How to Grow Night Blooming Jasmine

If you've ever had the honor of smelling night blooming jasmine, you're in luck! Night blooming jasmine (cestrum nocturnum) is one of the strongest, most delectable flower scents you will ever smell, and once you encounter its aroma, you'll have a hard time letting go! This type of jasmine usually blooms at night, and therefore releases its strong scent once the sun goes down. You may have encountered night jasmine if you've ever been to a tropical region since they grow in abundance there.

Thankfully though, you can plant it almost anywhere, including indoors! Today we're going to show you how to grow Cestrum Nocturnum and also how to take care of it! Regardless of which hardiness zone you live in, you can easily grow this beautifully scented flower.

Background:

As you may have already guessed, the name is very well suited to this flower, because it blooms at night, and the flowers close during the day. It belongs to the Solanaceae family, which is also the potato or nightshade family of plants. Some say that is could be the strongest smelling plant in the world!

While they're in bloom, they can emit a scent within 300-500 feet of the plant!

The tubular flowers are elongated and shoot off small white, star shaped flowers. They grow in clusters, and, while not in bloom, the greenish white flowers stay closed. It was first discovered in the West Indies, and thought to have been brought back by Christopher Columbus in the 15th century. As such, it is a tropical and sub-tropical plant, and cannot sustain temperatures below -10C. Outdoors, it does well in USDA zones 9 through 10. If you don't live in either zone, you can grow night jasmine indoors.

Other Names:

Interestingly enough, night blooming jasmine goes by a slew of other names such as:

• Lady of the Night
• Night Jasmine
• Night Jessamine
• Night-Blooming Jessamine
• Dama de Noche
• Galan de Noche
• Night Blooming Cestrum
• Night Queen
• Queen of the Night

5 Things to Know About Night Jasmine:

1. It can easily be grown indoors if you don't live in a tropical or subtropical area, but be wary – the scent can be overpowering.
2. These flowers can reach 10-12 feet in height and can spread as wide as 6 feet. Cut the plant back into shape after flowering to encourage even more growth.
3. Night Jasmine can flower up to 4 times a year, after which they will produce white berries which are full of seeds.
4. If you're growing night jasmine as a house plant, it may never pollinate, and so you will need to do that yourself using a small brush or tool.
5. All night blooming jasmine flowers bloom at the same time! If your plant is in bloom, every other plant will also be in bloom!

How to Plant Night Blooming Jasmine

Climate

Night blooming jasmine loves the heat, so make sure you can provide for it! If you decide to plant indoors, make sure that the temperature is nice and warm, at least 70F! If you do decide to plant outdoors, that is also fine! Once frost hits, the plant will freeze, but will take up again in the spring.

Soil

Choose a light, loose sandy soil in which to grow your plant. If you're growing from seed, you can start off with a small, shallow pot, and transplant once the plant has reached 4-6 inches in height. If you grow night blooming jasmine from a small plant (like from a nursery), plant it in a bigger pot or straight into your garden.

Sun

The night jasmine loves the sun, so place your plant or pot in a sunny spot! If you're growing indoors, a windowsill is preferred.

Water

Water your jasmine plant regularly, but also make sure not to over-water it either! Simply touch the soil around the plant and, if it feels dry, go ahead and give it some water!

Fertilization

Because the night jasmine is pretty self sufficient and doesn't require much care, you shouldn't need a fertilizer at all. If you do choose to fertilize, do so just once in the spring using a regular flower fertilizer.

Grow Time

From seed to plant, your night blooming jasmine should sprout up pretty quickly, in about 2 weeks time! The night blooming jasmine is a small, delicate plant and therefore doesn't need much time!

You can now enjoy the beautiful, delicate scent of night blooming jasmine in your yard or home! The flowers look beautiful and the scent is simply intoxicating! Another bonus to growing night blooming jasmine is that it attracts butterflies, so if you plant in your garden, you'll have a slew of butterflies all season long!

How to Propagate Night Jasmine

There are two common ways you can propagate Cestrum Nocturnum:

Clippings:

Thankfully, night jasmine will easily take roots in water. You can also plant the clippings in a pot of compost and place in a sunny area. Be sure to water on a regular basis and you will see new growth in just a few weeks. Those who live in cooler climates, should cover the pot with polyethylene to hold moisture in until you start to see new growth. This will signify that propagation was successful!

Seeds:

If your night jasmine flowers have been pollinated and they grow berries, leave them on the plant until they shrivel up and fall off naturally. Then, harvest the berries and push them into a pot with soil and compost and water them immediately and regularly. Make sure to keep the pot in a warm and sunny place, and you should see growth within a week or two.

If you'd like to browse some more flowering planting tutorials, check out our Flowers Blog!

Happy Planting!