This liana settled on my window quite recently and, during flowering, fills the room with a wondrous aroma. Whoever asks: "What smells so fragrant?" I say: "Jasmine has bloomed." "Did you move the bush home from the garden?" “No, this is a real jasmine from the tropics, and a completely different plant grows in the garden - the chubushnik shrub. And this is jasmine-sambac (Jasminum sambac), its homeland is the tropical forests of India, it has long become a popular houseplant in our country. "
Sambac is an evergreen climbing liana, with shoots up to 5-6 m. They are thin, therefore they need support, its leaves are bright green, opposite, leathery, on short petioles. When this plant does not bloom, it does not cause much interest, but during flowering it becomes a everyone's favorite. From early spring to late autumn, sambac pleases us with small white flowers, with a long tube, sitting in bunches or singly. They are very similar to lilac flowers, only they are slightly larger in jasmine and consist not of four, but of 5-7 petals. The similarity with lilacs is not accidental, because both plants belong to the fragrant olive family. Flowers bloom alternately, when the first fades and changes color from white to lilac, after it the next one blooms. When you smell a strong, pleasant scent in the room, it means that the jasmine has bloomed.
I propagate jasmine in small cuttings, which I cut in the spring during pruning, this stimulates the growth of young branches, which promotes stronger flowering. I process the cuttings with a growth stimulant and plant them in wet sand, cover with a bag. For successful rooting, it is necessary to create a high humidity and a temperature of +22 ... + 25 ° С. The roots of different cuttings are not formed simultaneously, within 1-1.5 months. I plant rooted plants in small pots. I select light earth, with the addition of a little humus and sand. I transplant the slightly grown and strengthened plants into pots with a volume of 1.5-2 liters. The plant grows well in a small pot, but if you want to have a huge developed bush, jasmine must be replanted annually, gradually increasing the volume of the pot.
To cause abundant flowering, in the spring I remove all weak branches from the plants, and shorten the strong shoots, use the cut parts for cuttings. During the period of active growth and flowering (from March to October), jasmine should be fed with a solution of mineral fertilizers.
Jasmine grows well on light southern windows, but it does well in darker rooms too. In the summer, I water and spray the plant abundantly, in the winter I water as the earthen coma dries up.
Sambac is not only a beautiful and relatively capricious liana that will decorate your home and fill it with a wonderful aroma during flowering, but besides, withered flowers can be collected and put in a jar with tea leaves, it will absorb the aroma, and your tea will have a pleasant aroma of jasmine ... In perfumery, the aroma extracted from the jasmine flowers is highly valued.
