I didn't find a running thread on brunfelsias and was suprised. I wanted to brag on my 'Isola' which I got from Logees 10-15 years ago. It has bloomed a little here and there but is going nuts right now. It smells so good at night that I had to put it in my bedroom. Any one else a brunfelsia fan?
Brunfelsia 'Isola'
Thought I should add a pic of this pretty Isola flower.
I'm a Brufelsia fan. My favorite fragrant flower is Brunfelsia americana. I was not aware of the 'Isola' variety. What does it smell like? It's nice that it has some color as well as fragrance.
I've grown several different ones--right now I've got B. gigantea which also smells wonderful and B. nyctaginoides which I didn't notice a fragrance with (it has bright orange flowers which is very unusual for the genus). I've previously killed americana and jamaicensis but they smelled lovely too!
I also have jamaicensis. Ecrane.....one day I will be worthy of trading with you and I would love both of those Brunfelsia. Here is another of my night blooming arrangements featuring B. americana, crinum lily and Solandra guttata.
Very pretty!
Unfortunately, until they lift the light brown apple moth quarantine around here, my trading abilities are pretty limited. We've been under quarantine for over a year now and no end in sight so I'm really not holding my breath. If they ever give me any seeds though I'd be happy to send you some of those, they're not covered by the quarantine. B. gigantea was just blooming a couple weeks ago--I haven't gotten any seeds from it before, but there were more blooms open at once this time so maybe I'll get lucky. I've already killed B. nyctaginoides twice so I'm not sure how good its chances are of living to make seeds! LOL
I understand. My B. americana makes seeds, but it is not always reliable throughout the year. I think the right pollinator needs to be around.
That is a beautiful night arrangement. The solandra looks gorgeous.
Is it fragrant? My 'Isola' is very night fragrant, like cloves sorta. I also have lost a jamaicensis. I still have a B. nitida which is similar to
Isola but the flowers stay white where Isola will blush light blue/lavender
over a few days. I also have one sold to me a B. lactea but it sure looks like all the pics of americana I have seen. All are similar in night fragrance. The lactea is about 4 feet tall where the other two are staying about 2 feet. B.lactea also has white flowers similar to
jamaicensis but not as frilly.
Yes, the Solandra is fragrant. The smell is similar to night blooming jasmine and I think the flower has to have jsut opened that day to be very fragrant. I can stand in the back yard and smell it from the front yard.
There is a plant sale coming up in November and I will have to look for the B. nitida and 'Isola.' B. americana also has what I would describe as a clove-esque scent and I jsut can't get enough of it.
Where did you get your solandra?
Excelsa Gardens. http://www.excelsagardens.com/ Sorry, but they are not a mail order company. It had seed pods last year and I expect many more this year. I can send you some seeds when they are ready if you are interested.
That would be great. Let me know when they are ready and I will send a sase......... much appreciated.......
Warren
Send me a Dmail to keep in my inbox to remind me.
Ah, brunfelsia lovers! So glad to see there are quite a few of us!
A link on Brunfelsia id's: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/764984/
Plantbubba, isn’t the fragrance of B. Isolasimply magnificent! A must for every garden! By the way, it air-layers very well, as do all the Brunfelsias so if you want to multiply your stock, it will take 6 weeks from day of air-layering to fully rooted plant, ready to go into the garden! My B. Americana is about 6’ tall.
Fauna4flora, My B. Isola fragrance is ‘flowery’ rather than ‘spicy’ (B. Americana and Nitida)
Ecrane3, is the B. nyctaginoides fragrant? At night? Easy to grow? I've never seen one growing.
My favourites: B. Gigantica, Lactea, Jamaicensis…..oh I love all of them……
All Brunfelsias can be multiplied in 6 weeks, If the Mother plant flowers, the daughter will flower immediately, not having to go through a ‘maturity; stage! So it's well worth airlayering if you'd like to enlarge your stock.
That said, if anyone would like seeds, send a D mail and SASE. I have the following, all from my own garden:
Seeds:
Brunfelsia Americana,
Brunfelsia Nitida
Brunfelsia…surprise: could be Gigantica, Lactea or Americana. (forgot to note which B. shrub they came from)
bedouin,
I purchased a brunfelsia Yesterday Today Tomorrow this summer and I got only a few blooms on it all summer. It is rootbound. Does it bloom on old wood or new? I was thinking about repotting it and pruning it hard. Some of the leaves are turning yellow.
