A Detailed Guide to the Characteristics of French Perfume Flower and How to Care for It at Home

French Perfume Flower, also known as French Perfume Jasmine or Golden Hook Kiss, is an evergreen climbing flower of the genus Gelsemium in the family Loganiaceae, named for its golden flowers and intense jasmine-like fragrance. Its flowers are small and trumpet-shaped, opening mostly in late winter and early spring, with a fairly long blooming period, and it is often used for vertical greening on courtyard trellises, fences and balconies.

This plant likes a warm, humid environment with plenty of sunlight, and is best planted in loose, fertile, well-drained slightly acidic soil. It has some cold tolerance, but overwintering outdoors in cold northern regions is rather difficult, so after winter arrives potted plants should be moved indoors or given insulation measures. The branches are strongly climbing, so during the growing period a support frame needs to be set up for them to cling to.

For care, watering should follow the principle of watering when dry and letting it dry out between waterings, avoiding long-term waterlogging in the pot that causes root rot. During the growing season, apply light fertilizer frequently, mainly well-rotted organic fertilizer or compound fertilizer, and appropriately increase phosphorus and potassium fertilizer during the bud stage to help flowering. After flowering, promptly prune spent flowers and overly dense branches, which both keeps the plant shape attractive and encourages new branches to sprout the following year.

It should be specially noted that the entire French Perfume Flower plant is toxic; the flowers, leaves and sap must not be eaten or put in the mouth, and gloves should be worn when pruning and hands washed promptly afterward. If there are young children or pets in the home, place it somewhere hard to reach. Pay attention to ventilation and light in daily care; when the environment is stuffy, hot and dry, it is prone to pests such as aphids and red spiders, and pesticide spraying should be done promptly once they are found.