Question
I recently bought a jasmine plant which is wrapped around a circle shape and growing out of control. I want to get as many flowers as I can so I hate to cut the new growth! I thought to wrap the vines around the circle but there are so many vines that it will soon become a mess. What is the best thing to do? Should I replant it at any point?

This plant smelled so good that I bought a jasmine tree for the house. It finally bloomed ONE flower. I just found bugs on it and sprayed it with SAFER bug killing soap. How often should I spray the tree? There are also afew leaves with bumps. What is this?

I have sent photo's to you.

Thank you!
Angela

Answer
Angela,

Jasmine is a winter bloomer. You should be pruning it back regularly until August to make it fuller and more compact. Each time you prune of a long shoot it will send out 2 shorter ones. Keep the soil moist and fertilize regularly when it is putting out new growth. In August, discontinue the pinching. Mine stays outside for the summer where it gets lots of light and enjoys the warm days and cooler nights in humid Indiana tropical like summers. In the fall, September, October, Jasmine needs temperature drops to between 40 and 50 degrees to set buds to produce January bloom. To accomplish that at my house I leave it outdoors but I have to watch the weather reports very closely and take it in if frost is imminent and put it back outdoors the next day. Keep the soil a bit more on the dry side and provide lots of sun during the day. It will take 6 to 8 weeks approximately or until you see buds. After that normal room temperatures and a sunny window will suffice. Hanging in front of a window in front of a cold attached garage will also work as long as it doesn't freeze. This can be difficult to provide. If you can only do this for a few weeks, it is better than not at all. If you cannot do it at all, your plant will remain healthy but it may not bloom quite as much. If you are successful it will bloom in January. Normally jasmine is cut way back to half its size following a winter bloom.  In any case whether it blooms or not do not fertilize during the winter months. In the late winter or early spring, prune the entire plant back by half. New growth will soon emerge. Flowers appear only on new growth.

This is not an easy regimen to follow and that is why few people are successful with Jasmine in their homes. But do your best and don't get discouraged. You may find info at the following websites interesting.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/botan/plants/jasminum/index.shtml

http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/flowers/jasmine.asp

Good luck.
Darlene