Delicate Fragrant Jasmine Flower
JASMINE FLOWER. (JASMINUM).
Jasmine flower belongs to bushes – olive family lianas. About 200 Crimea jasmine varieties are already known which mostly grow in tropics and subtropics. There are three types of jasmine flower in the , Caucasus and in the Middle Asia.
Jasmine flower is an evergreen plant with plain and double, not very showy but fragrant flowers. There are completely odorless kinds of jasmine. The plant “jasmine natural” that originated in warm countries will not survive in the open soil of our latitudes. Cultivated jasmine flower (wild jasmine, or false), grown in our gardens, belongs to Philadelphus kind (mock orange). This plant is a bush, not a liana, and its only common feature with the natural jasmine flower is the similar flower fragrance.
Some kinds of natural jasmines feel good as house plants. All house jasmine flowers are lianas, their flowers are made up in inflorescences. As a rule, jasmine blossoms for a long time. The kinds of house jasmine flower blossoming during winter months are the most popular as there are very few other blossoming plants during this period.
JASMINE VARIETIES. TYPES OF JASMINE
Large-flowered jasmine flower (J. grandiflorum), aka officinal jasmine (Jasminum officinale) is one of the 
best house jasmine flowers. It is an evergreen bush with long (up to 10 meters) sprouts. On the tops of these sprouts inflorescences of big white star-shaped flowers are formed. The leaves of this jasmine flower are small (2-3 cm), elliptical with sharp end. Jasmine blossoms from spring to autumn and only when it is adult. Big-flowered jasmine plant is grown in the open soil (in Georgia, Abkhazia) to obtain jasmine essential oil which is used for tea aromatization and in fragrance industry.
Multiflowered jasmine plants (Jasminum polyanthum) look like big-flowered jasmines and are also preferred as house jasmines. It’s a fast-growing liana with composite small leaves, with pink buds opening in white small star-shaped flowers in spring. The plant can be twined around a support giving it a desired shape. In order to prevent branches from loosing leaves a big-flowered jasmine plant must be cropped each year.
A house flower “nakedflowered” jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is not less popular. It’s a yellow jasmine flower is yellow. It grows as a rather small bush with flag sprouts. In winter the part of leaves fall but at the same time (from January till March) bright yellow flowers appear which lie in the base of leaf.
Sambac jasmine (Jasminum sambac) is also rather common among all types of jasmine plants. It is called Arabian jasmine or Indian jasmine flower, or simply Asiatic jasmine. These are the names of the same flower. Sambac jasmine comes from India and Middle East. It gives long sprouts. To make it look like jasmine bush it must be often clipped. Sambac is a white jasmine flower. It blossoms abundantly almost all year round. The flowers are double, very fragrant, and they become reddish in colour by the end of blossoming. This kind of jasmine flower is grown in many south countries to obtain essential oil that enters into the composition of the finest perfumes on industrial scale. These very sambac jasmine flowers are added in famous Chinese jasmine tea. And the jasmine tea benefits are well-known worldwide.
Royal jasmine (Jasminum rex) is very beautiful. Unlike many types of jasmines, it has long oval leaves. Royal jasmine blossoms with big (up to 7 cm in diameter) white odorless flowers in winter.
HOUSE JASMINE FLOWER. ATTENDANCE.
Jasmine flower is not fastidious, looking after it is no particular problem, but still there are some peculiarities to consider. The soil for house jasmine flower should be made of deciduous, clay and turf earth and sand in equal parts. The jasmine plant does not tolerate lime in soil or in watering. Otherwise it grows and blossoms not properly. So, it should be watered with settled and a bit acidulous water.
Jasmine flower likes water, but you should take care not to overwater it. The soil must dry well. The temperature of environment also affects watering. In summer and in warm premises watering must be more abundant, and it should be less at low temperatures. As for jasmine water, the plant likes its leaves to be sprayed.
Young jasmine plants should be transplanted each year, adult ones – once in 2-3 years. At this for adult plants soil should be altered with clay and turf earth up to 2 parts. Transplantation is usually made in spring. Planting jasmine should be done very carefully.
It is good to keep a certain temperature condition when looking after jasmine flower. In winter jasmine requires the desired temperature more than +20 but not lower than +8. If the winter is warm, you should add watering. In summer house jasmine flower is better kept in the fresh air: in the garden or in the balcony. Bright light and some amount of direct sunrays are useful for the plant but it must be covered from hot midday sun.
Pruning jasmine is very important. All house jasmine flowers are lianas and if you want you can twine with long sprouts of these flowers any support of any form, but if you want to have a jasmine bush you have to prune it rather often. Besides, pruning is necessary for branches not to lose leaves and for flowers to blossom well as it forwards appearing side sprouts where the buds are easily formed. The twigs with small unattractive leaves must be removed completely. The tops of sprouts of young plants that are too young to be pruned, must be nipped, this helps bushing and increases the number of flowers. Sambac jasmine is especially often pruned (up to 3-4 times a year).
Jasmine flower’s reaction on nutrition is rather good. Nutrition should be started from the moment when the buds are formed and continue during the whole time of blossoming. Full-fledged organic and mineral fertilizers must be put under the house jasmine flower every fortnight.
