It is not a small plant, it is considered a tree or shrub, and some specimens can reach five meters in height. Although it depends on the taste of each one, its appearance is not particularly pretty, but rather messy, with green oval leaves and small white bell-shaped flowers.

It is an evergreen shrub, but curiously in some temperate climates, it can behave like deciduous ones.

As we have mentioned before, there is a detail that gives value to this species and makes it stand out from the rest: the fragrance it gives off at night, when its flowers open. Its most common name is derived from this characteristic.

For this reason, it is common to choose this species when designing an aromatic garden or when you want to have a good nighttime fragrance without the need to resort to air fresheners or other artificial techniques.

Family

The Cestrum genus belongs to the Solanaceae family,  the same as the tomato and potato. Like these foods, it comes from tropical regions of the American continent, from Mexico to parts of South America. For this reason,  it is not very resistant to low temperatures.

temperatures

It should be kept indoors in areas that suffer from frost and temperatures below -2 ºC. In addition, if they do not receive natural light in spring or summer, it will be more difficult for them to flower and, therefore, their characteristic aroma.

It is a plant that grows best outdoors, but it is true that if you are in a cold area you can keep it indoors with access to light. The latter is really important.

Other care

Although it is not a very problematic plant, we must take certain aspects into account.

Soils and irrigation

The lady of the night, in general, grows and develops well in most soils, as long as they have good drainage capacity. Watering should be done every two days in summer and a couple of times a week in winter.

The lack of humidity causes the leaves to fall, while the excess causes them to turn yellow and have dark spots. The plant is very grateful, especially during its flowering time, to be nourished with iron-rich fertilizers.

Pruning How and when to do it?

Pruning at the beginning of the summer allows to control of the growth of the plant and favors a second flowering. Something that greatly helps the development of its flowers is pruning its branches after the main bloom, at the beginning of summer.

In this way, two objectives are achieved: on the one hand, it prevents it from growing too much, which harms its appearance and forces it to consume too many nutrients; and, on the other hand, in certain cases it allows a second bloom to be obtained during the same season .

A word of warning: care must be taken with this shrub, as all its parts are toxic, particularly its sap and the small white berries that sprout after flowering in warmer regions.

Pests that affect the lady of the night

The pests that most affect these shrubs are some of the most frequent in Spanish gardens: aphids, whiteflies, and red spiders. All three are typical and you should take this into account when analyzing them.

It is convenient to observe its leaves in detail in order to detect its presence and prevent its attacks. In fact, if you can see that its leaves are rolled up, it is likely that it has been attacked by aphids.

Skunk multiplication

The multiplication, on the other hand, can be obtained through seeds or cuttings, at the end of spring or beginning of summer, that is, in coincidence with the flowering season.

For these cases, it is advisable to place them in a substrate that includes peat and moist sand and keep them in partial shade, at an average temperature of around 20ºC for about 20 days.