Ask the Perfumer forum Jan. 12, 2014 – and a Vetiver house 🙂

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Ask the Perfumer forum Jan. 12, 2014 – and a Vetiver house 🙂

by  | Jan 12, 2014 | Perfume From Your Garden book | 4 comments

I’m reposting some of my photos and brief comments from my Perfume From Your Garden Book page on Facebook here. There are a lot of comments on that page, so if you’d like to join us there, please do. It can be found here.

From last week:

People could hollow this out for a tiny hut!

People could hollow this out for a tiny hut!

Whew! Just finished up the Plant Pages for the book Perfume From Your Garden, but I need to go back and rework the charts on each plant, which includes growing information and extraction methods. The last plant is ylang-ylang, but I thought that this photo of vetiver roots would stop you in your tracks. It can grow to 4 meters – that’s right, 12 feet. There are reports of 6-meter-long harvests in commercial operations. I grow mine in pots ranging from 2 to 3 feet in depth, and that provides more than enough vetiver for my uses. It takes 18 months to mature and does need subtropical temps.

I’ll be here for your perfumery questions in the Ask the Perfumer forum until 10 PM ET USA tonight

 

4 Comments

  1. Eileen on January 12, 2014 at 2:11 pm (Edit)

    Where can I buy vertiver? it is a seed or live plant?

    Reply
    • Anya on February 6, 2014 at 2:39 pm (Edit)

      Eileen, go to http://companionplants.com and buy one tiny plant, when you get it, put it in a huge pot, and I mean at least 20-gallon pot, maybe two or three feet tall and two to three feet diameter, full of soil, and in 18 months you’ll have a huge rootball to harvest.

      Reply
  2. Nizan on February 6, 2014 at 2:32 pm (Edit)

    Hi Anya,

    I’m posting this here in hope that some time in the future you’ll find this and have time to answer 🙂
    I’m trying to build cestrum nocturnum accord, but I’m a bit at loss. I can’t really figure out what is that sweetness there.. It’s not jasmine, nor clove, nor ylang.. And that juicy greenness.. argh! Everything I tried so far didn’t go in the right direction.. Any tips on where to start (and where to go..) would be greatly appreciated!

    Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Anya on February 6, 2014 at 2:38 pm (Edit)

      Sorry, Nizan, I’ve never worked on that. I have a little bit of the absolute left, which I may never be able to get again, and I make a tincture of the flowers. Maybe you can try tincturing?

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