I didn't have much luck with mine either, I planted my seeds in peat pots and yogurt containers. The seedlings seemed to be pretty healthy but when I planted them outside in a container, they were caught in a thunder storm and got very wet and then withered and died. I did manage to salvage a couple of them but they grow so stragely, you really need a bunch of them to look nice. I got to see what they looked like and they did smell nice but I really didn't have enough to get a strong enough scent.

Mine started out the same way..indoors under lights, then transplanted outside. They weren't thriving and were almost withering away until I thinned out the area in which they are growing. They were getting too much shade here. They now get full afternoon sun in a moist area (where clethra grows) and the once-gone plants are now robust and ready to bloom. I think they would have been blooming earlier had I given them more sun. It seems that some open space, moist soil, and a few hours of full sun help these plants the best, IMHO.

Never had luck either, hope you find the trick to growing them

Mine are still blooming and still have that fantastic fragrance in the evenings. I think the trick is that they like it cool, not hot and humid in full sun. I direct sow MATTHIOLA longipetala bicornis seed in between plants that will support them in part-shade. I wouldn't plant them alone, as they look too straggly by themselves.

Sharon

Sharon has the heart of it. Stocks are a cool season flower. In the summer heat of Zone 6 and south they just melt. For these areas, stocks should be treated like pansies, planted to be put out to flower in early spring, replaced by high summer.

This year, I'm trying an experiment. I started some new stocks the end of July. At this point I have great plants. The question is, will they come into flower in the fall soi can use them like fall pansies.

Kim, I'd be very interested in hearing how they make out, please let us know if they flower into the fall and how well they do. I seriously believe the hot humid summer played a big part in my stock's demise.

I had luck planting seeds outside directly in containers on my deck. I grew them just for the evening scent but was disappointed because I don't go out at night on the deck. LOL. Too many mosquitoes. It's an ugly plant and overrated, IMO.

I bought plants last year at a local nursery and they transplanted into full sun/average soil fine. Once you experience their fragrance on a summer's night with slight breeze, you are hooked! I know I really miss having them this year and will not go without them again.

Try winter sowing. I've got five big plants still blooming now.

I think some of you are talking about different stocks. Evening scented stocks are tiny, wispy little plants that lay all over the place and really can't be transplanted too well. I think you may be referring to regular stocks with strong upright stems that smell like cloves.

You're right Susan, that's what I was thinking of.

Great point, Susan-I was thinking of those as well.

I have had it with Mathiola bicornis. My earliest memories of my Granny's garden in Castlegar, BC, Canada, involve the intoxicating scent of her Evening Scented Stock.
I have planted Thompson + Morgan seeds for these plants, as well as other brands for two years. This year, my front garden is littered with healthy, flowering plants, but there is nary a whiff of perfume. If I stick the flower close to my nose, I can smell it. Has anybody else had this experience??? Can anyone send me seeds from their flowers that have strong scent?? I am concerned that the sale of these low-odour flowers will pollute the world with scentless Evening Scented Stock!!
I have a huge collection of dinner-plate dahlias and will swap tubers for seeds.

What is the latin name for regular stocks? I have Evening Scented Stock on my wish list, but that's not what I want! All I get in google is stock market results LOL!

Thanks :D

Vera

Wouldn't ya know as soon as I posted I found it LOL!
Matthiola incana :D

yes evening scented stock is not renowned for its looks. sort of like the old tale of the nightingale which was a plain brown little bird with an amazing song. Planting them amongst other more sturdy upright plants to support them seems to be the trick. I suppose it has to be just the right weather, not too humid, perfect temp. The nicest place is where you like to sit out at night or if mosquitoes are an issue then plant them under your bedroom window for that sensuous smell at bedtime. It will transport you.

I planted some seed at the end of October and have had good luck with my first bloom the third weekend of February. We don't get frost. They are spindly, weedy looking things but the very small flower has a nice scent. They like the sun but the minute it gets close to 80 they start to wilt. I live in Yuma, AZ; 120 degree summers assuredly will kill these fragile things once summer or even spring arrives but they're nice until then. I will try my best to give them only morning sun but I won't hold my breath that they will survive our summers. Hardly anything does:(

evening scented stocks have grown well on the coast in full sun.They will not have any fragrance till night, and to me they smell of lily and coconut. Oncve agin daytime the petals curled up, at night they opened up and an hour after the sun went down the fragrance starts to become noticeable. Its not strong but noticeable .

