Jasmine can be a great addition to your collection of indoor or outdoor plants as long as it is given the proper care. These magnificent plants can grow up to 15 feet tall, make your home or garden to smell amazing and produce flowers that you can turn into a delicious tea. Growing Jasmine is easy as long as you pay attention to its water, light and temperature requirements.

Caring for a Jasmine Plant

 

Light

Jasmine prefers full sun to lightly shaded areas. Jasmine leaves can be damaged if exposed to too much sunlight and wilt away if the area you choose to grow it is too dark. It is best to place these plants in an area that receives full morning sun but it protected during the hottest parts of the day.

Temperature

One of the most important tips for a successful jasmine plant is to protect it from freezing temperatures. Always bring your plant inside for the winter to ensure it isn’t exposed to the cold.

Beginning in early September, you can encourage jasmine to form new buds by placing it in a cool (40°-50°F) and dark room during the night. Let the plant receive its full dose of sunlight during the day and simply move it at night. Doing so for 4-5 weeks will allow new buds to form that will turn into many beautiful flowers during the late winter.

Water

Jasmine prefers well drained soil and even watering. A good gauge to check if it is time to water is to look at the first ½ inch of soil. Only water your plant when the first ½ inch is completely dry.

Jasmine also prefers a humid environment, but not wet leaves. Don’t spray the leaves but rather water the soil or use another watering method that irrigates the soil from the bottom up. To increase the humidity around your jasmine plant, place it in a tray filled partially with gravel or pebbles. Then fill the tray with water so the water sits below the level of the gravel. Make sure the water level isn’t above the gravel or else the feet of your jasmine may be exposed to molding.

Fertilizer

Jasmine plants grown outdoors should be fertilized with a water-soluble fertilizer mixed at half the recommended strength during the early spring. Plants grown indoors should be fertilized at this strength again later in the fall. Don’t fertilize after August 1^st to allow the plant to form buds and become dormant for the winter.

Growing a jasmine plant may seem like a difficult task, but following some simple guidelines can give you all that jasmine has to offer! Jasmine is a vine and should be treated as such. Tie the branches to a few support sticks or weave them through a small trellis to encourage them to grow.

Finally, prune any outlying branches so that your jasmine becomes the shape and size that you want it to be. Don’t forget to have fun, happy gardening!

 Photo: YuJeen

 

By Jake Frazier

Jake Frazier is an outdoor enthusiast and the owner of Residential Ecology, a sustainable ecological resource management company. He uses existing natural systems to improve the quality of life for both humans and the Earth. Jake is interested in permaculture, living systems and exploring. Connect with him on LinkedIn.