Oh sure, silversword, you have to recommend Gardenias and then give me that post to read. Ha! Ha! I only made it as far as the August 3rd posts, but I intend to read a little more at each sitting. Boy is it funny/eye opening. I, being a Gemini, get bored easily and can't finish things so I just skimmed a little to see how far the thread went. I happened upon the reply from "Jim" who was giving his wife a Gardenia bush for Mother's Day and then he was printing out the entire thread and writing "sorry" on top of it and running. That was so funny! I guess I am pretty stupid because even after reading all that, I am going to have to get a Gardenia at some point. I was sold on the description of the scent. I am just not sure I will actually try to grow one. I would probably do better to just have one and toss it aside like the Freesia. For some reason anything I try to actually put love into and take care of, dies on me, whereas anything I just neglect thrives. Perhaps my plants are suicidal too. The title of the thread reminded me of something Jerry Seinfeld says in his book Seinlanguage and it makes me laugh every time I read it: "I have no plants in my house. They won't live for me. Some of them don't even wait to die, they commit suicide. I once came home found one hanging from a macrame noose, the pot kicked out from underneath. The note said, "I hate you and your albums." It's so funny to think of plants as human. I'm screwed though because I am definitely a sucker for a good-smelling plant. The house we bought has some kind of lilac that blooms in the spring and fall. It is pathetic looking (not like back home) but I never grow tired of smelling it and reminding me of home. And I love the Freesia because it smells like Froot Loops (which reminds me of my childhood). The roses that I dug up were sad looking and not very pretty plus the fragrance was not that great. The funny thing is that I have NEVER been a flower person. My husband likes to do romantic gestures like buy flowers for me, but he won't buy roses on Valentine's Day because they cost much more than any other day of the year. So he likes to surprise me with flowers some other day. I am fine with that because we have a cat who tries to eat ANYTHING that looks like plant matter. I can't even have Easter grass in baskets because the dummy will eat it. So roses cannot be enjoyed because they have to spend so much time behind closed doors and I am not really one of "those" women who requires candy and flowers on Valentine's Day or birthdays, etc. I might give that Little John some consideration somewhere around the house because I adore watching the hummingbirds. :-)

I moved a 14 year old brunfelsia two years ago. First I took a shovel and made a circle around the tree about two feet from the trunk. I cut through the roots as deeply as I could and just left it alone for a couple of weeks. I didn't remove any soil, just cut through the roots. Then I dug a big hole in the new location so it would be ready for the tree. Get your hubby or someone who is very strong to help you cut through the rest of the roots. They are deep and the root ball is very heavy. Move the tree to the new location and water it very well every day for several weeks. My tree is happy in it's new location. Linda Leaf

Wow, I haven't been here in a while! I know it's technically November, but I figured I'd cover all my bases by commenting how amazing everyone's pictures are and posting my own. Most of my plants are all tuckered out from the ridiculously hot summer here in Florida. Osmanthus isn't in bloom (maybe it's still too warm here? Crossing my fingers.) and neither are my roses. However, feast your eyes on these puppies: Oncidium 'Heaven Scent Sweet Pea': Got this one early this year in a bag from Lowes. I didn't think I'd get it to bloom, so this is an awesome surprise! The spike has been developing for a couple months... I can't wait for the buds to open! Oncidium 'Twinkle'! I've heard how notorious this one is, so I didn't have high hopes for it, either. These spikes have been developing for a couple months as well, and this is the FIRST one open! No scent yet, though. I'm pretty sure the secret is neglect (water once a week or so). They are in clear plastic containers with an orchid mix of bark, charcoal and pumice and sitting in a west facing window. I stick some of those orchid fertilizer spikes in there whenever I think about it (although I haven't done so in a few months since they've been in spike). I group them close together for humidity as well (they are on a plate with rocks that I used to fill with water, but I got lazy). My poor little artabotrys h. seedling is chilling next to them. He's hiding in the back of the first pic. I had two, but lost one after an unexpected dry spell this summer (along with my m. champaca, darn it!). I'm too scared to put him back outside for fear that I will neglect him again :(. Out of sight, out of mind is definitely true for me. Maybe once I stop being lazy and repot he will take his place out on the big, scary porch. Lol.

I've read in scientific literature that Brunfelsia uniflora has a sweet fragrance, but never seen it for sale. Looking at the posts it seems I'm not the only one that been sold a different Brunfelsia species to what was ordered. I have three white flowering ones, two of which were labelled jamaicensis. One was sold under the label jamaicensis 'White Magic', which stated in flowered in Autumn (but is flowering in mid Spring) and the next day saw a full grown one called australis 'White Magic' at the Brisbane Botanical Gardens (in Australia) covered in white fragrant flowers. The other one I have labelled as jamaicensis has much longer leaves ( 1"x3.5" long verses 1"x4.5" long). Does anyone know where to look to identify each Brunfelsia species?