Workable practical tips for growing flowering plants in cold climate countries, what most of readers of Garden Care Simplified from US and Canada have been searching for, comes with a wonderful blessing from an awesum friend Karen Orlando, on Face Book, you can see her passion, love and care for her lovely ones, as they definitely give back the love with awesumly fragrant blooms!
Lets read on...by Karen Orlando!
This is how I overwintered my Cestrum Nocturnum (Night blooming Jessamine) , Lakeview Jasmine, and small Potted Gardenia plants.
Hello everyone! I found this group because I was looking for some info on Night Blooming Jessamine (Cestrum Nocturnum) about when I should bring my overwintered plants from inside my house back outside this Spring. I wanted to know living here in S.E. Lower Michigan what the minimum night time low temps would be that these plants could safely tolerate before setting them out for the season. I didn't find any conclusive answers but found Rizwana's Garden Care Simplified Blog site. I found a discussion with many good comments and info on this specific plant. I commented and hoped that someone could tell me the info I need to get these plants safely back outside here in Zone 6a in Michigan. Rizwana suggested after I posted on how I overwintered these plants, to share with others who may want to know how I did it, and if I could post some photos, so here is the info if anyone is interested.
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
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| Photos of plants shared by Karen Orlando for Garden Care Simplified |
The plants in the photos are:
2 potted Cestrum Nocturnum ( Night blooming Jessamine), (Queen of the Night) plants.
1 potted Lakeview Jasmine plant
1 potted small Gardenia plant
2 potted Cestrum Nocturnum ( Night blooming Jessamine), (Queen of the Night) plants.
1 potted Lakeview Jasmine plant
1 potted small Gardenia plant
The Lakeview Jasmine I have had for several years and have always overwintered in my home and put back outside in Spring. It has done well over the years.
The 2 potted Cestrum Nocturnum ( Night Blooming Jessamine) plants I purchased last June 2014 from a local nursery. They were both about 3 ft high when I bought them. I brought them home, and re-potted them using their original soil and also some potting soil mix and some organic compost, topped the pots off with a thin layer of Mulch to keep moisture in. I fertilized once or twice last season with Miracle Grow Bloom Booster 10-52-10. I experimented with the placement of these plants on my covered front porch and open deck. They took some time to acclimate and let me know that they were unhappy by drooping their leaves in protest of either the amount of sun, shade or water amounts. I finally found a spot that they were both happy with, and they decided to give me a few blooms to let me know they approved, but only a dabble of bloom which was a fragrant delight at night, even if it was very few and short lived. I pruned them down after they flowered and some before bringing them inside to keep their size tolerable for indoors.
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In the fall I brought them inside and because I am lucky to have two full bathrooms in my home, I used my downstairs bathtub as their winter home. From the photos you can see the set up I used for them. I used a floor lamp...Brand: "Lavish Home" Sunlight Floor Lamp, plugged into a timer to set the hours of light they would receive daily. I read that for them to produce the flowers, they need completed darkness at night for the process of setting flowers. I also used my hand held shower to direct the spray all around the plants and the walls of the tub to create a nice humid area for them. I sprayed them every morning and at night before going to bed. I sprayed directly on the leaves of all the plants and very lightly and only once a day directly into the pots, they seemed to like having the water drip from their leaves into the pots instead of over watering directly into the pots and with the humidity they stayed nice and green.
The 2 potted Cestrum Nocturnum ( Night Blooming Jessamine) plants I purchased last June 2014 from a local nursery. They were both about 3 ft high when I bought them. I brought them home, and re-potted them using their original soil and also some potting soil mix and some organic compost, topped the pots off with a thin layer of Mulch to keep moisture in. I fertilized once or twice last season with Miracle Grow Bloom Booster 10-52-10. I experimented with the placement of these plants on my covered front porch and open deck. They took some time to acclimate and let me know that they were unhappy by drooping their leaves in protest of either the amount of sun, shade or water amounts. I finally found a spot that they were both happy with, and they decided to give me a few blooms to let me know they approved, but only a dabble of bloom which was a fragrant delight at night, even if it was very few and short lived. I pruned them down after they flowered and some before bringing them inside to keep their size tolerable for indoors.
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In the fall I brought them inside and because I am lucky to have two full bathrooms in my home, I used my downstairs bathtub as their winter home. From the photos you can see the set up I used for them. I used a floor lamp...Brand: "Lavish Home" Sunlight Floor Lamp, plugged into a timer to set the hours of light they would receive daily. I read that for them to produce the flowers, they need completed darkness at night for the process of setting flowers. I also used my hand held shower to direct the spray all around the plants and the walls of the tub to create a nice humid area for them. I sprayed them every morning and at night before going to bed. I sprayed directly on the leaves of all the plants and very lightly and only once a day directly into the pots, they seemed to like having the water drip from their leaves into the pots instead of over watering directly into the pots and with the humidity they stayed nice and green.
Shortly after giving them this over- wintering environment, they showed their happiness by quickly and profusely producing an explosion of tiny white fragrant blooms that literally filled my whole house with their perfume, even with the bathroom door closed my whole house smelled of their sweet fragrance. It was lovely!! After that one bloom-time, I cut them back once again, and let them rest. I kept my house temperature about 68 - 72 degrees F. adjusting to how cold it got outside in the daytime. At night I would lower the temp a couple of degrees again adjusting to how cold it was outside. I did not fertilize at all during the winter. They did lose some leaves and I had to clean the bottom of my tub from leaves that had fallen,but as you can see they did pretty well over all.
These photos were taken on April 27 2015. You can see that they are now putting out new growth. I have decided to wait to put them outside until our night low temps are 50 and above. I will slowly acclimate them to the amount of Sun they get as well when I set them back out. I do have a garage just in case there is a chance that temps dip or a rouge frost comes, as it has done before here in Michigan. I do not want to haul these big pots and plants in and out of the house this spring!
One other Note: I read that these plants are highly poisonous to both animals and humans. I have two kitties that I absolutely adore and love and I had to be very vigilante all winter to make sure the bathroom door stayed closed so they wouldn't have access to these plants.
If anyone wants to try this method of overwintering, and you only have one bathtub, you can either take them in and out of the tub when you need to shower, or if you have room let them stay and shower with you! smile emoticon
Thank you so so much Karen for this wonderfully helpful share, I am sure this will help save so many precious ones!
Meanwhile back home under the sun, ..waiting for the Gulmohar blooms, each day the buds appear to grow larger... My Brahma Kamal plants are doing awesum in the kitchen window, with watering twice and sprinkling waters three to four times on the leaves, and of course singing and talking to them! lets see when they will decide to bless me with blooms!
With the hot summers don't forget to keep some water out for our heavenly friends! have added two more stone containers this season.
God Bless and All the Best from Rizwana! Have a Great Day!
www.razarts.com
www.razarts.com
All photographs shared in this post are by Karen Orlando, please do not copy or use them for personal or professional use! Thank you!
