Stephanotis, also called the Wedding Flower or Madagascar Jasmine, is another of my favorite useful and tough plants. Of course, it is useful because of its fragrant, waxy white flowers that go so well in wedding bouquets and leis but the hardy plant is also wonderful in hiding all those ugly chain link fences we have in Hawaii.
The Stephanotis vine likes to grow in a sunny place with good soil drainage. They just love chain link fences although they tend to favor the top of the fence so you may have to position and pinch the the young tendrils to encourage them to cover the fence well. Giving the plant some fertiliser and water will give you a lot more flowers but the plant is a tough survivor once established. It can tolerate salty ocean breezes. The young plant does seem to take time to get established, so just keep watering after planting it with a bit of fertiliser and soon tendrils will start reaching up and it will take off.
Stephanotis can be propagated from cuttings but I grow my plants from seed. I pick one of the large seed pods ( they look rather like a mango) when it is starting to turn from green to a yellow-brown and put it up on the kitchen window ledge until it fully ripens and cracks open. Actually , it is a good idea to put a rubber band loosely around the pod so that the seeds cannot float off when you are not watching as each seed has a fluffy propeller like a dandelion seed so that it can be carried by the wind.
I always love my first look into the Stephanotis pod when it opens up. It is one of the marvels of nature to see how the seeds and their unopened fluff is packed so beautifully into the pod. One pod gives hundreds of seeds and they easily sprout into hardy seedlings. These I transplant into plastic cups to get them rooted well before planting out when they start getting a tendril reaching up.
The Stephanotis flushes into flower in the spring and summer so it is good timing for bridal bouquets and graduation leis. In bouquets, a floral pick or a bit of coconut leaf mid-rib can be used to position
the flowers. The flowers string beautifully into leis or on knotted ribbon streamers.
Aloha
Oh that is very interesting I have a stephanotis vine and it is has just finished flowering so I will be on the lookout for pods. It does tend to have long stalks rather than a bushy habit.
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DeleteHi africanaussie. When I think about it, whenever I get seed pods, it is from very mature vines....so you may have to look around to find them. I know a few public park places where I can find them. :o)
ReplyDeleteI have never seen this one in my region.
ReplyDeleteTruly it looks familiar but somehow different.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Hi James...thanks for dropping by and looking through my blog and for your comments. I love how garden blogs are connecting us around the world.....and Malaysia is one of my favorite places so it is like being able to visit there again when I read your blog. Aloha
ReplyDeleteVery informative, thank you! I am going to plant the vine to cover chain link, any suggesting for prepping the soil? We live near Hilo with tight reddish soil. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm a soil consultant on the Big Island. Hilo has highly leached soils from excessive rain and sometimes due to previous land impacts such as bulldozing or sugarcane production. The soil needs to have a lot of nutrients added. A high quality soil analysis with 18+ minerals, pH, etc. should be done to determine inputs. Check out my website for more info. www.beyondorganicresearch.com Aloha, Jana Bogs, PhD
DeleteHi Alicia. Glad that my writing is being of help. I guess just the usual: breaking up of soil, throw in some organic matter and a bit of fertilizer and then keep the plant watered. Actually, if you have that hard clay soil....the more organic matter the better for all the garden. Still....lucky you live Hilo. I was there a few months ago and by the time I came home, I was ready to move over there. This island is getting too crowded and too expensive.
ReplyDeleteIs it edible?
ReplyDeleteIs it edible?
ReplyDeleteNo....it is not edible Michelle....even though the fruit looks like a big mango it is just husk and seeds with fluff inside.
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ReplyDeleteGreat blog. Stumbled upon it. Do you think this will tolerate full sun? I've seen suggestions that it be placed in "bright light" but not full sun. I would like to place it in full sun if I can without dooming it.
ReplyDeleteGreat info on Stephanotis! I was given a pod by my neighbors and now we have 20 little seedlings. Thanks to your blog, now we know what they are and what they look like when fully grown.
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ReplyDeleteHi Jose and Glen....sorry been traveling and away from the blog so a long time for you to wait for a reply. I am glad to be of help to you both. I have seen it grown in full sun but you may need to watch that it has enough water in the hot dry summer or it may get tired looking.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog post. Thank you for this information. I’ve been searching for how to propagate Stefanotis from seed pods. I have a seizable Stefanotis plant growing in a container in my garden. I live in Southern California, despite growing in a pot it has been thriving and blooms beautifully in spring and summer and into fall. Two years ago the plant grew a large seed pot, I didn’t know what to do with it, I cut and discarded it. This year the plant gave two seed pods. It felt it was leeching nutrients from the plant, I cut both off, but this time I would love to use the seeds to grow more Stefanotis plants. The pods are mostly green with some areas of yellow/brown. Do I leave them out, as you suggest on my window sill? But won’t they dry out? Will the pods crack open by themselves or should I cut them open with a knife? How long will it take for them to open? Thanks very much in advance!
