Re: Jasmines

Hello Jan,
My experience with Jasminum polyanthum is that it
needs lots of pruning if you don't give it lots of
room, and that it can look very stressed from heat and
drought when planted in a situation with reflected
heat from paving, as around a pool, but seems to look
best when grown in cooler situations.  The vine can
have lots of dead foliage when stressed, but seems to
bloom year round in Berkeley/San Francisco, especially
in winter in a sunny spot.  I would say that it is
drought tolerant if it can tap into a ground water
source, but that the hotter the climate, the more
water it prefers.
As to other jasmines, I have not grown the other two
you mention, but can say that J. sambac is very easy
and popular to grow in truly hot desert climates such
as Saudi Arabia or Palm Springs, where it is a solid
perfomer, very lush looking and extremely fragrant,
with dwarf, single and double forms.  I have had no
success getting this one to bloom for me here in
Berkeley, not hot enough...
As to other Jasmines,J. mesnyi is not as showy as
some, not is it scented, but the winter blooming
yellow flowers and extreme drought hardiness of this
variety make it a workhorse type plant for an
unwatered slope,  and it is very lush looking
throughout the year.  I saw this used in two different
ways this summer along the Costa del Sol in Spain, as
a very large spreading groundcover/vine along slopes
adjacent the freeway, and as a clipped 3' tall hedge. 
I also saw J. polyanthum used as a low clipped hedge
in Sotogrande, Spain, used as you would plant a
boxwood hedge.
While in Malaysia and Bali this summer, I saw several
other tropical Jasmines with which I was unfamiliar,
but always with that unmistakable jasmine fragrance.
As to pronunciation, I thought that the accent was on
the first syllable.





-- Jan Smithen <jansmithen@earthlink.net> wrote:
> I'm preparing a lesson on jasmines for my Fanatic
> Gardeners at the LA
> County Arboretum. And, although I've grown a couple
> of them, I find my
> "hands-on" experience is very limited. So I turn to
> all of you. What
> have you grown within the genus Jasminum?  How did
> it perform for you?
> Did you have to do a lot of pruning to keep it
> within bounds?  Did it
> always need regular watering, or did you find, as I
> did with Jasminum
> polyanthum, that it became fairly drought tolerant
> after a few years?
> 
> I'm particularly interested in any comments about
> Angel Wing jasmine,
> Jasminum laurifolium (old nitidum or magnificum).
> J. leratii
> J. angulare, which is supposed to be from So. Africa
> 
> But any input from any of you listening would be
> greatly appreciated.
> 
> Oh, and do you pronounce it  Jas- meen- um, or  Jas-
> men- um,  and where
> does the accent go, first of second syllable?
> TIA ;-)
> 
> Jan
> 
> --
>
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Jan Smithen,
> Upland, California
> 
> jansmithen@earthlink.net
> Sunset zone : 19
> USDA zone   : 10
> 
> http://home.earthlink.net/~jansmithen/
> 
> Visit the Los Angeles County Arboretum
> Victorian Rose Garden website at:
> http://victorian-rose.org/
>
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> 


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