I have a plant in my greenhouse that I started from seed about 3 years ago. The label says Jasmine stephanotis florebunda. It really didn't grow much until this summer and I got tired of looking at it in the greenhouse and put the pot outside. My puppy dragged it around in the yard so finally brought it back into the greenhouse. Today I was cleaning the greenhouse up (its been a dump and run) since early summer. It has really grown and I noticed the leaves looked just like my hoya so came in the house to look it up in the computer and saw that the plants are related. Now instead of a regular pot I am going to have to change to a hanging pot. My hoya bloomed for the first time this summer although I didn't notice much smell from the flowers. Ellie

IF SOIL temperature is 75-80F (day) will take 60-90 days to germinate.

A couple of ideas on the mysterious non-scented stephanotis: 1. Given its native habitat, I'll bet its scent is strongest in direct sunlight; in lower light it may bloom but the scent may be weak, or the flowers may be hidden under the leaves and not get the warmth they need. Low humidity also often strangles scent, especially the desert-like air of most centrally-heated homes. Try spraying the plant with a spray bottle, wait a few minutes, and re-sniff. 2. It could be a lack of nutrients in the soil, but I don't think so, since stephanotis, like its close relatives the hoyas, do best in rather poor soil. Too much fertilizer makes 'em grow faster but without blooms; I've never heard of overfertilizing affecting fragrance. 3. Seed grown plants, like other children, don't always take after their parents, so I expect there may be some plants out there who didn't inherit a strong fragrance. My understanding is that plants grown from the trade are grown from cuttings, so they should all be nicely smelly. 4. Finally, there's the human element; different folks smell things differently. I know for a fact that some people don't smell osmanthus much at all, while others (including me) could inhale all day. It's possible that some people just may not catch the scent that much; to check if this is the case, drag your friends and neighbors over and do a sniff test, preferably around noon when the sun is shining. If everyone reports their findings, we could have the first empirical fragrance study of stephanotis! Jim

@Just Started(Sydney) This vine seems to be easy to grow from seed, at least the germination rate is pretty high. I don't think you need to protect Madagascar Jasmine from Sydney's sunshine, the flowering one I was showing here gets all year round sun inc. summer's 40 degrees and doesn't complain a bit