I too adore Belle of India. Unfortunately, my love affair with her only lasted one season before she fell victim to my brown thumb. But I'm not giving up so I will be ordering another one soon.

She's gorgeous to look at and her fragrance is sweet and intoxicating. One single bloom will fill up my car with her scent. I just wish I know how to make her happy.

True-blue, I have actually dreamed up whole songs in my head..I just forget to write them down when I awake...

I also love different varieties because they flower different times of the year...It's funny, but I am one of those that likes doubles of teh same plant in case one dissapoints me and others in case one is out of the flowering season...That explains why I have over 25 different varieties of Cattalya's and orchids, several different citrus, and about 4 different Jasmine but very little room for more.

MIke

Mike those unwritten songs are those which help us during tough times.
I understand the idea of buying doubles. Actually that's the ideal way to appraise a plant.

I understand and appreciate the idea of having different blooms at different times, but more so in a garden context, i.e. spring bulbs, roses, clematis and so on. But let's say, indoors with our long winters and lack of "ideal" space, I don't want a plant/plants, which may flower for 2 weeks in the summer and the flowers are so so.

That brings me to the reason behind my questions. somewhere I read that Mysore mulli is the ideal jasmine, that under right conditions it's an everblooming plant. That it can flower during autumn and winter. Have any of you experienced that?

I think if you can give any sambac jasmines enough heat and light during the winter they will be everbloomers.
Mysore Mulli is awesome. Hoping to decide this summer which I prefer more, Belle or Mysore but I no doubt will keep both since variety is the spice of life. :)
Course now I really want Mali pikul as well. Laugh.

-Robert

This post was edited by robert1971 on Fri, Mar 14, 14 at 14:36

Robert your post made me laugh. You are a self-enabler!

I can only find grand duke or maid of Orleans here, well as long as you get them, I'm content :-)

Robert is that the one?

Here is a link that might be useful: Mali pikul

Ha! Yes. I really don't need it as I'm sure it will smell similar to my other sambacs but dang is it gorgeous! :)

-Robert

Hi all, I managed to find a source for belle of India!
The sizes which they offer is 6/8/10" pots.

Which size do you recommend?
Is it fast growing plant or is slow?

I'm rather impatient and can't wait for flowers the next year ;-)

OH, I would say very very slow!

At least here up in the north where we can't expose them to more than 10 hours of sun by day, heat and humidity..

Mine is kept in a greenhouse with as much sunlight as possible and only grew about one leaf since summer..lol

Mike

Any one know a good europe source for Belle ? i have found Mali Son , Mali Pikul and Mali Janthaboon Bigger Size Flowers but no Bella :( i already have grand duke

Hi Mike sorry to hear that !Are all your jasmines slow growing?
According to a chart at the T0p tr0p site, Maid, Mysore and Malichat are the fastest growing jasmines,
Is that at least true?

Fragrant2008, see if this link helps you...

Here is a link that might be useful: Jasmines in UK

Here is my newly acquired Mysore Mulli everyone: {{gwi:787356}}
A young starter but it's looking pretty healthy. I cannot wait to see how it'll do this Summer. I went ahead and ordered a Plore Plena from Logee's today. Lol. And don't laugh, now I want to get a Maids of Orlean again. Logees and its 20% off tempted me into it ;)

Oo Robert, I also got a Fudingzhu Osmanthus. ;)) How's your Fudingzhu doing?

Kemistry congrats! Keep us posted.

Maybe I should start a new thread if you have the possibility of having all the jasmines, which one would you leave out !!!

true-blue thanks for the link:) i will give them ago with Bella and maybe they might be able to find me beronia megastigma! well it does say "We welcome any specific enquiry or specialist request for any particular species of plant"
And good luck with your Mysore Mulli kemistry :)

Kem,

Hooray for Mysore! Though I must say I was hoping your plant would be bigger. :)

My Fudingzhu Osmanthus is scraggly and ugly but it is flowering though the scent is not as strong as I'd like it to be. ;)

And of course I keep looking at Mali Pikul!
Ugh. I'm so sick. We went to the Asian grocery in OKC where I found my GDS and I saw some jasmine incense with pictures of what looked like Mali Pikul on the label so of course that made me want it even more. Laugh.

