I was recently in Indonesia and went to a restaurant with the most amazing smelling flowers! I took a photo so I could learn what plant it was and if/how I could grow it at home. Can anyone help me ID this flower? Is it possible to grow it in my little apartment with my complete lack of plant rearing experience?
Polianthes tuberosa is grown for the cut flower trade. It needs much light and heavy feeding to bloom. It does not do well as a "house plant".
I have found tuberose to be difficult to grow. The only time I got them to bloom, was in Atlanta (a similar climate to DC), but they did not start to bloom until the temps were dropping so much that I had to dig up the plant, pot it up and bring it in. Indoors the blooms were short lived. There are a lot of very nice fragrant houseplants that are much easier to grow. But if you are up to a challenging plant, the fragrance of tuberose is quite wonderful.
