Raat Rani or Night Blooming Jasmine : Blooms at night and have strong pleasant fragrance

Image Source: Asit K. Ghosh Thaumaturgist / CC BY-SA (Image Cropped)

The night-blooming jasmine or Raat Rani is a small shrub that produces small tubular flowers filling the night air with a wonderful fragrance of jasmine. At maturity, the plant is a moderately fast grower, reaching 8 to 10 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

Quick Details of Raat rani

Raat rani Buying Instructions

• Buy bushy plant with lots of leaves
• Do not transplant the plant after bringing home. Keep the plant as it is in semi shaded area for 8-10 days.
• Stem should be woody and strong
• Buy only if you have possibility of full sunlight for at least 2-3 hours.

Overview of Raat rani

Cestrum nocturnum is a woody, evergreen shrub belonging to the family of Solanaceae. They grow to 4 m (13 ft) tall. The leaves are simple, narrow lanceolate, 6–20 cm long, and 2–4.5 cm wide, smooth and glossy, with an entire margin. The flowers are greenish-white, with a slender tubular corolla 2–2,5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) long with five acute lobes, and are produced in cymose inflorescence. The flowers release a scent at night. The fruit is a 10 mm (0.39 in) long berry with a diameter of 5 mm (0.20 in)  Marfil white.

Special features:

The flowers usually bloom at night releasing a strong pleasant fragrance.

Usage and Advantage of Raat rani

• It is used as an ornamental plant.
•  It is noted for the fragrance the flower releases during the night. 
• The plant is also said to be used in herbal medicine to cure several diseases. 
• It is said to cure several digestives, urinary, and other gastrointestinal system-related diseases because of its antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, and analgesic properties. 
• The extracts of the plant are used for healing the wounds, inhibition of malignant growth and tumors

General Care for Raat rani

Soil: Night-blooming jasmine grows best in well-drenched, sandy soil, preferably somewhere with plenty of space to spread its roots. The plants grown in containers require re-rooting after every 2 to 3 years.

Watering: A deep watering once a week is enough for raat rani. Make sure that the soil is dry and there is no waterlogged in the soil. A soggy or presence of excess salt can be harmful to the plant. During summers, when the soil tends to dry up, the plant should be regularly watered.

Light: It does well, where it gets 2-3 hours of direct sunlight and rest of the time partial sun light. It is sensitive to extreme temperatures like intense sun and too much cold weather.

Pruning: The plants can be pruned ones in a year before or after blooming. The potted plants however can be pruned often to control its growth.

Fertilizer: Raat rani does not require the addition of fertilizer. It can grow in moderately fertile soil. However, adding fertilizer during the planting and ones in a year before blooming can boost the growth of the plant. Excess presence of fertilizer, especially the nitrogen fertilizer is harmful to the plant.

Pests and other problems for Raat rani

It is mostly not susceptible to diseases. However, the presence of excess water can cause rotting of the roots and can also attract certain bacterial and fungal pathogens. White spots, black spots are the most common diseases seen in this plant. It can also be attacked by aphids. Aphids can be prevented by the use of soap water or insecticides.

White spots:

Night-flowering jasmine is one of the prey to giant whiteflies. These pests sap the juices from the tissues of the shrub and leave a thin, waxy layer on the branches. They leave behind a substance called honeydew, as giant whiteflies suck the juices from your blooming jasmine at night. The liquid is filled with sugars. Such sugars left on the leaves of the plant attracts a black fungus known as sooty mold. Sooty mold does not damage the plant directly, but if left unchecked prevents the sunlight from hitting the leaves of the plant which prevents photosynthesis. The leaf eventually yellows, and falls off. Black spots usually appear after a frigid night.

Control:

Removing any infected leaves and hose spraying the plants regularly can reduce the flies. In severe cases, pesticides can be used.

Propagation of Raat rani

The propagation is done through stem cutting. The stem without any bloom or bud is selected and cut right above the node. A non-woody part is selected as the cutting as it can develop roots. The cutting is planted into the soil. A rooting hormone can be used.