To start my fragrant garden series, I would like to write about one of my favorite scented plants, tuberose. Its fragrance of jasmine, coconut and warm skin is one of the most intoxicating and addictive, while its tall stalks densely adorned with lily-like white flowers are graceful and beautiful. As it happens to be, tuberose is fairly easy to grow either indoors or outside, if you have a nice sunny spot. After all, tuberose is a tropical plant, and as much as it will adapt to its new surroundings, it will always crave the sun. If the plant can be given at least 5-6 hours of constant sunlight a day, it will reward the gardener with the most luscious and opulent of scents....
Speaking from my own experience growing tuberose from bulbs indoors, I find the plant to be an easy one to nurture. Sunlight, well-drained soil, regular watering and fertilizer is all it takes! Sunlight can be easily faked with a plant light (I have a tall one that looks like a standing lamp, and I find that in the winter I love its soft light as much as my plants do.) Alternatively, find a spot in your house that receives plenty of sun.
Plant the bulbs with 2-3" of soil above the top and space them about 8-10" apart. Water generously right after planting to soak the bulbs. Almost any commercially available potting soils will suit tuberose, as long as they do not retain water. In other words, do not let tuberose bulbs be waterlogged or else they are sure to rot. Overwatering is perhaps the main danger when growing tuberose indoors, so make sure that your pot has good drainage holes. Tuberose is one of those plants that really appreciate fertilizer, therefore once the plant starts sprouting leaves and bloom stalks, feed your tuberose on regular basis (most gardening books recommend 8-8-8 fertilizer types for tuberose; I used Miracle-Gro with good results.)
Once the bloom stalks form (usually 90-120 days after planting), prepare some sort of support for them, as they can be quite heavy when studded with their thickly-petalled flowers. The opulent fragrance of tuberose is obvious throughout the day, but it is fully revealed in the evening, as the darkness falls. No wonder that young girls in India were encouraged not to smell tuberose after the sundown, lest its sensual, addictive aroma encourage lascivious thoughts. You can always pick a few flowers and float them in a bowl of water in order to delicately scent your rooms in the evening, if a whole blooming plant is too much for you.
If you are growing tuberose in your garden, consider planting it next to fragrant roses. The combination of fruity-citrusy rose and narcotic tuberose makes the most gorgeous orchestration, the likes of which are nearly impossible to find in a perfume bottle.
I had good luck purchasing tuberose bulbs from Easy to Grow Bulbs. They ship bulbs March through June, the best time to start planting your flowers. I planted my bulbs for this year only just recently, so I will update this article with photos of tuberose in various growth stages.
To read about tuberose uses in perfumery and various fragrances containing tuberose, please see my Note of the Week series, Tuberose.
Image: Double Flowering Tuberose, Rajanigandha 'The Pearl' courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr from Dave's Garden.
Your post totally inspired me to plant something scented. I'll get some tuberose bulbs but for now I got a small pot of basil for my kitchen window. I was shopping for lunch at Whole Foods nad it caught my eye. :-)
Posted by: Cristina | April 30, 2009 at 12:37
What a perfect description: jasmine, coconut and warm skin!
Posted by: Marina | April 30, 2009 at 13:14
Lovely! I really should plant some of these, since I live so close to their native climate. I have so many garden dreams and so few garden hours, but I think I can manage to put some bulbs in a pot.
Posted by: sweetlife | April 30, 2009 at 14:45
Tuberose is my favorite flower. The scent is probably one of my favorite smells. Funnily I've not loved tuberose in perfume with the exception of tuberose criminelle (which I LOVE)..It is very strange and I've not yet figured out why that is- but I have always thought of the smell of tuberoses as a cool/cold smell(or atleast a mix of cold and warm smells) while everybody else seems to describe it as a warm scent..Tuberose Criminelle comes closest to capturing my olfactory 'picture' of tuberose. (It has often made me wonder if something is wrong with my nose..lol Or maybe it is just a case of a relative mismatch in attributing adjectives?..As in I smell what you smell but I call it cold because of where I'm from?..lol)
I've been meaning to play with the tuberose absolute I have, to try and coax it to smell like my 'picture'..but haven't yet..Most tuberose perfumes I've smelt smell more like the absolute rather than the flower..
I was verry happy to read your post as I've been recently contemplating growing tuberose but wasn't sure if it was doable- so Thank you for your post!!
Posted by: Lavanya | April 30, 2009 at 15:32
Krasota! I am also thinking of gardening this summer, maybe herbs. What herbs are easy to grow, Vika?
Posted by: Sveta | April 30, 2009 at 16:46
Cristina, basil is a great choice for any garden. It is fragrant, delicious and easy to maintain. Please do not be afraid to prune it.
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 01, 2009 at 00:08
Marina, glad that you liked it. :) The scent of tuberose is so complex. One could find countless nuances.
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 01, 2009 at 00:09
Alyssa, definitely try growing them! Tuberoses are among the most delightful plants to grow, esp. for fragrance lovers like us.
