Flowers with compact clusters have greater ornamental value

Crepe jasmine is also known as white dog's tooth, lion flower, and tofu flower. It is a shrub in the genus Tabernaemontana of the Apocynaceae family, usually up to 3 m tall; except for the ciliate margins of the sepals, it is otherwise hairless; the branches and branchlets are grayish green, with lenticels, and show longitudinal fissures when dry; the internodes are 1.5-8 cm long. The leaves are firmly papery, elliptical or elliptically oblong, shortly acuminate, with a wedge-shaped base, 5.5-11.5 cm long and 1.5-3.5 cm wide, dark green on the upper surface and light green on the underside; the corolla is white, with the corolla tube up to 2 cm long; the stamens are inserted below the middle of the corolla tube; the style is 11 mm long, and the stigma is obovoid. The follicles are 2.5-7 cm long, widely divergent or curved outward; there are 3-6 seeds, oblong. The corolla is double. The flowering period is June to November, and the fruiting period is autumn.

Crepe jasmine

Crepe jasmine likes high temperatures and humid environments, has dense branches and leaves, a compact plant form, pure white and elegant flowers, and a simple and refined look, with a long flowering period. It is an important flower for background planting and color coordination, suitable for flower hedges, flower borders, or large potted plants. The leaves can be used medicinally and are said to have the effect of lowering blood pressure; in folk medicine they are said to clear heat, relieve summer heat, promote urination, and reduce swelling, and to treat eye diseases, sores and scabies, breast sores, and bites from rabid dogs; the roots can treat headache and fractures.

Growing environment:

It likes high temperatures and humid environments. Its cold resistance is relatively low; with prolonged low temperatures of 5-6 degrees Celsius, the plant suffers severe cold damage, and below 0 degrees Celsius it will freeze to death. It likes semi-shade, and can also grow well under full light. It likes fertile, moist, and well-drained acidic soil.

Crepe jasmine likes warmth and humidity, is not cold-tolerant, prefers semi-shade, and likes fertile, well-drained acidic soil. Since crepe jasmine is moved outdoors in April and repotted once every 1-2 years according to its growth habit, when repotting, compound fertilizer or soybean cake should be added as a base fertilizer, and dead branches and weak branches should be pruned, then it should be placed in semi-shade.

Crepe jasmine

At ordinary times, the soil for crepe jasmine should be kept moist, and it should be watered before the soil dries out completely. In summer, water should often be sprayed around it to increase the air humidity of the environment. This flower likes fertilizer, and the flowering period is also long; from May to September, compound fertilizer and manure water should be applied alternately every 7-10 days. After it is brought indoors at the end of October, generally water once every 5-7 days, keeping the soil slightly moist, and maintain good lighting. The room temperature should be kept above 10°C, otherwise the leaves will turn yellow and fall off, and below 0°C the branches will suffer cold damage.

Cuttage propagation:

Crepe jasmine can be propagated by cuttings or air layering, mainly by cuttings. In South China, propagation can be done from spring to autumn, but spring is best. Cut 12-15 cm long tender branches 1-2 years old as cuttings; since milky sap flows from the wound, first wash off the sap, then insert them into a wet sand bed, either shaded or under full light.

Crepe jasmine

Precautions:

1. It can be done all year round in a greenhouse, and outdoors the best time for cuttings is June-July. Select healthy one-year-old branches and cut 8-12 cm long shoot tips, insert them into vermiculite, and pay attention to moisture retention and shading; roots can form in about two weeks.

2. Crepe jasmine is moved outdoors in April and repotted once every 1-2 years. When repotting, compound fertilizer or soybean cake should be added as a base fertilizer, and dead branches and weak branches should be pruned, then it should be placed in semi-shade for care.

3. Crepe jasmine likes an environment with sufficient light, so it should usually be placed in a sunny place to absorb scattered sunlight. In summer, when the sun is scorching, it should be placed in semi-shade to avoid burning the leaves.