I tried the following during August 2010: Obtain seeds as fresh as possible. Remove the reddish aril (aril was quite oily) completely by washing with water and gentle rubbing. File a small area of seed (black/dark brown) with an emery board. Soak in water approx. 2 hours. Mix 2 parts multipurpose compost and 1 part sharp sand. Fill clear colourless plastic pots (has layer of grit at the bottom) with compost. Water the compost and allow water to drain from the bottom of pot, Make a hole (about 1cm-cube or approx size of seed) at the edge of the compost with the pot, put seed in and cover with compost. Stretch clingfilm over the top of pots and tie with rubber band. Put pots on foil-lined tray to reflect light and in sunniest spot in the house. I watered sparingly from the base of pot after planting if the compost looked dry. After 32 days I had 1 (of 12 seeds) germinated. I found it useful to read this article (found it by google) Revista Arvore Print version ISSN 0100-6762 Rev. Arvore vol.28 no.3 Vicosa May/June 2004 doi: 10.1590/S0100-67622004000300002 "Seed germination and removal of Michelia champaca L. (Magnoliaceae) in eucalypt stands: the influence of the aril" "Germina��o e remo��o de sementes de Michelia champaca L. (Magnoliaceae) em talh�es de eucalipto: influ�ncia do arilo" by Giovano Candiani, Mauro Galetti and Victor Jose Mendes Cardoso

http://southpacificorchid.com/products/category.php?cat_id=13 South Pacific Orchid near Gilroy has the Michelia Champaca "Alba". Will have to be protected whenever temperature is predicted to go into freezing zone, and take precautions to prevent water logging the rootzone in winter (if you plant it in the ground). Good luck!

Hi, Fawnridge, your tree in the picture is a `Michelia X alba' and looks beautiful & tall. Your tree need not be compared with my 6-yr old tree of 30 feet height because mine is a `Michelia champaca' that was grown from seed.. Yours most likely not grown from seed but by air-layering or perhaps grafted unto a `Michelia champaca' rootstock. I understand plants grown from seeds are much taller & bigger than those grown by air-layering. Like my `Michelia X alba' even though it's already ~12 years old, is comparably shorter than the 6-yr old `Michelia champaca'. Maybe, Fawnridge, the reason your tree has not grown as tall as you expected is because there are other trees/plants near its trunk and also due to its location which is under the canopy of the trees nearby - too much competition for nutrients & sunlight. I have also a `Michelia X alba' that I marcotted(air-layered) 3 -4 years ago from a 12-yr old `M. X alba'. After ~ 1 1/2 yrs in a pot & about 2 feet tall, I planted it on the ground where the nearest plant is 12 feet away. Now it's 6-7 feet tall, growing well & bears flowers ( you may see d pic in the link below). I also noticed that `M. X alba' trees have up to 3 to 4 main branches and grows up & branches spread sidewise while `M. champaca' trees grow straight up with its main trunk in line with its main branch, though sometimes there are two main branches but one is smaller than the other. As you can see in my 6-yr old `Michelia champaca' that bears fruits/seeds, the trunk is in line with its one main branch w/c could be the reason why it's now 30 feet tall yet still 6-yrs old. Here is a link that might be useful: 3 - 4 years old `Michelia X alba' grown from marcot/air-layer This post was edited by simounagta on Sun, Aug 31, 14 at 22:22

Tropical Paradise, if he's still there. http://www.tropicalparadisegarden.com/ Jessie Durko's Then head West and see all the nurseries on Griffin.Turn at Flamingo Rd and head North. More nurseries on right to 595. (hurry before they are all sold to developers) The Nursery by Sears at the Pompano Mall or Broward mall.