Chinese Star Jasmine.
Phase 1: Preparation & pre-soaking
1. Soak the plants: Place your 5L jasmine pots into a bucket filled with water mixed with Seasol Seaweed Health Treatment for 10 minutes. This hydrates the roots and reduces transplant shock.
2. Clear the area: Remove any grass, weeds, or old mulch from the surface where you intend to plant.
Phase 2: Digging & Mixing the Soil
3. Dig the holes: Dig each hole roughly 30cm wide and 30cm deep. This creates a space twice as wide as your 5L pot, giving the roots loose soil to spread into.
4. Blend the soil: Take the sandy soil you just dug out and mix it 50/50 with your Brunnings Premium Garden Soil Planting Mix.
5. Add water saver: Sprinkle a handful of Baileys Grosorb Water Saver into this soil blend to help the native sand hold onto water.
Phase 3: Planting
6. Set the base: Throw a few shovels of your new 50/50 soil blend into the bottom of the empty hole.
7. Unpot the jasmine: Gently slide the star jasmine out of its 5L plastic pot. If the roots are tightly bound, gently tickle or loosen the bottom outer roots.
8. Position the plant: Place the plant in the hole. Ensure the top of the plant's root ball sits exactly flush with the surrounding ground level—never bury the stem too deep.
9. Backfill: Fill the rest of the hole with your 50/50 soil blend, firming it down gently with your hands around the base of the plant to remove air pockets.
Phase 4: Watering & Finishing
10. Create a basin: Use your leftover soil to build a small, circular dirt wall (about 5cm high) around the basin of the plant to trap water directly over the roots.
11. First deep water: Slowly pour the remaining seaweed water from your soaking bucket into the basin until the soil is thoroughly saturated.
12. Mulch: Spread a 5cm to 7cm layer of Pine Bark Mulch over the soil area, keeping it, a few centimetres clear of the main plant stem to prevent rot.
Phase 1: The First 4 to 6 Weeks (Establishment)
Your main goal right now is keeping the root zone consistently moist while the plants settle into the ground.
- Reticulation/Sprinklers: Set your irrigation system to run only on your 2 rostered watering days. Run them once per day, either before 9:00 am or after 6:00 pm. Find your exact days by checking the Water Corporation Roster based on your house number.
- Hand-Watering Supplement: Sprinklers are not enough for fresh root balls. You must hand-water the plants every second day on the days your sprinklers are legally turned off.
- Note: Hand-watering with a handheld hose (fitted with a trigger nozzle) or a watering can is completely legal any day of the week in Perth. Pour water directly into the soil basin you built around each plant.
Phase 2: Mid-Summer (December to February Heatwaves)
Once the roots start to push out into the native sand, they can handle a little more pressure, but Perth’s 35°C+ summer days will bake the top layer of sand quickly.
- The Sprinkler Routine: Keep your automated sprinklers on their 2 rostered days. To prevent water from running off the sandy soil, use a "cycle and soak" method: split your watering station time into two shorter runs (e.g., two 7-minute cycles rather than one 15-minute cycle) within your permitted morning or evening window.
- The Hand-Watering Routine: Drop your hand-watering down to twice a week on non-sprinkler days, or whenever you notice the leaves slightly drooping.
- The Finger Test: Before adding extra water, push your finger 5cm down into the soil mix. If it feels dry and hot, water deeply; if it still feels damp from the premium soil mix, leave it for another day.