Growing Sampaguita

Jasminum sambac (syn. Nyctanthes sambac) is a species of jasmine  native to southwestern and southern Asia, in the Philippines, India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.  In the Philippines, the flower is known as “Sampaguita” and was adopted by the government as its national flower in 1937.  Filipinos string the flowers into leis, corsages and crowns and distill its oils and sell them in stores, streets, and outside churches. The garlands may be used to welcome guests, or as an offering or adornment in religious altars.  Its oil is believed to be a cure for headache.

Sampaguita flowers do not bear seeds, therefore the plant is cultivated by cuttings. Sampaguita was imported into the Philippines in the 17th century from Himalayan areas. The Sampaguita is a native part of the Philippine landscape for centuries. The plant is originally from India and is grown throughout India today. About eight cultivars are generally listed for Sampaguita. Some varieties of Sampaguitas can grow as large as small roses in India.

How to grow Sampaguita

Botany

• Spreading or sprawling shrub, usually less than 2 m in height.
• Leaves are glossy, ovate or rounded and 6 to 12 cm long, with short stalks, pointed or blunt tip and pointed or rounded base.
• Flowers are white, very fragrant and borne singly or in 3’s in axillary or terminal inflorescence.
• Calyx teeth are 8 to 10, very slender, 5 to 8 mm long. Corolla tube is slender and 1 to 1.5 cm long, the limb is usually double and 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter. Stamens, 2, included, ovary, 2-celled.
• The double kind is called “kampupot,” which is less fragrant.

Sampaguita is considered a symbol of fidelity, purity, devotion, strength and dedication. No wonder, it is also the national flower of India. In the Philippines, it is called by various names: sambac, sampagung, campopot, lumabi, kulatai, pongso, malur and manul.

Many Uses

The Chinese emperor of the Sung dynasty had sampaguita growing in his palace grounds to enjoy its heavenly fragrance. In the Philippines, Filipinos string the flowers into leis, corsages and crowns and distill its oils and sell them in stores, streets, and outside churches. The garlands may be used to welcome guests, or as an offering or adornment in religious altars.

In Cambodia, the flower is used as an offering to the Buddha. The season of the flower begins in June, the month that provides the most rain. During this month, many Cambodians thread the flower buds onto a wooden needle to be presented to the Buddha.

But what most Filipinos don’t know about sampaguita is that it can be a potential dollar earner. From the flower, a natural oil that has no equal can be extracted. Since ancient times, sampaguita has been cultivated for its essential oils.

According to the Bureau of Plant Industry  sampaguita is one of the flowers grown in the country from which researchers have extracted oil. Along with citronella and ilang-ilang, the BPI had been using sampaguita its a source of oil through extraction.

In the past, many traders have been asking BPI about big, steady supplies of lowers that yield essences, but there are no known largo-scale growers. As a result of these inquiries, the government has given some attention to ornamental and flower crops.

Sampaguita leaf extract, BPI claims, can be used in making medicinal soap and has curative effect on skin diseases. The flowers also have medicinal value. These are given internally in decoction for fever, and arc used as poultice for skin diseases and wounds. If boiled in oil, these give a balsam for anointing the head in eye-complaints.

Preparing Perfume from Sampaguita

Though sampaguita is not a key ingredient in top-price perfumes, its scent and makeup have given it important uses. Elizabeth Holli Wood shares some tips on how to prepare a perfume from sampaguita:

1. First, put the flowers of sampaguita, orchid, and ilang-ilang in a saucepan two-third full of distilled water. Then, bring to a boil on a hot stove.
2. Strain the flowers and set the fragrant water in a bowl to cool.
3. Mix one-fourth cup vodka with two-and-a-half tablespoons of the flower water (“‘If you have essential oils in the flower scents, add a few drops to heighten the strength of the fragrance”).
4. Let it stand for two (lays to one week. After that, pour into the perfume bottle of your choice.

Growing Sampaguita

A survey conducted by BPI showed that two types of sampaguita are grown in the Philippines. In San Pedro and Santa Cruz in Laguna, farmers commercially grow the single-petal type, which is less fragrant but flowers almost al year round.

The double-petal type is not grown commercially but is more fragrant, although it flowers only during the summer months.

Sampaguita is a very easy to care. It thrives on many types of soil. Well-drained soil ranging in texture from sandy-loam to clay-loam is ideal. Soil that stays for too long should be avoided

In the Philippines, the plant may be grown in a wide range of climate except in highly elevated areas like Benguet where the temperature may be too cool for its normal growth. It needs to be planted in full sun.

The BPI shares these growing tips for sampaguita:

• The land should be prepared thoroughly. When transplants are set out, good tilth help in establishing close contact between the soil and the roots system of the young plants.
• Sampaguita is propagated by stem cuttings. Medium-matured stems (eight to ten inches long) are cut and these are planted in perforated plastic bags filled with soil. Daily watering is recommended. After a month, the seedlings will have already developed new shoots and roots and are ready for transplanting.
• A day before transplanting, the seedlings are thoroughly watered. The seedlings together with the soil after removing these from the plastic bag arc transplanted at one by one meter distance. The seedlings are watered immediately after transplanting.
• The area where the seedlings are transplanted should have an abundance supply of moisture during the early stages of the plants’ growth. Water should always be sufficient to saturate the soil to the root zone.
• Weeding around the plants is recommended as soon as necessary. Cultivation may also be done to aerate the soil and to kill the weeds.
• Like most growing crops, sampaguita needs necessary nutrients for their growth. A bag of 14-14-14 fertilizer mixed with one of bag of 45-0-0 per hectare is applied three weeks after transplanting. The same application is repealed every six months. Fully decomposed organic fertilizer at the rate of 20 bags over one hectare may also be applied to increase the nutrients in the soil and to improve its texture.
• Growers often practice defoliation especially when flower production is low. The entire leaf are removed or three-fourths of the leaf area an cut off, leaving only one-fourth of the leaf near the node portion of the stem where the new shoots may later develop.
• Another practice is smudging. It is done to minimize the attack of some insect pests, thereby improving the quality of the flowers.

By the way, the flower is processed and used as the main ingredient in jasmine tea in China.

Sources; bpi.da.gov.ph and Wikipedia.org; Photo: Wikipedia.org