Sambac Arabian Jasmine
jasminum sambac

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per 4 square feet
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: nothing!
harvest notes: harvest flowers early in the day for most fragrance
season: summer
perennial

We consider ourselves lucky because here in South Florida we can grow so many amazing aromatic plants, like gardenias, Ylang Ylang trees, and lots of different types of Jasmine. Sambac Jasmine is one of the most prized Jasmine varieties for its powerful fragrance and beautiful blossoms. Even though the blossoms are only about the size of a quarter you can smell them from like 6 feet away! Jasmine flowers make a delicious tea or an addition to your favorite tea or sparkling subtle drink. You can also preserve its scent to be used in homemade body products by making an “enfleurage” which is a super cool traditional method of infusing scent into hard fats like coconut oil or tallow by laying the fresh flower in a layer of the fat spread out on glass. Every day you change the flowers and the more times you do that the stronger the scent in the fat becomes. You can also do a similar process to scent green or black tea leaves. If you don’t have the time to get creative with your jasmine blossoms just enjoy them in the garden or throw one in your car on a hot day. 

Jasmine bushes are easy to care for and require little. They can grow slowly and will make you more flowers if it’s in full sun. Pests are negligible but keep an eye out for mealy bugs and aphids in the growing tips. Sambas Jasmine is also a great option for a large pot, if you are looking for something that would work well in a container garden.