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 01, 2009 at 00:11
Lavanya, you are right about the scent of tuberose--the top note has the cooling wintergreen sensation. Of course, there are so many associations that come into play. I always associate tuberose with India, its heat, its sun... When it comes down to it, it becomes difficult to disentangle all of these sensations and memories.
I loved bhaat recipe you posted most recently. When I return from my trip, I will definitely try it.
One of my future flavor/fragrance posts will be on Marathi black masala. I finally made a huge batch of it a couple of months ago after questioning people I know about their recipes.
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 01, 2009 at 00:18
Sveta, mint, chervil, thyme and basil are quite easy to grow, and so is rosemary if you do not overwater it. I keep thinking of planting tarragon, but I have not gotten around to it yet.
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 01, 2009 at 00:19
Dear Victoria,
What are some of your favorite tuberose scents ? Also can I grow tuberose in a planter in my apartment ?
Happy May Day ! wILL you be wearing Diorissimo or some other Muguet ?
So nice to see you again ?
Madelyn E
Posted by: Madelyn54 | May 01, 2009 at 00:38
Madelyn, definitely! It can grow in a planter quite well, as long as the roots do not remain waterlogged (it likes damp, but not soaking wet soil.) As for my favorite tuberose scents, I really enjoy Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle and Michael Kors (the original.) Actually, Michael Kors is lately one of my favorite tuberoses--it manages to capture its heady opulence along with a strong suggestion of green. A fragrance that started a whole tuberose trend.
I did not think about May Day yet, but since I will be on the plane, I probably will avoid any scent. Even my own perfume in a closed space can drive me crazy.
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 01, 2009 at 01:04
That is so true about disentangling scents and the memories..I think that is another reason I find the scent 'cool'- I associate it with the cool night breeze in India, wafting in from the balcony and mixing with the scent of tuberose..
Am glad you liked the bhaath recipe- let me know how it turns out when you try it. Looking forward to the post about the Marathi black masala..:)
Have a safe and wonderful trip, Victoria.
Posted by: Lavanya | May 01, 2009 at 02:25
Happy May Day!
Posted by: Niktaris Dimitris | May 01, 2009 at 06:36
Lavanya, thank you!
Your association is wonderful, and I can see why you find the scent cool. When my tuberose blooms, I love to leave it outside in the evening and simply open the window to allow some aroma into the rooms.
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 01, 2009 at 11:40
Niktaris, Happy May Day to you too! :)
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 01, 2009 at 11:40
Lovely idea! I have grown it too, I need to do it again. Nothing is better for warm summer evenings.
I can't think of a tuberose fragrance I DON'T like! :-)
Posted by: Flora | May 01, 2009 at 16:08
Flora, you are my twin then, because I adore everything tuberose. :)
Posted by: Bois de Jasmin | May 15, 2009 at 10:57
Hi, I was wondering about whether I could plant tuberose in a garden I am starting. I'll have some veggies, some herbs, and some flowers. When we looked at tuberose, the grower said that it attracts snails (?). He said we could plant it at the ends of the garden (it's 2' x 42' - basically a long planter box area) but I can't get "snails" out of my head now! I'd hate to see my veggies/ herbs destroyed...
If necessary, I could always put the tuberose in a pot elsewhere... but I'd rather have them in the ground.
Thanks!
Posted by: April | July 17, 2009 at 17:33
April, I have not noticed slugs/snails near my tuberoses, and they are in pots near my vegetables. In general, unless you live in a tropical climate, it is better to have it in a pot, so that you can start the bulbs earlier than the planting season and then enjoy the blooms indoors in the fall, especially, if your bulbs sprout too late, like mine did this year. I will probably see flowers on my plants only in September.
Posted by: Boisdejasmin | July 20, 2009 at 09:32
By accident i fertilized my tuberose with Plumeria fertilizer 10-55-06. what should i do. will this high phoserpous fertilizer kill tuberose?
Posted by: lgallo1930@aol.com | July 08, 2011 at 14:47
I think that it should be ok. They are hardy enough to handle it.
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Posted by: Victoria | July 08, 2011 at 15:01
I have a clump of tuberose tucked in a corner of my garden close to the front door. I have not had a flower in 5 years!!
I've fed nitrogen and potash, plus a watering of epsom salts.
That area gets sun in the summer until afternoon, but because the clump is low growing it may not get enough benefit?
Your advice wecomed.
Dawn
Posted by: Dawn Law | July 10, 2011 at 01:50
It is hard to say why they don't flower, since I don't know where you live. Usually, tuberose requires a full day of sunshine. In my area, in Eastern USA, it means that I have to start them indoors under a lamp.
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Posted by: Victoria | July 10, 2011 at 11:40
I live half a world away from you on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand in the south Pacific!
We have a temperate climate, and in this area, the summers are very hot and dry so garden irrigation is necessary. Winter means a few frosts (no snow) but my tuberoses are under shelter.
Does that help in solving my problem?
Regards
Posted by: Dawn Law | July 11, 2011 at 02:08