Jasmine

Jasmine is a sweet smelling plant that is renowned for its ornamental beauty and distinctive fragrance. Jasmine is also used frequently in making tea, syrup and essential oils.

Description
Jasmine has small white flowers, although some species have bright yellow, with long shoots that climb. Typically, each flower will have about four to nine petals, two locules, and one to four ovules, with two stamens and very short filaments.

Habitat
Jasmine plants are native to the Himalayas in China and like warm tropical climates. It can also be found growing in the wild in Sri Lanka, Iran and Kashmir.

Availability
Jasmine should be planted in your garden between June and November and it can be grown from taking a cutting from an old plant. This cutting can then be potted on until a new Jasmine bush, or shrub, is ready to be planted into your garden. When planting more than one Jasmine plant, at least eight feet should be left between plants to allow for growth.

Species
Jasmine plants come from the family of the Oleaceae and the genus of Jasminum. There are several different varieties of Jasmine including the Primrose Jasmine, Italian Jasmine and Winter Jasmine.

Care Tips
Jasmine likes a spot that will provide cool conditions with plenty of light and air. During the summer months Jasmine should be watered often and fed with a plant fertiliser every couple of weeks. When watering, Jasmine does not like hard or cold water. If you want your Jasmine to flower in the summer then care in the winter is important and it should be kept below 10 degrees Celsius and watered sparingly so that it is slightly damp.

Did You Know?
The buds of the Jasmine plant have a stronger smell than the flowers of the plant. In some people this strong smelling scent can lead to migraines and headaches.

When the sun has gone down the scent of the Jasmine plant is strongest and is incredibly sweet.

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmine
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=291