Acid loving?? M.o.O?? here in Pakistan we have our soils (except for the Alpine region) mostly Alkaline reaction with Phosphate deficiency (the agriculture department regularly urges farmers to use phosphate fertilizers).. these plants perform exceptionally well here (all under full sun), they prefer a compact medium like clay (just like the one at river banks), drying out between watering and pruning (new blooms always appear on new shoots), they send long branches which take root where they touch the ground.... Mine are in ground and in pots too, during our mild winters they stop growing and become dormant, haven't watered those in ground since mid of August and both (in pots and ground) are still growing & blooming.. we daily pick flowers for our rooms and cars, the only fertilizer used was composted dairy manure in April and nothing else... GD prefers afternoon shade and a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer every third week with watering to bloom well, I have it in the pot only, will be planting it in the ground by next spring... Izhar

Sophia, Your picture doesn't work. It takes me to something called Mobile Me. lol. When you brought your MOO and Citrus inside, how warm was the room? And, how warm/cold were temps when they were hauled in? MOO's and Citrus need to acclimate. They should be placed in a cool, sunny room. Too hot or even warm can cause leaf drop. If you don't have a room that isn't heated, plants should be brought indoors before it gets cold outside. Some plants are more sensitive than others. Ficus are notorius for dropping leaves when moved...citrus will act up too, if placed in a hot, stuffy area. In the meantime, place your plants in a very sunny window, preferably south or west. Shake plants so release loose foliage then discard. Don't leave, leaves in soil. Reduce watering. Water when soil is dry. Drainage holes are very important. Withhold fertilizer, unless your location is warm and sunny. Mist leaves daily, and shower once a week, if possible. If you use Superthrive add 10 drops per gallon of water. Proper watering and sun is most important. Soil on both plants must dry between waterings. Last..As a precaution, check for pests. Good luck, Toni

I have a feeling that a. it doesn't want to share a pot and b. the pot is in fact too big. I have a Maid of Orleans, in a pot about 6 inches in diameter, and about 5.5 inches high. It is about a foot tall, lots of new growth, and budding. I haven't found it to be a slow grower at all. And in the past, I have had one about a foot and a half tall, and about a foot across, very bushy, in a 6 inch pot (though it probably should have been repotted.) So, a couple questions: is it getting direct sun on the balcony? and what have the temps been like? I was under the impression that they suffer at temps under 50 degrees F. If it were me, I would give it its own pot, about 6 inches, and keep an eye on the watering (don't let it dry out completely for too long, but let it get dry-ish before watering again). When it starts to get over a foot tall and full, that's when I'd start thinking about moving the next size up, an 8 inch pot. When it is happy, it blooms pretty much all the time. Winter, summer, and in between. The key is good light, and not letting it get crispy - yes, I am an underwaterer... whoops : ) The one I had in the past grew really well outside, and overwintered pretty well inside, but succumbed to mites when I moved and stressed it out. The one I have now has never been outside, and is growing under lights, and seems to enjoy it. It currently has about 16 buds, which seem to have popped up since I increased the wattage on my light from 11W to 25W (compact fluorescents). So you can definitely overwinter it inside if you like... just keep a close watch for mites. Anyway, my thinking is that it needs a more proportionate pot, and maybe it's been too cold for it to perform at its best. So once the weather starts warming up, staying in the 75-85 deg range (including night temps), it will probably take off. I've also heard that they either don't like fertilizer, or do well with bloom booster fertilizer (higher middle number, such as 10-54-10). My direct experience has been the latter; bloom booster on my outdoor jasmine produced lots of flowers, and good plant growth too. Well, that's my opinion, hope it helps!

I have personally found the flowers to open (or 'ripen' in the case of grand duke) around dawn and by night they have lost their prime. The flowers will have started to decline and are already ready to fall, just waiting for some wind to knock them off but can stick on for a few days longer. But the good thing is, a nice healthy plants will continually produce flushes of flowers in the growing season giving constant pleasure of fragrance. Some sambac varieties last a little bit longer than others.