Dorothy
Dorothy, the B. YTT I had bloomed only on NEW growth. Beautiful when its in bloom (Dec to Feb+-in zone 10). Hard pruning is ideal, forcing more branches, hence masses of flowers. Prune anyt ime except Sept through Nov. There is another Brunfelsia with tri-colour blooms same colours as B. Australis but this one flushes out all year, rather than the rather short Spring blooming season of B. Australis (YTT). Take a look at B. Magnifica at: http://www.rareflora.com/fragrant.htm and http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/BRUNFELSIA_FLORIBUNDA.htm
If its badly rootbound, as in circling the pot tightly, when you repot, try to spread the roots out so they have a better chance of stabilizing the plant in the new soil. (I'd cut a few roots in that case...but the plant may go into shock for a while)! It may not have been watered properly at the nursery, or it may need something like 'osmacote' fertilizer.
Thank you so much bedouin.
Dorothy
Dorothy,,,, i have had the australis before, a nice ytt...but here in Texas I have seen at nurseries one called pauciflora and one called
macarantha the spelling may be off. They are larger than australis but with the same flower fading habit. I don't see them offered very often but in I had one of them while in Austin Tx , cant remember which one and it was quite hardy. Only blooming in spring though but with a nice scent. I am in Beaumont Tx now and this summer bought one at a Sutherlands , which is like home depot, that just said
'yesterday, today, and tomorrow... it had been cut back alot in a one gallon pot. I repotted it and it is about one and a half feet or more now. The leaves are narrower than the one I had in Austin. They nursery attendant told me it was the same as one in her mothers yard and it was hardy but I am going to keep it in a pot protected this winter and see what happen in the spring... will post after it flowers.
The point to this is that there are more varieties out there that I had thought.....
warren
Around here it's almost always B. pauciflora that's sold at nurseries under the common name YTT.
I found the tag. It is a pauciflora floribunda
Dorothy
Hi folks, I am also a Brunfelsia enthusiast. I grew a few Brunfelsia years ago, and this year I got the itch again and have amassed as many species as I can. I am in the Mid-South and have to grow them in pots so I can bring them indoors during the winter. I have quickly discovered that the Brunfelsia offerings from U.S. nurseries can be very confused and mis-identified. An example is Gardino's Brunfelsia pilosa. Gardino is one of my favorite mail-order nurseries, and along with Top Tropical's, offering outstanding robust specimens.
Brunfelsia pilosa offered by Gardino and noted as originating from Cuba is misidentied. B. pilosa is actually a South American member of Brunfelsia section Franciscea, with lightly fragrant purple fading to white flowers. The Gardino offering is rather member of the Brunfelsia section Brunfelsia from the West Indies, featuring white fading to yellowish highly fragrant flowers. I am trying to properly indentify the species, but am lacking a good reference for the West Indies section of Brunfelsia. Sid Gardino advised that most of the Brunfelsia he offers originated from the Flowering Tree Society in Miama, which is connected with Fairchild Tropical Gardens. There is a good chance that this one is one of the species listed in Fairchild's Living Plants list.
As for propagating, I have been having excellent luck with typical tip cuttings with Rootone. Actually, so far I have had 100% success with them rooting in 2 weeks or so.. Brunflesia x isola is on my want list, and it is cross between B. americana and B. grandiflora. If anyone has a cutting for trade, please let me know!
Somebody mentioned Brunfelsia nyctaginoides. This is a unique plant which has been moved out of the Brunfelsia genus, and is now identified as Plowmania nyctaginoides.
Here is a list of my plant collection, all obtained this year. A few species I have plants from different sources. Most of these are in good condition that I am taking cuttings from. A couple are in poor shape due to experiencing some cold conditions during shipment, which I am trying to nurse back to health. Brunfelsia magnifica dropped all it leaves within a week of receiving, but should grow back from the root. I also have seeds of various species that I am trying to germinate. I am open to trades or donations of any species I don't have.
Brunfelsia americana
Brunfelsia australis
Brunfelsia densifolia
Brunfelsia floribunda
Brunfelsia gigantica
Brunfelsia grandiflora subsp. grandiflora
Brunfelsia jamaicensis
Brunfelsia lactea
Brunfelsia latifolia
Brunfelsia magnifica (poor conditon, shed all leaves after receiving)
Brunfelsia nitida
Brunfelsia sp. (received mis-identified as B. pilosa)
Brunfelsia sp. 'Manaca'
Nice collection! I'm definitely jealous!
I always wondered about B. nyctaginoides, it looked different enough that I could never figure out why it was in the same genus. If you've got a reference on that name change you might consider reporting an error on the Plant Files entry for it and have them add the new name.
I have a white one that bloomed for me this summer out in the hibiscus pot, now it is inside.. smelled heavenly and gave me two seed pods.. inside again this winter in the basement, leafless like last year, but new green buds popping out.. will try to find a pic since I am on my laptop will have to post from the other computor.. Lady of the Night it is called..
have another one .. will try to find it as well.. aha! it is Brunfelsia grandiflora the tag says..
