Good for you-Kasie!

I got one there a month ago. It was $35.

Mine did not grow ANYTHING since it come to my home. I put it under the full sun (I'd say maybe 80% of the sun since the other tree will cover little bit.) and water it when the leaves become flat (~ every 5 days).

I know now it is not the growing season for M. ALBA. It should gow 3-4 feet a year under good condition. However, at least it should show me some sign of growing. Now here Sol CA it is still preyty warm. I am concering about it is: is this a well-rooted plant?

What is your suggestion?

thanks!

Wei

Don't worry, they don't grow this time of the year. Mine didn't do anything until it's Dec, then it took off like crazy.

Hello Wei - The gentleman that sold me the plants said to leave it in same pot until spring...then I can transplant or put into the ground. He also said when watering make sure the water drains through twice. Then water every two days or so. He further told me that if the leaves turn yellow, then it was watered too much. Also, when I was there, I saw the workers repotting their shipment into the 2 gallon pots and it was really root bound. Lots of healthy white roots!! I love this plant so much that I may go back and get 1 more...well...maybe 2.

Good luck to you Wei.

Kasie

Thanks-yellowthunb. I will wait for Dec coming....

Kasie: I love M. ALBA too. And this is mine 8th ONE. I have SUCCESSFULLY killed 6 M. ALBA in 6-7 years by unknown reasons (for me only). The 7th is in the pot now and nobody knows what will be the result. The 7th one had been in the ground for 2 and half years and did not grow. So I replanted it by planting higher and by adding soil amendments, it did not work. Finally I have to dig it out 3 wks ago and put it back into a pot. Now it is almost leafless. All I can do for it is cross my fingers. It is under the full-shade and I almost not water it because a dying plant does not need water ( I just keep the soil moisture.)

I don't give up. I said to myself: you die, I buy! you die again, I buy again! I will win the battle. Now I got my 8th M. ALBA.

Hello Wei - number 8? Wow! You are determined. I don't blame you though, because these have such wonderful scent.

Kasie

Thanks-Kasie. Since I love M. ALBA, so I always gave them too much care (maybe in a wrong way). If I left them alone, my first one should be a huge tree now. All the rewards I got from my hard work to take care of them during past 6-7 years are 6 small or big STICKS!

Hi-yellowthumb, why M. ALBA will start to grow at Dec.? That will be winter. As I know that M. ALBA likes warm and moisture weather. What months are M. ALBA's growing season? I am waiting for it is growing crazy. Mine never ever grow. So it was me who was crazy, not M. ALBA growing crazy...LOL.

Thanks.

Wei

To keep Alba alive:

1. Do not over water. Slightly dry will not kill the plant. Constant wet feet will kill. The root of alba is called 'meat root' which is like orchid easily to have root rot problem.

2. No freezing temperature.

Thanks-longriver, Here in sol CA, we seldom have freezing temp during the winter.
Overwatering? It is in the 2 G pot with nursery soil and in general you can't overwater it (since when you water it, the water comes out right away. So I water it slowly and longer time).

It is ~4 feet tall with lots of big leaves. In order to develop better root system, I take 1/3 of the leaves away (from the lower part of the tree).
I plan to put it into the ground next spring (April-May-2009) if only it is still alive... LOL

In general, I am pretty much confident when I am doing anything EXCEPT for growing M. ALBA.

Wei

Wei, Can you pull the plant and root ball from the pot? If you feel uncomfortable, then do not do so.

I grow so many plants in pot. The root ball will tell you if the root is brown. Or it is dry in the center. Once the root rot starts, it will gradually damage the whole root.

Your area is much better to grow alba. It will develop into a huge tree on the ground in your area.

Longriver, I would leave it there for a while and see. Maybe it is going to dormant.

I am in Sunset zone 22. We have Santa Ana Wind from Oct. to next March every year. During this period, the temp is high, air is dry, and wind is very strong. All are not good for M. ALBA.

And I am close to the ocean (~5 mile). Normally it is windy all year around. The weather here in Sol CA for M. ALBA is little bit harsh. IMO, SF is a better place for M. ALBA.

Anyway, I am still trying to do my best.

Thanks!

Wei

Hello Wei - I did it. I went back to Green Mart and bought just one more. I was going for the 2 gallon size but when the nice lady said the 5 gallons were on sale too at $40...you got it...that's the one I bought. In comparison to my recently acquired M. Albas, I am so embarrassed with how I treated my 3 existing M. Albas. I will have to take a picture of them and show you.

