Night Blooming Jasmine

I love flowers that bloom at night and I finally have one!  I knew I wanted a jasmine, but didn't know there are night blooming ones that bloom throughout the summer.

I planted this jasmine and I hope that it survives the heat of the summer.

To be honest, it's not a pretty plant.  It's a shrub and the buds are white, tiny and tubular.  The bloom?  An itsy bitsy five-point star at the end of the tube.  But wow, you don't need to see the bloom.  You can smell it!

The people at the nursery said my neighbors will come out at night, just to smell the jasmine.  It is a delightfully light scent.  And... I get up early in the morning to water the plants, so double bonus for me - I get to smell it again in the morning!

Butterflies are attracted to the smell.  I imagine the butterflies will appear more frequently in the early morning hours.

Interestingly, the night jasmine is in the Solanacaea family, akin to peppers, tomatoes and eggplants.  It's true name is Cestrum nocturnum and has a nickname of "Queen of the Night."

It doesn't do well in the winter months and it's recommended that mulch is added around it to keep the cold away from the roots.  If it's not too harsh of a winter, then the plant should survive.

During the heat of summer, it needs to be watered frequently, but during more mild temperatures, once every 4 days should be enough.

The soil needs to be damp, but also well drained and it will grow, grow, grow.  Accordingly to Kim, it can be a monster.   But it's also easy to keep trim too.

It requires 4-6 hours of sunlight.  Some shade is recommended, but for me.. I have it straight in the sun. It should be in shade by about 3:30, so hopefully it will do well.