My most prolific bloomer is California Sally which puts out basketball sized inflos all summer. My Samoan Fluff pot is totally white in August. Guillot's Sunset is another heavy producer. White with red stripe on back flowers the longest in California (May to Feb). Others are Charlotte Ebert, Thornton Lemon drop, most Moranges especially Kimi. You are correct in that location and age of plant plus growing conditions have a big impact.
Fragrance is another story. Like perfumes, everyone has likes and dislikes. In the eighties I took a surf trip to Kauai and camped under a big Celadine. Each morning, the sun rose to the smell of Celadine and fresh coffee. Pure Heaven to me could not be better. My Kauka Wilder is another I can bury my face in and daydream to the islands. Jeannie Moragne and Vera Cruz rose are wonderful. White with red stripe on back is very spicy. Aztec Gold and Penang peach are peachy. I also notice that many plants are more fregrant in the evening, some in the morning and others all day. Some that are labeled with a scent, when I smell i cannot find any standout smell. I grow Mystery and First Love gardenias and double tuberroses for that island magic smell.
I would say Celadine and White with red stripe on back are the two best basic starts because both are easy to grow, are lei flower quality, and smell unlike each other, yet most people love both scents. Bill

Thank you so much for your wonderful information :) Not only could I almost see the colors and smell the flowers, I think I heard the waves too! I'm clipping your post so I can make a shopping list for new cuttings and you certainly have given me a great start!

I'm quickly seeing that plummies are like potato chips... that you cannot have just one, lol. Being in a condo will limit my collection, otherwise this hobby could really take off and run.

Thank you again!

My white Singapore doesn't have a lot of flowers at one time but it's bloomed steadily all summer and this weekend was the first time without several flowers opening every day. It's fragrant enough for even me to be able to smell it a couple of feet away.

I'm curious about the 'white with red stripe one' Bill since fragrance is one of my most important criteria too.

Suzanne

Suzanne- white with red stripe is the name in Marylyns garden but it is a common white in So. Calif. It is sometimes sold as Gardenia (wrong because the gardenia is a rolled edge white from Little in Oahu) because it smells a little like a gardenia, although I grow gardenias and think it does not. Also some sell it as Gardena after the city in LA where it is perhaps from. This I cannot verify. Then I have seen it as Gardenia Trumpet which is combining the name for J.L. Trumpet with the Gardenia. It is a very strong plant and hardy. Mine went completely black in the freeze, yet it is the only freeze victim that produced flowers this year and looks great. The others are cut short and barely hanging on.
White with red stripe on back now after surviving the freeze:
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Hi Bill
On your red white, Gardenia or Gardena. I have that one also..has and still is blooming. Now. is yours in the ground???? What light exposure? Mine is showing no growth this year, only blooming. Leaves only on the heads. No new branches. In a 15 gallon container, given to me this year. Nost sure, if I should keep it in the container or put it in the ground this spring. do not want to lose this one. Did see one for sale at Green Arrow in spring, red white..should have bought it. no food cause its blooming?

Karen B.

Bill that's a beautiful tree. Much nicer then most of the others that I've seen because it's so full. Is all that lush foliage a characteristic of that variety?
Karyn

Karyn-Yes. This plant is always first to leaf out and last to go dormant. It is also first and last in the flower dept. It grows constantly and in all directions and has been trimmed every year.
Karen- Mine is in the ground for ten years. No food until spring. Mine is in full sun. You may need to root prune in Feb. if it has been in the container for years. This plant is very tolerant of cold but you are in the Valley so I am not sure of your usual temps. Mine is outside and survived the freeze as you can see. Bill

Hi Bill,
root prune, no hasn't been. . full sun.. my full sun is hotter than yours. Will try and figure out a place and put it in the ground then in the spring. Cause it is not putting out branches. Want this one to make it. We can hit 110 in full sun, so would not want to subject that one to that. Moved all my plants out of that brutal heat.

Usual temps is in the 50's at night.
thanks, Karen

That is a gorgeous tree Bill! I like ones with a shape like that, I'll look for it, thank you for all the information.

Suzanne