| Jasminum grandiflorum | ||
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| Jasminum grandiflorum is a sublime plant. Not a twiner but with a similar compound leaf to J.officinale f. affine but with blunt rounded ends as opposed to more pointed leaves. This species is often called Spanish Jasmine and as mentioned before is believed to have been introduced into Spain by the Moors, but its origin is possibly Africa or Arabia or even China. The plant is usually evergreen in all but the most severe conditions but will drop most but not all compound leaves in a serious winter with persistent frosts below -5c. Its habit is shrubby and non- twining and makes initially an arching sprawling plant. For this reason it is best grown as either a pot plant where it can be clipped when not in growth or against a wall or ideally up a column or support where it can be tidily trained to a maximum height of about 2-2.5 M. The flowering in Europe under glass or in protected position is from my experience July onwards building into its peak time in late summer. The flowering period is however much more extended than J.officinale and it was common at the my nursery in Devon for sporadic flowering to continue until late November early December in stock plants kept in warm frost free conditions. The flowers of J grandiflorum are much bigger than J.officinale and are produced in a spray (terminal cyme) on the new year’s growth. Unlike some species and other plants, J.grandiflorum will flower as a small plant and does not need to ‘bulk up’ in order to start to flower. The flowers themselves are very variable in size but usually 2.5cm to 3.5cm about/nearly the size of a UK 50p piece and a shade bigger than a 2€ coin or US 25c piece. They consist of usually 4 or 5 large wide blunt petals. The colour of the central tube and eye has just the faintest hint of lemon yellow. The buds have a pink- red hue to them before opening but personally this is very variable and the variability is due in part to cultural conditions (such as flowering time and light levels) as is the persistence of the colour on the tube after the flower opens. This is academic really as the ‘business end’ of the flower (which we all look at) or top surface hides the tube, which is about 2cm long or more. Whatever the description the flower is big as Jasmines go as most/more importantly has a most incredible scent which is much more powerful than the hardy J.officinale and less cloying than. Jasminum polyanthum. With a few exceptions it is big on scent and unmistakably very ‘Jasmine ‘like’ but doesn’t linger and become all pervasive in the same way that Jasminum polyanthum does in a small house during its spring flowering. It is a lighter fresher and more enjoyable scent and doesn’t over power your nose so that you need 10 seconds between ‘sniffs’ to clear out the smell; which is my experience of J.polyanthum. For me it has real depth with high notes and low notes….am I beginning to sound like a wine taster on TV? Better stop! |