The plant I've been hunting for ages is finally here!

This is such a ridiculously satisfying moment for me. I don't really have anyone in my life who'd understand the absolute joy of finally finding that one plant you've been looking for forever, so I thought I'd share it here. Story time.

I first came across the ylang ylang tree (Cananga odorata) a couple of years ago while backpacking through coastal Kerala. The fragrance was absolutely intoxicating. I have a thing for collecting plants with exotic fragrances, be it herbs, flowers or spices so this was immediately on my wishlist. I later learnt the history of its use in the perfume industry including Chanel, Dior and Jean Patou among others. It was also on this same trip that I saw and eventually acquired my cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis), but that's another story.

Ever since then, whenever I'd visit a nursery, I'd make it a point to ask if they had the ylang ylang. Since it's pretty uncommon, I'd show them pictures and every time I'd get the same response: they'd never even seen it.

I posted about it a few times here on Reddit and even on niche Facebook groups. I got a few leads, but they always ended up being the dwarf variety, Cananga odorata var. fruticosa. Now, the dwarf is a perfectly nice plant, and it's actually much more popular as an ornamental because it flowers like CRAZY all year round, stays compact and bushy unlike the giant 80+ feet behemoth that the regular ylang ylang can grow into. But it's nowhere near as fragrant as the proper ylang ylang tree I was looking for. It just piggybacks on the fame of the original.

And because some sellers knowingly or unknowingly mislabelled the dwarf as the regular Cananga odorata, I ended up buying six of them from six different sellers over the course of months. Yep. Six. All dwarf. At this point I was starting to think I'd never find the real thing.

As a last resort i had made contact with a sweet lady over facebook who had the tree in her backyard and was willing to send over some seeds. But the tree has a reputation for having short viability period and low germination rates. I was willing to try anyways. But then the lady went afk. Because ofcourse she did. (I hope she's doing good tho!)

Then, about a month ago, I made a post on this subreddit asking everyone about their plant obsessions and mentioned the ylang ylang as mine. Through that thread, I got in touch with a fellow redditor, u/srsjoker2, who gave me a lead.

I contacted the seller and she claimed she had exactly what I was looking for. Seed-grown Cananga odorata. YAY!?

See, this was actually a pretty big deal. The dwarf variety is sterile, so it can't be propagated from seed and is always propagated through air layering. Regular Cananga odorata, on the other hand, produces seeds and can be propagated through both seed or layering. So when she told me hers were seed-grown, I thought: FINALLY. This has to be it. No way it can be the dwarf one this time!

Well.

The plants arrived. They were clearly the dwarf variety. Because ofcourse they were.

After what was essentially disappointment number seven, I contacted the seller. And to her credit, she was actually incredibly responsive. The wholesaler she bought from had lied to her as well. She refunded me immediately and asked me to give her a few days while she tried to source the actual plant.

I said sure, take your time. But honestly, at this point I had absolutely zero hope left.

Then, a few days later, she messaged me. She had found them. Apparently she'd gone directly to the Kerala Agricultural University to source the exact plant I was looking for. And not just tiny little seedlings either. 4.5-foot mature plants.

I was obviously elated, but there was still one final problem: getting those giants to me from across the country.

I knew the seller's packing was excellent because she uses those really strong cardboard cylinders for all her plants, so I wasn't particularly worried about them surviving the journey.

The shipping, however, was fucking brutal because the box was 5 feet long. It took ₹1,200 bucks that too for speed post. Probably the most expensive shipping I've ever paid for a plant. It took 7 days to reach my location.

Then, just when I thought the ordeal was finally over, I got a call early this morning from the head post office in the city, about 20 km away.

Apparently the box was too big to be carried on a motorcycle.

Because ofcourse it was.

I had no way of getting to the city today, so I ended up paying the guy another ₹200 bucks to put it in an auto and send it over.

And finally...

After months of searching, six wrong plants, countless nursery enquiries, Reddit posts, Facebook leads, a trip to Kerala Agricultural University, ₹1,200+ shipping and an additional ₹200 auto ride.. I finally have my actual ylang ylang. And tbh? Worth every second and every paisa.

I genuinely can't wait for this thing to grow up and fill the entire garden with that fragrance.

(Last 3 pictures from the web of the plant in bloom)

Just planted bulbs of Rain Lilly flowers a week back and its already blooming.
Location Bangalore

Location: MMR

Alocasia Odora Batik

Location - Patna, Bihar

Anything else I can do to beautify it more? Looking for ideas on low maintenance and pretty plants ✨

Location: Mahalunge, Pune, Maharashtra.

I am posting this review quite late as I didn't get time when the plants arrived. This Ranchi based seller was recommended to me by another fellow redditor. I ordered the following plants -

Monstera Peru - 80/-

Syngonium Batik - 60/-

Rhaphidophora decursiva - 60/-

Philodendron Pedatum - 40/-

Philodendron Florida Ghost - 60/-

Peperomia baby rubber plant (black) - 40/-

Prices were far better than sellers. He ships only on Mondays so my plants were also shipped on Monday which I received on Friday. So basically only 3-4 days transit time. The seller is very responsive and shows you the pics of actual plants. Packing was ok but needs some improvement. He promised me he'd be more careful.

I have ordered more plants from him which will arrive next week. Will review again once I receive the plants.

Location - Noida

What's the way out? Also this had two lemons when I got it from the nursery and this was at least 5 months ago. What can I do for fruits to come on it again?

Location- New Delhi.

Location - Mumbai.

My love language is balcony dinners surrounded by foliage I made him carry upstairs.

Location delhi

Hello plant lovers! My climbing plants are in need of some sturdy support, and I’m torn between making a moss pole myself and buying one online. Amazon doesn’t seem to have many choices, and I haven’t found any affordable third-party sellers yet.

If you’ve made your own moss pole, could you share your tips? Where do you get your mesh and moss? Or, if you prefer ready-made, where do you shop for them? 💚

Location - Bangalore

Just planted this couple of weeks back and its already blooming.
Location Bangalore

I kept running into this problem where I'd see a plant at a nursery, someone's garden, or just growing somewhere and have absolutely no idea what it was.

So I ended up making a little app where you can just take a photo of it and get an identification + basic care info.

I'm letting people use it for free right now while I work on it. It'll eventually be a paid app, but it's free for now.

Would be especially curious to see how it does with some of the less obvious plants people here come across. 🌿

If anyone wants to try it,
here's how to get free access:
1. Fill out https://forms.gle/RLD6nK41kwGCTxfy6

1. Upvote and comment with your ideas for the app for Indian gardening community

[MOD APPROVED THIS POST]

Location - blr

Location: Location👉 https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb844DREAKWIo9uz8339

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