How to Take Care of your Jasmine Plant

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jasmine pant
jasmine plant

I see large numbers of jasmine plants offered for sale each year. I used to spot the jasmine plant in grocery stores during the winter months, but now garden centers carry them throughout the year.

You’ll enjoy growing any of the jasmine plant species, and your plant room or greenhouse will stay constantly perfumed with sweet fragrance—you won’t want to leave it.

I particularly like the jasmine plant during the winter when everything’s under a thick blanket of snow outside. This is the time when jasmine usually blooms. Any of these plants grow well indoors, and you’ll have a steady supply of blooms as long as they get the bright light and humidity they need.

You can grow them as trailers in hanging baskets or as shrubs if you keep them pinched back. By spring, they’ll probably be ready to be repotted, because they grow quickly in the winter.


Let us look at a few things that you take need to care about while growing the jasmine plant.

Light

jasmine plant

Jasmine is a plant to summer outside in an unsheltered area—it likes four to six hours of sun. If you can only manage four hours of sun and the rest of the day in bright light, the plant won’t complain. Indoors, keep it in sunny south- or west-facing window, and it’ll bloom its head off.

Water

Don’t let the soil dry out—keep it moist. Keep the soil moist even during the winter when flowers bloom. Well-draining soil is a must. Therefore use pots having drainage hole at the bottom. Keep the soil moist but not soggy.

Temperature

Most species like 60° to 80°F. But if you prefer to keep your greenhouse or plant room cool in the winter and can’t heat it to 60°F, try J. Polyanthum. This sturdy vine is a winter jasmine that can take 45° to 55°F easily; it bears blooms from February into the spring.

Humidity

Give jasmine high humidity: 55% at least. Keep your warm steam humidifier near the plant in the winter. If you summer the plant outdoors, puddle the area around it.

Clouds of jasmine flowers emit a wonderful fragrance with standing water so that it’ll be bathed in moist air.

Potting the Jasmine Plant

Use a rich, humusy potting soil. I’ve added finely chopped bones to the potting mix, and the plant seems to like it.

Feeding

I’ve found that jasmines flower more and longer if they’re fed with African violet food. They usually rest for a few weeks after a heavy flush of growth, but can be brought back into bloom by using a food high in phosphorus, such as African violet fertilizer. During the summer, give the plant fish emulsion for one of your monthly feedings.

Repotting the Jasmine Plant

Spring is the best time to repot your jasmine plant. As these are vining plants, pruning these plants at the starting of the growing season becomes necessary. Pruning helps to control excessive growth and helps to provide some support during the growing season.

Jasmine plant is commonly grown with an arch for growth support. The plant then twines around the arch and provides a pretty focal point. Remember to control the growth of your jasmine plant by pruning. Keep your jasmine pruned so that it will be healthier and easier to manage.

Pests and Diseases

Jasmine is vulnerable to pests including mealy bugs, aphids, scale, and whitefly. Identify these pests as early as possible and control their infestation. To identify and get rid of these pests, read our article on common garden pests.

Gardening Tip

When you rake leaves in the fall, chop up a large mound with your lawn mower, and put the leaves in a large plastic trash can. Then add some of the leaves to your potting mix when you repot your jasmine in the spring.

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