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Lady of the
Night
Brunfelsia americana
click pic to enlarge
Zone 10 or Houseplant The plant in the photo was grown from seeds of my first Lady of the Night plant sold to me growing in a rusty Campbell's soup can in 1978. I asked the nursery owner to show me more unusual plants and this was the one she suggested We have never seen this variety growing or for sale anywhere else The amazing feature and the reason for its name is that after sundown Lady of the Night flowers become fragrant. Within 10 seconds after sundown, the aroma appears from zero to full power. There is absolutely no smell nor hint of aroma in daylight hours. The aroma goes all night long then stops exactly at sunrise
To say "fragrant" is inadequate because the air becomes full of a sweet smell somewhat like a jasmine but punctuated with strong undertones of cloves, oriental 5-spice powder and cinnamon It is a complex smell and very satisfying. People offered a "whiff" want to smell it again and again. Conversation immediately turns to discussing this unique aroma. Even our family, which has enjoyed the plant for over 20 years, gets excited to smell the flowers every spring because no other fragrance compares
Native to the West Indies, this plant is among our family's favorites. It grows very upright on thin, flexible woody stems. The leaves are dark, leathery, and evergreen. We have never seen any pests on this plant This Brunfelsia americana is listed as a shrub, but really has no such appearance. It is too thin, too delicate to be seen as a common shrub It's habit is mostly wood and dark green leaves with almost no green wood. Lady of the night grows straight up with moderate branching. No pruning is ever necessary. Moderate occasional food and moderate water is all that is required. This Lady of the night even handles dry soil well. They are very long lived. We have some 20 years old with no signs of decline Growing small to no more than 5 feet in South Florida, in spring and summer, the flowers appear in cycles; bursts of long 3-5 inch white flowers that turn pale yellow as they age on the stem. Flowers hold for a long time and a happy specimen can show off 100's on any given evening Maximum performance is in the most humid part of summer. The more humid the weather, the further it can be smelled, which can easily be 100 feet away. The more humid the weather, the more blooms appear on this Lady of the Night You can cut flower groups off the stem after sundown, take the stem indoors and perfume your whole house. You should take the cutting after dark for maximum aroma although cut during the day, flowers still burst into fragrance indoors after sundown. Visitors always say "what's that I smell?" immediately upon entering our house. Stem placed in water, one cut piece will perfume your home for many days This Lady of the Night enjoys partial shade and wind protection. It does well on many soils, never gets any pests and is a light eater (fertilizer). Because it blooms well in medium shade, Lady of the Night makes an excellent houseplant with minimal care. Indoors frequent light misting starting in spring for added humidity is recommended We never see this particular variety for sale anywhere. The only ones growing are ones we own. We take seeds and plant a few every year to make sure they'll never die out Seeds are housed in small orange marble sized balls. Inside are 2-10 black seeds. We dry the seeds for a few days before we plant. They sprout nicely, but slowly Frustrating is that Lady of the Night plants, regardless of size, do not transplant - they all die. Even ones we have started in small pots suffer from re-planting and many die. It is best to direct seed into a permanent location. A nice pot is fine as the roots are minimal or direct seed into your land We once saw a plant with similar leaves and similar flowers labeled Lady of the Night, but the fragile stems fell over (naturally) and it was better suited to use in hanging basket. Also, the aroma did not compare to our variety Various Brunfelsia include:
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