following Jasmine but they are all small as I purchased them this spring:
    Confederate jasmine
    Night blooming jasmine - Cestrum nocturnum
    Carolina jasmine Rankinii
    Madagascar jasmine - Stephanotis floribunda

    They did not grow much this summer, I'm hoping they are working on the root system and will show some serious growth this spring. I'm hoping these will get big and full. I always have a few praying mantis in my greenhouse and they like big vines to hang out in.

    I had a common passion vine that was HUGE and when I repotted it, I trimmed up the roots and it died on me. So now I am starting over trying to grow some vines up along the rafters of my greenhouse.

    Thank you for the suggestions.

  • dl99
    10 years ago

    Hello Friends,
    It is so refreshing to see such beautiful blooms.

    Robert, I have not had a strong scent from stephanotis during the day or night. It may be my sense of smell.Once in a while it wafts and brings back fond memories.
    But I find it very picky, a bit of overwatering/underwatering, the buds become yellow and fall off, you can see in the picture, there is a bud above the flowers which has yellowed.
    friends any input is appreciated. Mine is in a six inch pot, it bloomed last week.

  • dl99
    10 years ago

    Aglaia is such a beatufiul plant, so simple yet a powerhouse of fragrance.

    Robert, I can imagine what your basement looks like, no place to step right, crowded with plants!

    I know you must have propped the tuberose to give it some sunlight. I am sorry robert, I know how you feel. Have patience , next year, start them early.it is well worth the wati.Good luck.

  • Jackiehay
    10 years ago

    This is a very interesting thread! I am new to the orchid world and find it hard to get the proper or all the information for my orchids, so I would like to ask a question. I have a oncidium sweet ears big shot that is just about done blooming, do I cut the stalk off? And, the roots are all over the place, I mean coming out the bottom by 12", all suggestions welcomed on repotting

  • Jackiehay
    10 years ago

    This is a very interesting thread! I am new to the orchid world and find it hard to get the proper or all the information for my orchids, so I would like to ask a question. I have a oncidium sweet ears big shot that is just about done blooming, do I cut the stalk off? And, the roots are all over the place, I mean coming out the bottom by 12", all suggestions welcomed on repotting