Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Anyone know how to propagate this?, 0 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
Celt, Michelia x alba (white flowers) will bloom when very small if it was created by air-layering a flowering tree. A Michelia champaca needs a degree of maturity to bloom and will usually not bloom until it is five years old or older. The leaves look very similar on both trees so make sure you have the M. x alba. My friend thought she had a Michelia x alba since that is what she purchased from Alan at Trop Trees, but year after year, it would not bloom. I kept telling her that I thought she had a Michelia champaca, not a Michelia x alba. Then one day, it finally bloomed with orange flowers! It indeed was a grafted Michelia champaca. Anyway, Michelia x alba needs a little bit of growth to bloom well so yours will probably bloom well in the spring next year. The first year that I had mine, it didn't bloom much at all, but the second, third, and now fourth year have been wonderful, and I get blooms nearly all year long. I wouldn't fertilize at all, but if you do, use a fertilizer for acid-loving plants as Michelias are Magnolias and prefer that type of fertilizer.