Hello John - the nice lady at the nursery tried to sell me Osmanthus. But I told her that I already have the white one and was only looking for the yellow/orange ones. She told me that in Southern California, we're too hot for the yellow/orange ones. It's not true right? Because University of California Riverside was selling the yellow ones. Maybe I'll just have to wait for UCR's spring sale and to be sure to get there early.

Kasie

Ok, this is out of topic but I just have to say this...

I love Michelia albas and have five of them. (Photos here). They bloom all year round in our tropical climate and the scent is just 'to die for'. It's the most heavenly scent I have ever smelled all my life and when they are blooming profusely like right now in my garden, I feel like I am in heaven!

I can't get enough of their sweet scent that I feel I still need to purchase a few more trees in addition to what I already have (five 5-7 ft tall trees).

I can't stop myself from picking a few flower buds and carrying them with me when they are in bloom, placing them (2-3 buds) in my pockets as a sort of 'natural' perfume. I get new buds everyday and replace the old ones in my pockets for a continuous 'high' everywhere I go.

I am somehow 'addicted' to their very sweeeeeeet, scent and I'm just curious if it is medically 'safe' to smell them for long periods of time. Also, I'm curious if it is safe to make a tea out of their flower buds or foliage. The foliage smells sweetly fragrant when crushed. I learned jasminum sambac (maid of orleans) tea can be made from its flowers and consumed so I was wondering maybe I can make one made out of michelia alba leaves or buds... Would it be safe to drink? I know vanilla flavoring is derived from the vanilla orchid. Maybe a michelia alba flavoring would be nice, don't you think? Michelia alba flavored ice cream? Yum! :)

tropical

Good for you-Kasie.

You have 5 M. ALBA now. Do you have any of them in the ground? If yes, how long have it in the ground and how large it is now? I would love to see your pics of M. ALBAs.

Hi, tropical,
I always bring the M. ALBA flowers to my office and share the swaet scent with my co-works.
You can carry the buds with you as long as you don't feel headache with the strong and lasting scent. I would not drink "M. ALBA tea" before you get any safety data from scientific research. I googled this topic and could not find any data for it.

happy planting to your all!

Wei

Traditionally Michelia alba is the second most popular flower being used to scent tea in China. (The most popular one is Jasminum sambac and Sweet Olive is getting more popular now) The garden city of Suzhou used to be a major producer with lots of Michelia alba overwintered in old-style greenhouses over which the flower farmers lived on the second story. The flowers of Michelia alba is safe to eat as long as you clean it before consuming and just like everything else it is a good idea to not eat too much. Below is a photo of some nice Michelia alba and Jasminum sambac flowers I bought from a street vendor in Shanghai this summer for about 15 cents each.

Daxin,

what a fantastic picture! Let's hope flower culture in China doesn't get trampled in the rush to modernize; it seems like us dumb Yanks are still in the process of figuring out that new isn't always better!

Jim

Kasie, you said UCR was selling the orange ones? Do you remember if they were blooming size? I would love to purchase a blooming size one myself.

Oh, concerning eating flowers. I took a bit out of the petal of a Michelia figo the other day and it left a bitter taste in my mouth, just like eating a banana peel. :)

Hello Musaboru - When I was at the fall plant sale they had plenty of the white ones. I missed their spring sale last month. So I will have to look forward to the fall sale once again.

Kasie

Thanks for the reply Kasie. I might go in the fall too if the M. champaca I have does not flower this year. Don't know how tall or old they have to be to flower, but I'm crossing my fingers for flowers buds this year. :(

Hello Musaboru -are you referring to Michelia or Osmanthus? The sale at UCR was for Osmanthus white and yellow.

I have a M. Champaca in the ground also and it has not bloomed for me either. My M. Alba are doing fantastically well and all are in pots. I need to transplant in larger pots though. And the scent is heavenly!

Kasie

Michelias! Are your M. x alba blooming yet? I have one bud about to open. The hazy weather here in So Cal is restraining it from blooming sooner I believe, these buds were forming for almost two months already.

As for my M. champaca, I notice a lot of buds along the leaf axis, but I don't know if they are all leaf buds or not. I'm hoping at least one of them could be a flower bud since I dont think there would be so many leaf buds branching out like that on one side branch. Who knows, I got it in March and it is about 5 foot.

Good luck on your Champaca, I wish there was some magic fertilizer or liquid thing like Superthrive that would make saplings set flower buds without having to wait years for it to mature. Or is there such a thing already out there that we dont know about...?

Hello Musaboru - the M. Alba that I bought back in Oct.-Nov. are setting buds...lots of um. The ones in the 15 gallon pots are blooming. The scent is amazing. Thank you in regards to M. Champaca. And good luck to you also :)

Kasie