Jasmine Plant Care

Jasmine Plant Care

Native to southwest China, Jasminum polyanthum offers a heady perfume—a rich, sweet scent that will fill a house or lightly carry through a southern garden. Its dark leaves provide the perfect backdrop for a late January display of pink buds that open into a mist of exquisitely fragrant white flowers.

Jasmine was introduced in England in 1931. In the 1950s while on a Christmas visit home to Shropshire, our head gardener came upon a greenhouse full of the exotic vine. Of course he wanted to bring it to Connecticut, so he made about 100 cuttings! As a result, we were among the first to offer this glorious plant for sale in the United States.

How We Grow our Jasmine Plants

We continue to grow Jasmine—also known as Winter Jasmine or Pink Jasmine—at the farm, a process that takes months of care before the plants are ready for shipping. In late spring, rooted cuttings are potted in the greenhouse. They grow rapidly—up to 6 inches a day. As the season progresses, we carefully pinch new shoots back to develop strong, bushy plants. The stems for ring topiaries are slowly trained along wire forms. Pinching stops in early fall and the flower buds appear soon thereafter.

How We Ship our Jasmine Plants

We ship our plants, carefully packaged, with buds already set, so with proper care an explosion of midwinter bloom is assured. This is a tender plant, so we will begin shipping in mid to late November, weather permitting.

How to Care for Your Jasmine Plant

Latin Name Pronunciation: jaz-mee'-num

The cultural requirements of Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) are simple but exacting. When your plant arrives, put it in a cool room and set it in a window that receives bright light but little or no direct sun. Flowers will open and last longer with cooler home temperatures.

Watering: Water only when the top half inch of the potting mix is dry to the touch; Jasmine won't tolerate soggy potting mix. If these conditions are met, flowering generally begins in late January or early February.

Jasmines are also sensitive to the dryness created by radiators, hot-air vents, and wood-burning stoves. Here are some ways to increase the humidity around your plants:

  • Run a humidifier nearby.
  • Set plants in trays filled with pebbles or gravel. Add water to a level just below the tops of the pebbles (if the potting mix in the pots comes in contact with the water, the mix will draw water into the pot, which will cause the mix to become saturated, eventually leading to rot). Refill trays frequently to replace water lost through evaporation.

After your plant blooms:  

  • Give your plant at least 6 hours of direct sun and normal room temperatures.
  • When the danger of frost has passed, we recommend that you set the plant outdoors for the summer, shifting it gradually from a shady spot to full sun.
  • Fertilize every 2-4 weeks during the growing season -- generally from early spring to early fall. Withhold fertilizer entirely during fall and winter, when the plant is resting. Use a water-soluble fertilizer designed for houseplants mixed at just half the rate suggested by the manufacturer. As with watering, plants suffer if overfertilized.
  • Prune as necessary to control size or to maintain shape, but stop pruning by August 1, because the plant sets flower buds in late summer.
  • To encourage the formation of flower buds for next winter, be sure your plant experiences the cooler temperatures and shorter days of early autumn. The plant needs 4-5 weeks of nighttime temperatures between 40 and 50°F, plenty of sunlight, and the complete absence of artificial light after sundown. Bring the plant indoors before frost. Then give it cool temperatures and indirect light until it blooms again in late winter.

 

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