Brian,

So glad you might get Belle after all!
I think you'll like her. :)

-Robert

Most welcome Fragrant2008. If you want a substitute for megastigma, you can get heterophylla ;-) Here is the link.

Robert why don't you plant your osmanthus in the ground, I thought it's hardy in your zone?

Here is a link that might be useful: BORONIA heterophylla

I think it's hardy to 5 degrees F. It can get colder than that where we are and of course the weather is becoming more and more extreme but who knows?
I could try to find a protected spot for it but I doubt it would make it.
I guess I'll see come spring which is this week! Woo hoo! :)

-Robert

Sometimes, if plant under perform I'll give them an ultimatum: sink or swim! Some of them react quite well.

Anyway you can wrap it in burlap, like we do up north. It might like it ;-)

And you'll have a free spot for Mali Pikul!

This post was edited by true-blue on Mon, Mar 17, 14 at 15:04

Ha ha! Enabler! ;)

-Robert

I was wondering which mix do you use/recommend for your Jasmines the gritty mix or the 5-1-1? Why?

Mine thrive in the 5:1:1 mix outside since outside they require more moisture however my rooted cuttings are doing better in the gritty mix since they are inside mostly under lights and the medium stays moist but not wet which they hate so it depends on where you're growing them. :)
I'm sure they'd do fine in the gritty mix outside however I would have to water probably 3 times a day in our heat!

-Robert

Indoors in winter, outdoors from mid spring till September...

Gritty mix is sometimes a pain to make as I have to sift through the repti bark to get the right size. 5-1-1 is good when you feel lazy ;-)

This post was edited by true-blue on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 12:20

Ha! I sift my pine bark fines for my 5:1:1 mix after getting a tip from Kemistry. ;)
You'd be amazed at how much dust you can sift out.
I don't use Repti Bark so you might not have that problem. :)

-Robert

I know. I actually wear a mask and eye protection glass when I sift the bark.
I have a 1/4" sieve. What falls through is for the gritty mix, what stays is for 5-1-1. I just wanted to make sure if both mixes work well with jasmines. From what you say both are well....

Hi all,

It's hard to decide what to get when it's based on other people's noses!

But thanks to your feedback, I've decided to go with a medium size Belle of India (8"pot). At least it's better than my poor old Jasmine sambac sp that grew two leaves, last year. (one more than Mike's!)

I'm also thinking of getting a dwarf Murraya, thanks to Kemistry :-) It seems a perfect plant for me, as it is small, every blooming (more or less) and it wafts.

And if I can find a source for Chloranthus spicatus it will be perfect.

I can sort of relax and focus on other plants, sorry plans. ;-)

I love all flowering plants and am partial to Jasmines..:-) If I have to pick one it would be one from Jasmine 'Belle of India'/J. Mysore Mulli/ J. Molle.

Sushmita

True-blue ,I love these true jasmine varieties. My experience is based on growing these in zone 7a.

jasmine sambac - Easy to maintain, blooms profusely, fragrance wafts when it has lot of blooms on plants. But if you get 1-2 blooms indoors you can still smell it... hard to kill it.

J.grandduke - easy to maintain, does not bloom much but when in bloom, strong fragrance.

J.belle of india - love the fragrance, easy to maintain, blooms more as it ages. needs more attention than the above 2 varieties

J.grandduke supreme - easy to maintain, strong growth than regular grandduke, does bloom more as the plant matures. Blooms open fully unlike regular granduke and the fragrance is strong and it does waft.

Kandhi. Thanks so much for the detailed explanation. This helps a lot to understand more about the growth habit of the plant, bloom frequency, wafting.

Grand Duke hands down!

Even we are in low desert, it is super easy to grow. It has strong fragrance, showy and beautiful flowers. If plants get frost in winter, we cut stems way down. Feed water and miracle grow fert., then they grow right back in spring, stronger and more beautiful.

Thanks azmom, it's interesting to see how the same variety reacts to different environments. However, mine, is hot and humid in summer and extremely cold in winter, which translate into spending most of the time indoors from September till June.....

Hello true-blue, I spent many years in subtropical climate, hot and humid almost year around. I recall Grand Dukes grew like weeds in the area. It is why I have been very surprised that Grand Dukes are so easy to care in our desert environment.

I wish we have higher humidity in our desert air, it would help wafting fragrance....