I raised some from seed 5 years ago and now I get them all over the yard. The scent in early summer and fall is quite strong.
It is pretty dry here and cool at night with lots of sun in the day. I don't think they like much heat or humidity.

I used to live in zone 4, BC. I had lots of shade with dry conditions in my yard and could not get the Night Scented Stock to grow, but my friend who had full sun with lots of moisture would grow them with ease. I now live where there is more sun in my yard and a zone 5 growing climate, I planted strips of Night Scented Stock in planter boxes on the deck and in the garden. They are beautiful, at night the flowers almost seem to glow and they smell heavenly. By day they look more like a weed, next year I will plant them again only I will plant them with other flowers to hide the spindly stems seen in the daylight, but enjoy the scents they produce in the evenings.

HINT: Plant in full to part sun, keep them well watered and mulch the soil to hold in the moisture they need to continue blooming through summer. They are also know to self sow when they like their surroundings.

I direct seeded mine as well this spring, in amongst some blue flax and calendula, and they grew quite well. I was so looking forward to that enchanting scent that I encountered by accident years before. Finally they bloomed, and...no scent. Just like Mathias 1 up above in the comments, these plants never had the fragrance - no matter what time of day. I think I'm done with them also. Certainily they're not worth the space on the basis of looks!

I have known and loved these flowers since childhood. My grandmother and my mother had them in their gardens, and I grow them successfully every year. This plant is very delicate and should not be sowed inside, nor started in small containers and transplanted, if you do that they need a month to two to establish. It does not like to be transplanted, and will not grow well in a planter, unless it is really deep. Start them from seed, and sow directly in the garden, in April. They love full sun and lots of water, daily, in the evening. Mulch to keep moist, they melt and die if soil gets dry several days in a row. If you don't have a full sun area, don't even try. Mine self seed and I do not re-seed at all. Actually I have to clean-up my yard as they grow everywhere, and I pluck them out. A sandy mix of soil will be the best for them. I figured my grandmother had the best growing ones, and her garden was all sand, but she fertilized them with mushroom manure. Mix them in your beds with other flowers, in the borders, to mask their "ugliness" during the day. Water them every day, and each fall keep some seeds just in case. Fertilize with slow release pellets once a month, they will grow huge. They are wonderful, and absolutely beautiful in the evening.

Start them from seed, and sow directly in the garden, in April.

==>>> might matter where you are westren ...ken

my last frost date in MI it the last week of may ... is what i meant ...

planting seed of tender plants.. requires that they not sprout too soon ...

so i might be better off waiting until near 5/1 to plant ...

besides the fact.. that the soil stays rather cool.. later.. retarding germination anyway ....

ken

Great germination this year using the winter-sow method; have transplanted well in the 2-3 true leaf stage :)

I have planted them in both Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Ottawa, Ontario and had great success w/them. Used to find the seeds at the local dollar store in NS, but now order them online. I start sowing them as soon as things begin to poke thru and the last hard frost is done. A second sowing mid-late summer happens if I have seeds left over.

I simply scatter them over a rake-loosened surface, in hot sunny areas. Yes, they look weedy during the day, but open and smell glorious (like heaven will smell, according to a friend) at night or when it is damp out. My only problem has ever been to not accidentally weed them. I don't use fertilizer, but I do mulch because my soil is poor (mostly clay) now.

Never works to start them indoors and they are definitely NOT a container plant. Less fuss = happier, smellier evening scented stocks!

I start them inside and I grow them in my containers (I like to have them in my pots on the deck)...The seeds are viable for a long time. I used three year old seed this year and sowed them heavily and they all came up. I do agree that they are pretty fragile when they are young seedlings. We've had very high temperatures this summer and they seem to be doing alright; I just cut some back the other day because they were getting a bit unruly.