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I've now had my Michelia Alba plant for more than 3 years. It's been moved around the section of the house to another based on various furniture moves, and has survived all the major moves. It now currently sites in the front entrance, where the tree has more vertical space to grow.
Michelia Alba's Fragrant Flowers
Each season, it has always produced fragrant flowers. However, not quite as many flower as I have seen from other indoor Michelia Alba plants. But mine has grown much faster and with larger leaves. I don't know if this has anything to do with the fact I put the plant in a self water pot, which makes watering easy. I generally pour unused cold shower water collected in a bucket in the AM every 1-2 weeks, depending on when the soil and reservoir has dried out (read more here).
Giving Michelia Alba More Sunlight
As I mentioned above, my front entrance has more vertical space to grow. Nearly the full two floors length. At the upper section is where sunlight will directly high the leaves, which I'm hoping will result in more flowers. One of my main hypothesis as to why my plant has fewer flowers is my home gets a lot less direct sunlight (based on orientation of the house). So I'm hoping that combination of warmer upper flower temperatures with more sunlight will result in more flowers.
Michelia Alba Growing Vertically
An issue that I've had in the new location is the Michelia Alba plant tends to be attracted and grow towards the window. However, since I want the plant to grow in a somewhat vertically, I have put a plastic fiberglass stake (similar to these) in the ground. GIven the height of the tree, the plastic stakes are by themselves not strong enough to keep the the plant in a vertical position, especially at the higher levels. I have therefore tied the plastic stake to the staircase, which is now strong enough. Note: The plant has also grown enough that one of twisty ties I used to secure the plant to the plastic fiberglass stake has been completely covered by the bark of the plant. I did my best to remove it, but I didn't want to damage the plant.