How to Care & Cultivate Water Jasmine (Wrightia Religiosa) Part 2

 

It feels like ages when I actually started this plant from seed to this point when I can finally enjoy the flower. I never imagine the moment to see these blooms, masses of pendant, tiny white flowers cascade at the end of each branches. 

There are many varieties of this water jasmine, this is the most common & the easiest one to maintain compared to rest - the small & medium leaf ones also the double-layered petaled ones. Often these are used to make bonsai or you can actually find few of these type sold in the nursery in a bonsai pot. 

My guess is those must be of the small leaf type and they are slow to grow and rarely produce seed pods. One of the things I enjoy the most is stripping of the leaves of this plant (now its more like a semi-tree) To see the exposed branches and leaving the cascading branches gives that mystical look in the garden. 

Finally it had blessed me with flowers (which I had almost given up hope - thinking this must be a sterile type - never producing flowers) Probably it must be the change of location - where it get a good amount of sunlight compared to the earlier location. 

I had placed dumbcanes at the background giving this one a very good focus point of depth and colour. (if not, it would be the boring green..green..green) I might strip off the leaves again, probably after they have finished their flowering. 

PRUNING:

The Key for strong and beautiful blooms for this particular Jasmine is Pruning.

One of the most challenging part for this shrub is pruning. They do grow extremely fast and become very unruly if not proper care is not given - especially when it comes to growth factor, this plant focus more on branching more stem and over growth rather than blooms which can be one of the down-side coming from this ever blooming plant.

However with the right pruning method and keeping it trimmed and manageable size - this one can be such a beauty. As shown here - the appearance of the blooms can last at least for few months until the next pruning session is done to maintain the blooming cycle from interruption.

This consideration applies very accurately when the plant is matured and had grown for years - that is if it is not flowering in its full potential. Other factors involving lighting / watering / feeding is also essential and necessary.

PEST CONTROL:

I had found this one seemed to be a hardy plant with strong resistant to pest attack in comparison to many other floral plant. However at times mealybugs are found around the flowerbud farmed by ants and occasionally sap sucking insects too are found at the bottom of the leaves.

Occasionally I had come across that if the plant is anyway stressed or lacking nutrients may face some damage on it's foliage but rarely fatal to the plant. 

Keeping the plant - Pruned and Compact does make the plant focused on its blooming cycle and also able to take immediate action if any unruly pest attack where pruning is much easily handled rather than spraying pesticide all over the plant.

Apart from this factor, other matters are very much similar with most tropical garden plants.

PROPAGATION:

Propagation can be done but stem cutting, stripping off the bottom leaves and poking it into a deep pot with a rich potting soil. Keep it in shade until you notice a new leaves growth.

Another method is to put the cutting into perlite medium (soaked in water) 

Once taken roots, it should be carefully transplanted into a good potting mix.
Another option is to look out for a sucker that appears from the root base. 

This happens if the plant is very established and has a huge root system.

Also I had noticed that this particular one can be very challenging to propagate if done wrongly - these are difficult to roots easily. Another alternative is seed propagation or marcotting - however it is too tedious that it would be much easier to just purchase the plant from a nursery that going through a lot trouble of trail and error in getting it right for the first time.

In most cases, these are cultivated using seed propagation as they are trained as bonsai plants even at the very young sapling stage as they form great structure and root formation. 

However apart of pruning of the branches, the stripping of the leaves is also important. As shown in the pictures above of how well it had grown and how I had stripped off the leaves - creating like a autumn shedding leaves only here - I had done it manually. You can use scissors or any other tools necessary. 

After couple of years doing the same process - the Jasmine had finally blessed me with thousands of blooms that had flood the whole garden with mesmerising fragrance throughout the day and night. It was indeed like a deity had visited and blessed me in my garden.

It was as if a Garden of One Thousand Buddha Flowers Bloomed in my Humble Garden.

If you are considered cultivating this particular Jasmine,  I would strongly recommend for you to cultivate these if you have the space and open bright sun for them to grow. The fragrance is very mesmerising and it is true, they do invoke the sense of sacred and sense of virtue and holiness as these gives out such pure fragrance around the garden. 

Also, Do click on the link below for more information on 

Other Types of  Tropical Fragrant Flowers:

6 Best Tropical Fragrant Flowering Plants