A Detailed Guide to the Cultivation Methods and Care Techniques of African Jasmine

African jasmine easily adapts to unfamiliar environments and can be grown in courtyards and on balconies.

African jasmine has branches the color of jade, glossy and shining leaves, and slightly fragrant flowers with an elegant shape, each having five petals, arranged in umbels clustered at the tips of the flowering branches. The flowering period is very long, blooming in both winter and summer, with the most splendid blooms in spring and summer. At dawn or dusk, a faint, elusive fragrance refreshes the heart and mind.

African jasmine is an evergreen (climbing) shrub or small tree of the genus Fagraea in the family Loganiaceae, native to southern China and countries such as Southeast Asia. Its original name is Chinese Fagraea (see "Iconographia Cormophytorum Sinicorum", "Flora Yunnanica" and other books), with alternative names such as Fagraea and Qinghuangguo. Its similarity to jasmine of the family Oleaceae lies only in the opposite leaves and fragrant flowers; because the homophone of Fagraea sounds similar to jasmine, and also to make the name sound nicer and easier for @#@136@#@, florists gave it a new name, "African jasmine".

African jasmine is an evergreen shrub or small tree, which in gardens can grow to 5 to 12 m, often epiphytic; leaves opposite, herbaceous-fleshy, oblong, elliptic to obovate, 7 to 13 cm long and 3 to 4.5 cm wide, with an acuminate apex; dark green above, yellow-green beneath. The inflorescence is erect and terminal, with 1 to 3 flowers, having a very short peduncle, the corolla white, funnel-shaped, fragrant, with 5 lobes in the upper part, the whole corolla forming a small trumpet shape.

It prefers warmth and likes sunlight, but requires avoiding direct strong sunlight in summer; it likes environments with high air humidity and good ventilation, and is not tolerant of cold, dry freezing, or sharp drops in temperature; it grows best in loose, fertile, well-drained loam; its sprouting and suckering ability is strong, and it is especially tolerant of repeated pruning. The flowering period is May, and the fruiting period is October to December.

Propagation

1. Sowing

It is best to collect ripe fruits between October and December, remove the seeds, and then scatter-sow or drill-sow them on a loose, fertile sandy loam seedbed, with a covering of soil 2 to 3 cm thick, and add a layer of rice straw or plastic film to keep warm and prevent cold, or store the seeds in sand until the seeds crack and show white before sowing. Seeds sown in late autumn and early winter will not emerge until the following spring; after emergence, promptly remove the covering grass and strengthen water and fertilizer management; after summer begins, build a shade frame, and it is hoped that tall plants with a good trunk form can be cultivated.

2. Cuttage

Cuttage propagation can be carried out from the end of April to October, but it is best to do it during the plum rain period in June to July, when rooting results are relatively ideal. Cut 1- to 2-year-old healthy branches as cuttings, 12 to 15 cm long, with 2 to 3 half-leaves, with the lower cut preferably located 0.2 to 0.3 cm below a node, and insert them into peat soil, sandy loam, vermiculite, or yellow subsoil, but peat soil gives the best rooting result; cover with plastic film to retain moisture, and in clear weather pay attention to building a shade frame; after 1 to 2 months they can root, and the survival rate can reach more than 80%.