PlantFiles: Heliotrope
Heliotropium arborescens 'Marine'

I believe this is one of my very favorite annuals. I tried to winter sow it this year for the first time. I did not get very many plants. I am going to try again next year. I don't think I could have too many of them. Last year, I planted heliotrope by front door, north side in bright shade. It did outstanding. I planted along with pink impatience, Lilac nemesia, and lilac penta. All did very well together. It was a real show stopper with the added bonus of wonderful fragrance. This year I'm repeating the same show and also putting it in a couple of pots with white nemesia, lilac nemesia pink and white verbena, and purple helioptrope. I have it in fairly tall plant stands so one doesn't have to bend to far to get those wonderful frangrances from both nemesia and heliotrope. I am going to try to take cuttings this fall to winter over because I enjoy the plant so much. If anyone has any special instructions to propagate from cuttings, e-mail me.

Heliotropes are sold as annuals in this cold climate, so I grew these in a container on a southern exposure in 2008. While they looked great at first, they went into decline by mid-summer. I snipped off the spent flower clusters, which seemed to encourage reblooming, but they never looked quite as good as the first batch of flowers. Also, some of the leaves turned brown and dried up, perhaps from the soil getting too dry. Overall, it was a nice looking annual but a bit too high-maintenance for my taste.

One of my favorites as well! I grew the white variety this year too as well as another 'purple' variety. I love the scent. It wintersows nicely. I also take clippings in for the winter so that I have plants for next year.

I grew several plants from seed started over last winter - and had a GLORIOUS all-summer show. I planted them in groups of 3 plantlets, and they were the nicest, longest flowering annual in my garden. They really look great with white marguerite daisies, multicolored snapdragons, and black-eyed susans. I wish they were a better cutting flower (they just wilt when cut - even when I tried preservative/ burning the ends/cutting the end under water). It's also too bad they aren't perennial in my area. But I treasure them for their lovely scent and showstopping color in the garden. The japanese beetles chewed on them some, but it didn't slow down the bloom one bit. Definitely attracts the honeybees, butterflies and bumbles. One of my favorites!

This is my only MUST HAVE plant each year. It does best for me with morning sun, and it has to be in a pot. In the ground it becomes lunch. I love the vanilla smell, it sits right by my recliner. I have to give it fertilizer to thrive, and water frequently in our July-August heat. I have no luck bringing it in the house in the fall, but if it was around all year, I might not treasure it as much. Cathy, St. Louis

I absolutly love this plant!! What a great fragrence and velvet leaves! I need to get some more of this beauty. The snails here ate my entire shrub in one weekend!!

When I found out this plant was a perrenial (tender) it fell into my experimental plant group. The first one I had I dug up and moved with me to my last "new" house and it almost died, revived, then got a lovely infection of aphids in the middle of winter and kicked the bucket.

The second try with this, I planted in its own planter and it has done wonderfully. It bloomed until mid November when I decided that it needed a break and started pinching off signs of bloom. This decision came because instead of the dark purple blooms, the color was white-ish blue with a purple edging, very pretty and delicate. I worried though, because it wasn't nearly so fragrant and the leaves were looking too light colored. Now it is back to its darker shade of foliage and doing well.

This is one of my favorite annuals that I have to grow every year. The vanilla scent is one of my favorites. I have found that this plant can be very particular about its location. In my area, it does not like direct afternoon sun. It is also particular about water. I let mine dry completely out before I water. Great plant, I highly recommend it.

These are my favorite flowers, hands down. The rich colors of both the flowers and the leaves are a beautiful contrast. They also smell heavenly! They're relatively easy to grow with plenty of sunlight and water. I usually feed them some Miracle Gro once a week and they've taken off wonderfully. I also deadhead them when the blooms have wilted.

I do not think I would suggest that anyone in my zone 7 to put this plant in the ground, which is what I did. All I can say is that it is there and has not done a thing except to shrivel up slowly. Seems the best time is the early morning sun. It was so pretty at the nursery. To me when it shrivel's it is asking for water.

This is one of my favorites too!! Always in bloom with its lovely vanilla scent. Unfortunately, it is also loved by slugs and snails.

fabulouse dark purple vanilla scented flowers and dark green leaves. one of my favorite plants of all time!!!!!!
5 stars.