PlantFiles: White Champak, Pak-Ian, Fragrant Himalayan Champaca, Joy Perfume Tree, White Sandalwood
Michelia x alba

An outstanding Patio Tree. We purchased it last Spring as a 20" cutting (with a couple of feable leaves on it), and it took off! By the end of summer it was 6' tall with several blooms. Here in Central New York,by the time October comes around, the temps are flirting with the freezing mark, so we brought it inside, and hoped for the best. It has been in a 7 gallon container near a south facing sliding glass door, and it's doing great! It does not like to "go dry", and reacts very well to frequent mild feedings. It is mid December, the days are mostly cloudy and short, and it continues to (slowly) grow! I highly recommend this plant as a center piece to their container specimen plants. In mid January the poor plant suffered an infestation of Spider Mites while we were away for two weeks. It never seemed to bounce back, and slowly lost all its leaves. I put it into the greenhouse, but it appeared to go dormat. The cambium tissue is green, but many of the twigs are turning black. We had another Michelia that spent most of November outside before it was brought into the greenhouse; it is in now full bloom (05-04-09). This being our first year with this plant, I'm thinking it may require the dormancy period for a better chance of survival.

This is one of my favorite fragrant plants. Avoid direct California sun in the first couple years. Need protections during winter storms. After 5 years of pampering, it’s doing pretty well now. Worth all the troubles though. It’s the most popular flower among my visitors.

One of my favorites for sure!!
With only a couple of flowers on her you can smell her hundreds of feet away..
The smell is a strong juicy fruit gum smell on a hot humid night..
She likes to be water alot but not soggy..
I give her lots of nutrients and it seems to really make her bloom alot..
My ph on my nutrients is 6.0 - 6.5
The only thing i have to worried about are those little green caterpillars that move very fast if you try to catch it..
The pillar spins a web too and uses the web to escape you..
If you see your leaves with bite marks on them then inspect the leaves..
Look at the leaves and find the one that is curl up on itself you will most likely find him in a coccoon type of web..
One little bugger can set your plant back alot!!

This tree is commonly known as the "Joy Perfume Tree" down here in Florida!
Propagation is nearly impossible,most plants you buy are either grafted or grown from seeds..
Not all plants produce seeds!
:(

This is one of my most favorite trees for fragrance. It blooms in the spring, summer, and fall here outdoors in Zone 10 and seems to do quite well in a container for several years.

Michelia x alba is a hybrid between Michelia champaca and Michelia montana. It is often incorrectly labeled as Michelia Champaca 'Alba' by commercial enterprizes, but this is incorrect nomenclature.

My tree does produce seeds, and I have gotten one seed to germinate, but most trees are produced by grafting or air-layering. Michelia champaca, the yellow-flowered Michelia, bears seeds which are viable.

The flowers can be picked as they are opening and put in water, and the fragrance will fill the room.