Night Blooming Jasmine / Caballero de la Noche

Queen of the Night / Caballero de la Noche (Cestrum nocturnum), also known as Night-Blooming Jasmine, is one of those plants you may barely notice during the day and then suddenly wonder where that extraordinary fragrance is coming from after sunset. It is actually not a true jasmine, but a tropical evergreen shrub in the nightshade family. Its slender, pale green to creamy-white tubular flowers open in the evening and release an intensely sweet perfume that can travel surprisingly far through the garden.

There is something magical about this plant because its whole character changes at night. During the day it is a fairly simple, unobtrusive green shrub, but as evening arrives the flowers begin releasing their fragrance, attracting night-flying pollinators such as moths. A mature plant near a patio, pathway or bedroom window can perfume an entire area on a warm evening, making Caballero de la Noche a beautiful addition to a sensory garden.

Caballero de la Noche has also been used traditionally in different parts of the world as a medicinal plant, particularly in external preparations and traditional remedies, but it is not considered an everyday culinary herb. The plant, including its berries, should not be eaten casually. For me, its greatest gift in the garden is its fragrance, its relationship with nighttime pollinators and the completely different atmosphere it creates after dark.

It loves a warm climate and grows beautifully here. Give it fertile, living soil with plenty of organic matter, regular moisture and good drainage. It will grow in full sun, but it is also very happy in partial shade, particularly where it receives good morning light and some protection from intense afternoon sun. Regular pruning keeps it bushy and encourages fresh growth, and it responds well to being shaped if it begins getting too large.

It is also quite easy to propagate from stem cuttings. Once established, it can grow into a substantial shrub, so give it enough room and think carefully about where you plant it. Somewhere you spend time in the evening is perfect. Caballero de la Noche is not a plant that needs to shout during the day. It waits until the sun disappears, and then the entire garden knows it is there.