Atropanthe- I've had good success with germinating Brunfelsia americana seeds. Here is a picture of B. jamaicensis flowering today.
found my pcture of the one that bloomed this summer for me
I work at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. I am a huge Brunfelsia fan! My two favorites are Brunfelsia plicata (white flowers) and Brunfelsia nitida (cream colored flowers). Both have a spicy fragrance at night. Here is an image of B. maliformis. It is a tree with yellow flowers.
Here is Brunfelsia plicata.
Fall of 2009, we should be selling Brunfelsia plicata and Brunfelsia nitida at our Members' Day sale. Stay tuned!
amygirl, is B. plicata fragrant? Do the flowers change colour day/night? The flowers appear to be fairly large?!!
Brunfelsia plicata is very fragrant at night. The flowers remain a nice white. The flowers are quite large. This is my favorite Brunfelsia.
Brunfelsia pauciflora should be used more often as a landscape plant around here. Tough as nails, needs very little attention and flowers most of the winter. I like the easy plants.....
I like the easy plants too, this one is awsome you posted Dale.. Here in Kansas you have to bring it all inside...
Hi Amygirl, very nice to know you work at Fairchild Botanical Garden. I plan to visit this summer and take a look at all of the Brunfelsia species growing there. I sure appreciate any pictures that you can post of each of the species that Fairchild has.
Regarding Brunfelsia maliformis (and Brunfelsia portoricensis for that matter), any idea why Fairchild has not made this species more widely available via the members plant sales or Flowering Tree Society? Are they perhaps difficult to propagate? I have not been able to locate these species being offered at any nurseries so far. If you know of any, please let me know. Thanks!
Today in history: December 23
1534: Otto Brunfels, botanist, died in Bern Switzerland at age 46. He was known for his theological and botanical works, describing plants based on his own observations. The genus Brunfelsia was named in his honor.
This message was edited Dec 23, 2008 8:52 PM
Hi, I'm a late-comer I know, but there are 2 bruns in my front yard that are over 20 years old and are the love of my life. When they bloom, the aroma goes all the way to the back yard. Never have been able to propagate, but they do reseed, but very sparingly. I have no idea which one they are, but I love them. Joan Mary, do you remember them and do you know which ones they are? BTW, good to see you again.
Hap
I just received some fresh Brunfelsia uniflora seeds directly from Brazil. This species doesn't appear to be very widely distributed in the US. Fingers crossed the seeds are viable!
I have found that Brunfelsia uniflora prefers a slightly acidic soil mix, whereas, many other species of brunfelsia, are perfectly happy in the alkaline soils of south Florida.
Happy, I do remember your Bruns at the front of your house. Nice and 'full'! I did not know they were 20 years old! Have you tried air-laying your Brunfelsias? I've had 100% success in every instance. It takes 6 weeks for healthy roots to form which is not a long time considering the new plant will flower right away if its 'mother' has flowered. No time needed for the new plant to mature so the 6 weeks is not onerous! I have a Brun. Isola which is ready to be separated from the 'Mother' and have planted a Brun. Gigantia which was airlayered recently. If you are not sure how to do an air-layering, come on over and I'll show you how. I'll direct and you'll do it! A good way to remember...........
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLJ_enUS315&ei=AdK1SeS4NNWDtwe1r7m7CQ&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=air+layering,+tutorial&spell=1
Atropanthe should you be interested in a seed exchange for your B. Uniflora, I have B. Americana, B. nitida And B. Lactea seeds from my garden for exchange. Thats quite a magnificant B. collection you have! Do you have a photo of Brunfelsia grandiflora subsp. grandiflora (leaves and flowers)? I have 2 grandifloras ....I think! One is rather 'vine-like'. Very deep purple flowers. Would love to id it correctly.
Amygirl, what do you do to acidify your soil?
At present, B. Alata and Gigantica are in bloom. Delightful fragrance at night!
wow! I can not wait for mine to wake up ... is winter here in Kansas..mine are asleep down here in the basement nursery.. you are lucky to see them so large and beautiful! I am envious! ;D
We did not do anything to acidify the soil.. The plants always look chlorotic! They have been in the ground for more than 30 years!
Spring is just around the corner joeswife! Time to hunt through the catalogues, right!
Well, if 30 years have not done the Bruns in, I'm not going to worry too much about mine amygirl! However, I've certainly doused the palms but not much change in their leaf colours! The foxtails look horribly yellow! Funny thing, a few feet away the other foxtails are a deep, deep green!