Tips for winter care of mock lime and jasmine: glossy green leaves and a bursting pot of blooms
Mock lime (Aglaia odorata) and jasmine (Jasminum sambac) are two potted flowers that everyone loves to grow. Their leaves are a lovely emerald green, and although the plants are not large, they are very well suited to growing indoors. Both also bloom with an especially fragrant scent, so as soon as they flower the whole house is filled with perfume. It is now late autumn and winter is just around the corner. Daytime temperatures are generally about ten degrees. How should jasmine and mock lime be watered and cared for in autumn and winter so they can safely get through the winter and grow vigorously?
How to care for mock lime and jasmine in winter: one little trick for glossy green leaves and a bursting pot of blooms!
Winter care tips for mock lime
Mock lime comes from tropical regions, so it is rather intolerant of cold. Before frost arrives, it should be moved indoors in good time and kept on a sunny balcony or by a bay window. It must not be placed next to a radiator, nor in front of an air-conditioning vent.
However, the window should be opened often for ventilation, as long as the cold draught is not blowing directly on it. It can grow normally at around ten degrees, and as long as the indoor temperature does not drop below five degrees it will get through the winter safely.
At the current temperature of around ten degrees, if the potting soil is dry it still needs timely watering, so that the leaves do not curl and dry out from lack of water. When the temperature drops below five degrees, Xiaoya has a little method for getting mock lime safely through the winter: you can put a "coat" on it, that is, slip a larger clear plastic bag over it, place it where no cold draught blows, water less, keep the soil from holding too much moisture, and stop fertilising. This way it can get through the winter safely even in the north, and its leaves stay glossy green.
Winter care tips for jasmine
Compared with mock lime, jasmine is a little more cold-tolerant. Although it is also one of the flowers that cannot stand the cold, as long as the temperature does not drop below zero degrees it can get through the winter safely.
Before winter arrives, give it a simple pruning to reduce nutrient consumption during winter. When the outdoor temperature is above five degrees, jasmine can be kept outdoors for a while; the appropriate cold air and ample outdoor sunlight can improve its cold resistance. When the temperature falls to five degrees, jasmine can be moved indoors.
Indoors it should also be kept in ample light. At around ten-plus degrees it can be watered normally, but when the temperature is low, water only a little, without soaking it through. When the temperature drops below zero degrees, we can also slip a plastic bag over it, open it during the day when the sun comes out to let it breathe, and put it back on at night. This way it too can get through the winter safely and burst into bloom next year.