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I'm ordering 10 of Jasminum Sambac 'Maid of Orleans' for my father's Birthday party. It's our national flower (Philippines). The party is in Queens, NY. Will the plants be safe to ship? Could you tell me if they will be in bloom?
We do ship Sambacs to NY, and they are OK. However, it's always recommended to monitor the weather.Make sure the plants have at least a few days indoors to adjust from shipping stress before your party - for better bloom. In fact, 'Maid of Orleans' jasmines are blooming all the time, it's just sometimes they have more flowers: they keep blooming heavily for 3-4 days, then it looks like they take a "rest" for a few days (less flowers), then again produce a "splash" of flowers. So it' really hard to guess their "mood". However, the big plants that we ship have both flowers and buds, so I hope they won't let you down. Of course it's better to ship them beforehand, I would suggest 1-2 weeks before the party. Just make sure in NY they keep them on windowsills - the more sun, the heavier the bloom. A sunny (southern) window exposure will be perfect. Filtered light is OK too, as long as it's bright.The flower of 'Maid of Orleans' is very tender and fragile and lasts only a day or two, so for sure you'll lose most of opened flowers during the shipping. So you will have to wait till next bloom "splash". So the sooner you get them to the destination location - the better, as long as the plants will have enough of SUNLIGHT to produce flowers before the party.
Which of your three Sambacs are the best, easiest to care for with most production?
'Maid of Orleans' is the easiest. Although it has single flowers, and the flower lasts just a day or two, but it blooms constantly, fragrance is wonderful. It's flowers are the best for jasmine tea (we make it all the time). Also, this variety tolerates shade the best (even deep shade!). Besides, it has more "climbing" habit (of course you may keep it srubby if you trim it). We have this plant covered the wall by our bedroom window (plant on the left):
'Grand Duke' has beautiful double flowers, but they are only on tips of a branch. It needs more sun for more bloom, but also tolerates some shade.'Belle of India' has long double petals, and it's also good for tea. Needs more sun, too.
Does the Maid of Orleans need a trellis or will my courtyard wall alone do?
Maid of Orleans is the most fast growing Sambac, I like it myself the best, because it forms a very attractive shrub or vine. Flowers are not as fancy as other Sambacs, but also very fragrant, and they are what they make jasmine tea out of. It has the greenest and prettiest foliage, too. Maid of Orleans makes a vining shrub unless you prune it regularly (in that case it will be a nice dense shrub). The branches get as long as 10", but they are hard enough and don't need much support (unless they grow too long). We have it by the wall at our window (see picture above), and I just have attached couple branches to the wall - it was enough.
Can you give me information on growing Sambacs? Should the Grand Duke be planted in a pot? I live in zone 9B.
All Sambacs are tropical plants and they might die if you have even a light frost in winter. So we recommend you just to plant them in 3 gal pots, that should be fine. Both full sun or shade is OK. Fertilize regularly, and make sure to use a good potting soil (with lots of organic matter like peat moss and humus).
What kind of soil do I need for potting Jasmine Sambacs and Cestrum Nocturnum?
Read about potting soil and fertilizers .
I noticed the buds of Belle of India plants to open early instead of maturing to bigger size buds before blooming. I was wondering why are they blooming into a flower pre-maturely? . When the plant arrived from your nursery it was full with big buds and they bloomed into fuller flowers with lot of fragrance. I am wondering where am I going wrong?
There could be a few reasons:1) Do not over-fertilize. We apply slow-release fertilizer (granulated) - 3 months release. So we apply a table spoon every 3 months.2) Do not over water. Sambacs prefer to be on dry side. Underwatering is better.3) For bigger flowers, they need plenty of sun.