ReplyDeleteHi Marie.....yep.....I would just leave the pods on a window sill to ripen up and they will just pop open by themselves when they are ready. It could be a few weeks at least....Good luck
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your reply. I really appreciate it. Will do as you suggest. I have two pods sitting pretty on my window sill....waiting to pop open. xo
DeleteHello again!
DeleteI did as you suggested, I left 2 seed pods on my window sill for 2 months. One of them opened up this week. I was so excited. But the seeds inside are tightly packaged within the white silk. The silk has not unfurled yet, it’s all tightly closed up
What should I do? Will the silk loosen up and unfurl to expose the seeds if I leave it out longer? Perhaps it hasn’t matured quite yet? I wish I could post a picture of it for you to see!
DeleteHi Marie....glad that one pod has opened up for you. Maybe by now the soft silk has dried up and your seeds will start flying away. Before they do that, just pull the seeds off the silks and plant them in potting mix. Aloha
ReplyDeleteHello Stella,
DeleteThanks so much for your reply!
Actually, by now the second pod has also opened; just days apart. The first pod now has “some” loose fluffy silk emerging out of the pod which the seeds are attached to - but just a few of the seeds (maybe 4-5 seeds) the rest of the seeds and silk are still tightly packed inside the pod...The second pod has no loose silk, the seeds as well as the silk are tightly cocooned inside the opened pod. I’ll take your suggestion, but I will have to gently pry the seeds out of the cocoon, as they really are quite tightly packed inside. So, I’ll take the silk parachutes off the seeds, then directly put them into soil? Any potting mix will do; such as ‘Miracle Grow’ for flowers and veggies? I read somewhere not to plant the seeds too deep into the soil. And how many seeds per pot? Sorry for all these questions. I searched online for info, but found very little specific instructions.
Thank you so much!
Marie
Hi again Marie. Stephanotis seeds are easy growers so I do not fuss over them much. Any kind of loose media to grow them, and I just cover the pot with seeds and then put a thin layer of mix on top of that. My favorite container for seed growing is recycled mushroom trays that I poke holes in for drainage. You will get lots of seedlings. Let them grow five or so leaves before transplanting into separate small pots.
ReplyDeleteHello Stella,
DeleteThank you for taking the time to reply and for the info. Today I planted my seeds as per your instruction. I planted half of my supply, and saved the other half in a plastic bag, in case the ones I planted don’t sprout successfully. I will let you know how they will do. Thanks very much again!
Hello again, Stella!
ReplyDeleteIt’s been over a year since I left my last comment above. Thank you for all your help with the propagation of the seeds. Thanks to your guidance, I now have plenty seedlings heartily growing in a pot. I can’t plant them into the ground where I currently live, but to give them more space I repotted the seedlings into a larger pot than the one they germinated in, and for now, they must remain in the container. They are doing really well. What I would like to ask you is: Can I keep all of the seedlings in one container (I have dozens of them in one container, about 7” tall) or do they need to be separated and each seedling planted in its own container? Is each single seedling one plant? Or do multiple seedlings form into one big plant? And for how long can I keep them in one large container (about 5 gallons)? I am in the hot California desert, and already have one mature Stephanotis happily living in a giant container (the one I got the seed pods from). I wish I could post a photo of them for you too see. Thanks so much in advance.
Yay! Good to hear that you were able to grow more plants....and yes...it is time to separate them up into individual pots....at least one gallon size big and then you have gift for friends or to sell after a few months. My vine is in full flower right now which helps when you are making leis for school graduations. Aloha
ReplyDeleteYAY, right! All thanks to you. You inspired and helped me, and now I have plenty of healthy seedlings eager to grow into big plants. So, does each and every single seedling stem need its own container? And will each stem grow into one big plant? Thanks! xo
DeleteYes.....One vine will easily cover 10 feet of chain link fence. If you are just keeping them in a container, then one per large container with some of trellis to climb up. At least a three gallon size pot. Aloha
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Stella. I will follow your instructions and look forward to having multiple Stephanotis plants growing into big strong plants. I’m sure your Stephanotis leis will be beautiful and much appreciated for the school graduations! Much gratitude, Marie
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