Hi guys,

I finally found a source for the belle of India.
However this is the photo he sent me with this quote: On our web site, the ones with long petals are listed as Maid of Orleans. But other web sites lists this flower as 'Belle of India'. So which one is the one on the photo ?

Am I to get the long petaled one ?

It's easier to tell from a flower bud if it's 'Belle of India' or not.
The buds are elongated.
I would go for the one with the long petals but I'm sure others will chime in.
Congrats on finally finding a source! :)

-Robert

This post was edited by robert1971 on Wed, May 14, 14 at 21:43

Thanks so much Robert. Always dependable :-)

I was really getting nervous. I told him I wanted the elongated one. The other photo he sent me was the Arabian Knights jasmine.

You're welcome!
Just spotted a typo and had to correct it. Laugh.

Maybe they can send a photo of a bud for you?
Still I think you're pretty safe to go with the one with the long petals. :)

-Robert

I sent him the photos of the plant I wanted. And he assured me it's the right one. I'll get it next week, and post some pictures :-)

Hi All.

I finally got my Jasmine a few weeks ago. It is a 2 feet tall plant. I just left it in the shade for a week. Some of the leaves were sort of curled.

A week later I transplanted it in the gritty mix.

And today, or tomorrow the first bud will open.

Here is the photo of the bud, I hope it's the Belle ?

Hooray! Congrats!
It's hard to say since sambac jasmines have such variable buds and flowers but I'll go with yes.
Here's a pic of two buds on my largest Belle.
Has it bloomed yet? Do you like the scent?
My friend in OKC found the scent too cloying when she stuck her nose into it but agreed it's a great wafter which I know you love. ;)

-Robert

Thanks Robert. It bloomed yesterday, in the middle of the heavy rain we've been having. It had the all the visual attributes of belle. The graceful teardrop petals, which are so dainty. I'm really happy that I listened to you and the other guys who recommended it.

I simply loved the scent of that single bloom. It was clean, strong yet sort of gentle. Very balanced. It's still on, if I get around to it, I'll take a pic :-).

There are lots of other buds forming, so, I'll post later on the wafting, as I need more and warmer temps for that.

Your bud is lovely, I like that whisper of pink...

The flower was faded, but I took a picture anyway....

I have Maid of Orleans and Belle of India. After reading this thread I need to get Mysore Mulli or Mali pikul.
Thanks people and sweet gardening
Changsong

I got a flower today! I was comparing the photo with bunti's excellent

I'm no sambac expert so I'll leave it for others to decide. ;)
I did snap some flowers and buds from my Mysore for you to compare yours to.
I know Mysore has hairier stems than Belle so that might help you.
Does your jasmine have mold on it? What are the black spots on the leaves and the flower bud?
You might want to take a cotton swab dipped in alcohol or some Neem oil to it. :)

-Robert

Yours look like a belle to me true-blue; Belle flowers can be sinigle or double layers like that.

Hi Robert!!! :D

This post was edited by kemistry on Thu, Jun 19, 14 at 16:07

Robert. The black stuff was just dirt! The pot is in the garden. We had several torrential showers. The dirt splatters on the leaves and on the pot.

Kem, thanks, so Belle it is ;-)

As you can see the buds are mostly in group of 3s.

Haha. Sorry. Didn't want any mold growing on your jasmines. ;)

Hi Kem! :)

-Robert

Yeah, Robert you gave me a fright! I was in the garden the moment I saw your message with swabs and alcohol and what not, Lol. I sighed in relief when it was dirt only (sigh). Better be safe than sorry.

I was checking your photo again and my Jasmines buds have nothing to do with yours Robert. Yours are plump and roundish, while mine are elongated. I'm looking forward to see multiple flowers open :-)

True-blue your plant looks like my belle. I also notice belle is less sweet than maid of olean, but with a very special scent

Just wanted to post an update.
The plant is definitely Belle and I love it.

And Robert it wafts, what a range for a single flower!

One day, the temp, humidity was just right and I could alternatively smell the Jasmine and the Rose, the King and Queen of the fragrant flowers....

What a treat...

Please help me choose 2 out of Belle, Mysore mulli and J. Molle.... I wish to plant in container and I prefer a smaller, bushy plant with more flowers. Also with respect to fragrance, I'd like to know the difference in quality and strength.
Thanks