You know the lady of the night, right? Also known as galán de Noche, cestro, or skunk, this shrub can reach five meters in height. Although it is not a pretty plant (it has green oval leaves and small white flowers), the truth is that it hides a peculiarity that makes it special: the fragrance that it gives off at night, when its flowers open.
Such is the aroma that it gives off, that on spring and summer nights it prevails over all others. Therefore, there is no better choice than this when you want to have a good fragrance without resorting to air fresheners or other artificial techniques. Do you want to know everything about the care of the lady at night?
A tropical plant
It is important that you keep in mind that the lady at night comes from tropical regions of the American continent, so it is not very resistant to low temperatures .
Thus, it must remain under roofs in areas that suffer frost and temperatures below -2ºC . In addition, they must receive natural light to give flowers.
Soils and irrigation
Although the lady of the night tends to do well in most soils, it is better if they have good drainage capacity. As for watering, it should be done every other day in summer and twice a week in winter. In addition, it is advisable that in the flowering season it is nourished with iron-rich fertilizers.
Pruning
On the other hand, it is good to prune its branches after the main flowering , in early summer. In this way, the plant will not grow much and will get a second bloom during the same season.
Pests
Lastly, you have to be careful of pests. Some of those that most affect these shrubs are aphids, whiteflies and spider mites .
