A Nudist for Christmas

8 comments

It may be common as muck, but winter jasmine, jasminum nudiflorum, is very welcome just now. Not only does it flower in mid winter, but the bright yellow of its blooms brighten what can be a very gloomy time of year

A native of China, this is strictly speaking a lax shrub growing to ten feet, but is more usually seen tied to supports against a sunny wall where its display can be better appreciated. It is not a ‘tidy’ plant, and can become very congested and ungainly if left unpruned. Cutting out the flowering shoots after the flowers fade keeps it in check and a slightly better prospect for the rest of the year (although it still won’t win any beauty contest in high summer). Although it flowers better in a sunny position, this year’s hot summer has resulted in a good display even on specimens growing in the shade, obviously encouraged by well-ripened wood

Although not often seen for sale, the plant is easy to propagate as shoots touching the soil often form roots; this layer can then be detached and potted up for a new plant.

Right now, it’s too cold to even think of discarding any layers of clothes, so I’ll leave it to winter jasmine to be this year’s Christmas nudist!

16 Dec, 2018
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Comments

Dianebulley

Brilliant ! Being disabled now I am trying to think how to plant up my first floor balcony half baskets. This may be worth a try. if I can coax them to spread across the balcony all year. Do the roots need much depth ?

16 Dec, 2018

Dawnsaunt

Haha Andrew. So they flower on last year's wood don't they. After seeing Hywel's jasmine on his trellis, I got mine on a trellis the other week instead of wires, so I will cut back to the trellis after flowering, is that right?

16 Dec, 2018

Siris

So bright and cheery st this time of the year, love it.
Can I ask what the plant is that's twinning up the trellis? A Honeysuckle, maybe?

16 Dec, 2018

Andrewr

Diane - I've not tried to dig one out so I don't know how far the roots go down. If you can find someone to give you rooted piece, you can experiment for free

Dawn - you can often see a side shoot at the base of the wood carrying flowers and cut back to that

Sue - yes, honeysuckle

16 Dec, 2018

Steragram

How can anything so innocent and beautiful be common as muck Andrew? Where we lived last there was one growing as a free standing shrub - took a bit of care with pruning and shaping but it was quite successful.

16 Dec, 2018

Dawnsaunt

Thanks :-)

17 Dec, 2018