night jasmine

Cestrum nocturnum – seduction from the plant world

Some plants are pretty. Others are useful. And then there's night jasmine. It's simply – intoxicating.
During the day, Cestrum nocturnum behaves modestly: slender shrub, greenish foliage, inconspicuous flowers. Almost demure. You'd easily overlook it. But as soon as the sun sets, it transforms into a fragrant seduction that drifts through open windows and makes people smile in their sleep.

A fragrance like warm honey

Its name already sounds like an old perfume bottle, forgotten in a drawer full of stories. And indeed, this plant lives only for the night. Its small, greenish-white flowers – like sealed promises – open only at dusk. Then emerges a fragrance reminiscent of warm honey, with a hint of tropical mystery. So intense that you suddenly think of past summers, of skin, of intimacy, of the feeling that everything seems possible in the darkness.

The warmer the night, the more intoxicating the experience becomes. Even on cool autumn days, you can perceive the seductive scent – in Hamburg, night jasmine often blooms well into November.

A diva with demands

But beware: Cestrum nocturnum is a true diva. As a tropical native of Honduras, it has a big appetite, great thirst, and wants lots of warmth. In Germany, it therefore only works in containers – it won't survive planting in open ground.

It should only be planted from mid-May onwards, after the last frost. The container can be started earlier indoors and then moved outside. In winter, the evergreen shrub absolutely needs a frost-free cool greenhouse at 10-15 degrees – no warmer, or it will sprout prematurely.

With good care, it grows up to four meters tall. A sunny, sheltered location is ideal. Water abundantly without waterlogging, and fertilize regularly during the flowering period – it's a glutton with a big appetite.

Beauty with shadows

A warning is warranted: all parts of the plant are toxic, especially the berries contain alkaloids. Night jasmine is therefore not suitable for households with small children or curious pets.

A shrub of in-between worlds

For plant lovers, Cestrum nocturnum is like a secret favorite – not because of its appearance, but because of its effect. It doesn't want to show off. It just wants to fragrance. Excessively. Sensually. Night after night.

Those who embrace this plant are rewarded with a nocturnal spectacle that's not easily forgotten. Night jasmine doesn't whisper – it floods. It's an inhabitant of in-between worlds: between day and night, between dream and reality. And those who come too close forget for a moment what was sober.
In a world full of eye candy, this inconspicuous shrub shows us that true beauty is sometimes invisible – and awakens only in the silence of the night.