If the attendance is not proper and leaves are not kept clean, in dry air and at high temperature jasmine flower can be attacked by pests: red spider, aphid, and whitefly. The pests are exterminated by spraying and washing leaves (especially the underside) with water, weak tobacco solution, Dalmatian pyrethrum potion with green soap, preparations with permethrin. Outside the rooms in the fresh air the underside of leaves can be sprayed with ground sulfur. 2-3 hours after washing the leaves with green soap potion the plants should be washed with warm water. The treatment should be started immediately after you have noticed the first signs of pest affection and repeated until the pests are completely exterminated.
JASMINE FLOWER PROPAGATION.
You can buy jasmine plant in florist shops. You can choose, whether to buy an adult house jasmine, or jasmine seeds. But if you already have this flower, you can get new plants from it. All kinds of jasmine are reproduced by cuttings and layers. Cuttings strike the roots the best during the period of the plant active growth. Cuttings of 10-15 cm in length with 2-3 internodes are taken from the upper part of ripen sprouts. Cuttings can be rooted either in water or in sand or in the mixture of sand and deciduous earth in 1:1 ratio. The most favorable temperature is +20 degrees C. The roots are usually formed in 1-1,5 months. Phytohormone improves the process of rooting. After rooting young plants are bedded in small pots with light soil (deciduous earth – 3 parts, sand – 1 part). Until the plants are strong enough they should be kept away from direct sunrays, sprayed and watered in time not allowing the earth cob to dry. Bedding jasmine flower in the permanent place is possible when the new sprouts appear.
As many plants with long stems growing in hanging pots jasmine flower can be reproduced by layers. The sprout chosen for rooting must be clasped with a bracket or a pin in a separate pot with soil without cutting from maternal plant. On the place where the sprout is clasped a small cut must be made. Maternal plant and a layer should be watered regularly. After the young shoot appears on the layer, this layer is separated from the maternal plant.
PROPERTIES AND BENEFITS OF JASMINE FLOWER.
Growing jasmine gives not only aesthetic pleasure from beautiful and long blossoming but is also useful for health. Jasmine flowers ionize premises where they grow. Jasmine fragrance affect beneficially the way people feel. Jasmine fragrance is considered to have a soothing effect, relieve stress, bring down aggression, and improve sleep.
In many south countries jasmine flower is grown on industrial scale. Jasmine flowers are added into tea. Chinese green jasmine tea benefits include improved workability and mood. The Chinese almost don’t drink black tea and they drink green tea without sugar. Jasmine tea gives special pleasure due to its fresh fragrance. Dried jasmine flowers are used not only in tea but also for bath aromatization. They are good for filling small cushions to put at the head of the bed for calm sound sleep.
Jasmine essential oil widely used in fragrance industry is obtained from jasmine flowers. Jasmine oil enters into a composition of many perfumes both for men and women. Besides, jasmine oil is used to make cosmetic preparations: creams, massage oils and others. Jasmine perfumes are used by an enormous amount of women worldwide.
Jasmine essential oil is valued not only for its fragrance, but for its treatment properties as well. It is used to heal sores, headaches; it is also a good antidepressant. Massage oils with added jasmine oil relieve muscle pains, improve blood circulation, and stop convulsions. And jasmine lotions have a good calming and healing effect.
Like other flowers jasmine flower can cause allergy. Jasmine should be treated carefully by hypotensive patients (when used regularly jasmine flowers can lower blood pressure), people with stomach ulcer should not use jasmine. There are other contraindications as well. Concentrated jasmine oil must not be used, it should be diluted by water in proportion 1:5.
Like any other treatment jasmine usage as a therapy requires a doctor’s advice.
PLANTS RESEMBLING JASMINE.
Apart from jasmine flowers of olive evergreen bush family with climber or erect branches, the plants that blossom like jasmine or smell like jasmine are often called jasmine flowers too.
We have mock orange or Philadelphus in our gardens. It is called cultivated jasmine. There exist many kinds of this plant with fragrant semi-double and double flowers. There are also kinds of cultivated jasmine flower with beautiful leaves (for example, jasmine poecilophyllous). Cultivated jasmine is a branchy bush, in order to give it the shape and stimulate new sprouts to grow you should thin it out every year removing old sprouts. This bush will feel the best in the open sunny place; it requires regular watering and respond to nutrition. Most of mock oranges survive winter frosts well and do not need special covering.
Of all the plants that are grown in tubs, in gardens and in terraces, star jasmine plant (Trachelospermum) should be mentioned – a perennial evergreen liana whose flowers resemble jasmine flowers not only in appearance but also in fragrance. Star jasmine plants can stand frosts up to -10 degrees C, but the best place for wintering is light cool premises with the temperature from 0 to +12 degrees C. In summer at regular watering it feels well in the open air. Long branches of this liana need support. Star jasmine plant is often called winter jasmine as well.
Madagascar jasmine – stephanotis, is a liana with shiny oval leaves up to 10 cm long. Stephanotis flowers are waxy, looking like small stars, and fragrant. Long stems of Madagascar jasmine are usually fixed on the support in the shape of an arch or a hoop. This plant is considered to be not easy grown in house as it does not like temperature changes. In winter it needs coolness (+12 – 15 degrees), and in summer good lighting is necessary, bright but sparse light, abundant regular watering with good drainage, and the leaves should be sprayed now and then.
Red jasmine is a lychnis flower, also called a Maltese Cross. Red jasmine looks more like a carnation, and it belongs to the carnation family. This perennial, bright flower that feels well in winter, is a decoration of any flower garden. Red jasmine plant grows well in open sunny places where moisture doesn’t stagnate, but it needs regular moderate watering. Every autumn all sprouts must be cut at roots. In spring new sprouts appear at their places.
