The difference between garden jasmine and mock orange, pruning and care

When jasmine blooms, the air in the gardens is filled with a delicate, magical aroma. Large white flowers completely cover the bush and are the main decoration of the garden plot.

Garden jasmine bushes are found on the streets of large cities, in parks and squares, gardens and vegetable gardens.Gardeners and flower growers have long been using beautiful, fragrant bushes to decorate their gardens and vegetable gardens.

Interesting! Not everyone knows that garden jasmine, growing in the temperate climate of the middle zone, has nothing to do with real jasmine and is classified as a completely different plant.

But what is the difference, we’ll figure it out further.

Mock oranges and jasmine: what is the difference?

The shrubs that grow in gardens and parks differ from true jasmine and are called mock orange. The plant belongs to the hydrangea family.

The natural habitat of this flower is the hot climate of the Caucasus mountain range. But the famous French scientific breeder acclimatized the heat-loving bush for planting throughout the European part of our continent. Cultivated mock orange is known to flower growers and gardeners as garden jasmine.

True jasmine is a tropical shrub that grows in Asia, South America, Africa and Australia. The plant blooms with large flowers with a sharp and heavy aroma. True jasmine belongs to the olive family. In temperate and continental climates, it is almost impossible to grow shrubs.

Types of mock orange

Mock orange is divided into many types, and all of them have high decorative qualities.

Odorless

A tall shrub with a voluminous crown, more than 3 m in diameter. The leaves are small, bright green. Blooms with large, white, odorless flowers. The active flowering phase occurs in mid-summer. Florists and landscape designers use the plant for living fences and garden compositions.

small-leaved

The maximum height of the bush is 1.5 meters. The crown is lush, spreading with small, openwork leaves. The plant blooms in early summer with white clusters of inflorescences.The delicate aroma of flowers combines shades of pineapple and strawberry.

Schrenk

This species of mock orange in its natural environment is listed in the Red Book. The bushes of the plant are tall, from 2 to 3 m, with dense foliage and downy shoots. The cluster-shaped inflorescences bloom with large, white flowers with a delicate aroma. The flowering period is long.

Coronary

Corona mock orange bushes grow no more than 3 m. The leaves of the bush are large, with small teeth, the outer side of the leaf cover is of bright green shades, the inner side is paler.

Large racemose inflorescences bloom with large, creamy white flowers. The aroma of a flowering shrub is most similar to jasmine, but more subtle and delicate.

Main varieties of jasmine

To date, breeders have developed several types of garden jasmine. The main differences lie in the decorative qualities of the plant, size and duration of flowering.

small-leaved

A compact plant up to 1 m in height with curved leaves and large inflorescences. During the flowering period, white flowers with a delicate strawberry aroma bloom.

Ordinary

A tall, spreading shrub grows up to 3 m. It is completely covered with small leaves of rich green color with a golden tint. During the flowering period, large, cluster-shaped inflorescences appear, which bloom with large white flowers with a sweetish aroma.

Fluffy

The largest representative of garden jasmine. The bushes grow up to 4 m, densely covered with green leaf plates. The inflorescences are large, cluster-shaped, and bloom with large, white, odorless flowers. The shrub enters the long flowering phase in the second half of summer.

Is it possible to plant next to

Garden jasmine is a cultivated plant that was bred from various varieties of mock orange. Therefore, planting these plant varieties together is quite acceptable.

Important! Garden jasmine is not only a beautiful, but also a useful plant. During the flowering period, essential oils are formed in the inflorescences, which contain many useful substances necessary for the functioning of the body..

Advantages and disadvantages of joint landing

Flowering shrubs have excellent decorative properties. When properly cared for, plants planted together form beautiful bushes, from which a decorative living fence is created for a personal plot.

Shrubs develop quickly and reach maturity within 3-4 years. The only drawback of plants is their increased sensitivity to wet soils and droughts.

What diseases do shrubs suffer from?

Garden jasmine and mock orange rarely get sick and are exposed to pests. But due to dense planting, as soon as one bush becomes infected, the diseases immediately spread to neighboring plants. Therefore, in autumn and spring, shrubs are treated with professional preparations.

Diseases and pests:

1. If grayish spots appear on the leaves, this means that the bush is exposed to gray rot.
2. Drying of the leaf cover is caused by aphids, which suck the plant from plants.
3. If white butterflies appear on the bushes, then it is most likely hawthorn. In winter, its caterpillars will damage the buds, and in the spring, young shoots.
4. The rhizomes of shrubs often suffer from the larvae of click beetles, which completely destroy them. Meanwhile, adult beetles eat the leaf cover of shrubs.

Important! Garden jasmine loves abundant watering, but the close location of groundwater causes rotting of the rhizomes and the spread of fungal diseases.

Cross-pollination

If identical crop varieties are planted, cross-pollination is not a problem for them. It is necessary to avoid planting hybrid, terry shrubs, which, when cross-pollinated, lose their decorative properties.

Such plants are planted separately, away from the main plantings.

How to care for crops

Garden jasmine is long-lived. With proper care, bushes retain their decorative properties for 20 to 30 years. Shrubs do not require special attention, but following the rules of agricultural technology is a prerequisite for the proper growth and development of these garden beauties.

Sunny areas, protected from drafts, are a suitable place for planting this crop.

Garden jasmine and mock orange are unpretentious to the composition of the soil. Shrubs are planted in open ground in spring or autumn.

Watering

Garden jasmine is a moisture-loving plant, therefore, the watering regime is observed throughout the entire growing season. Irrigation work is carried out once every 7-9 days. From 20 to 30 liters of settled water is poured under each bush.

During periods of prolonged heat and drought, the plant is watered additionally.

Fertilizer application

They begin to feed and fertilize the shrub from the 3rd year of growth. In mid-spring, the plant is fertilized with organic matter or mineral fertilizers. At the end of May, beginning of June the procedure is repeated. After the bush fades, it is fed with phosphate or potassium fertilizers.

Features of bush formation in jasmine and mock orange

In order for the shrubs to look lush and beautiful, formative pruning is carried out annually. The procedure is carried out immediately after the plant blooms.

1. All dried inflorescences are removed.
2. In thickened plants, 20 to 25% of the cuttings are cut off at the base.
3. New shoots are pruned to the woody base of the branches.
4. The longest shoots of tall bushes are pruned.

Important! In autumn and spring, sanitary pruning of plants is carried out. Weak, broken and frostbitten branches of the bush are cut off.

Wintering plants

Adult plants are more resistant to frost and temperature changes than young shoots.

1. Garden jasmine is insulated at the base with straw or dry leaves.
2. If a cold winter is expected, the bush is covered with special materials.
3. In autumn, the soil under the bushes is carefully dug up and mixed with compost.

Garden jasmine and mock orange are not susceptible to freezing in temperate climates. But in the northern regions, shrubs require additional insulation for the winter.

Reproduction

You can increase the number of garden jasmine yourself. To do this, you need to choose one of the methods of propagating the plant.

1. Seeds are planted in open ground in the fall, deepening them to 25-30 cm. The area with the planted seeds is mulched. In the spring, the mulch is removed.
2. Propagation by cuttings is carried out in the spring, or after flowering has ended. The upper shoots from the mother bush are cut off, planted in open ground and covered with film or a glass jar. As soon as the cuttings take root, they are opened and transplanted to a permanent planting site.

Bottom line

Based on the above, we can conclude that both mock orange and garden jasmine are unpretentious plants, but with high decorative qualities. In garden plots, flowering shrubs will become the main decoration and will delight you with their delicate aroma.