OK, for the true jasmines, the only reason to pick off dead flowers is aesthetics -- grand duke doesn't let go of its blooms easily, so it can get kinda ugly if you don't pull 'em off. MOO does the job for you. Both varieties bloom on new growth, so what you can do is clip off the ends of shoots once they're finished blooming, to encourage side shoots and more buds.

Don't know as much about night jasmine, but I'm pretty sure it drops its flowers when they're spent. I think (help me out here if you know, folks) that an inflorescence 'can' produce more flowers after the first ones open, so don't cut them off until you're sure they're all done. Night jasmine is fast growing in full sun and warm temps; cutting back old flowering stems will get you new shoots and buds pretty quick.

Hope this helps, enjoy your jasmines!

Jim

Thank you Jim! Very helpful! Just to make sure I get this right - once the flower falls off the Maid of Orleans, do I just leave the little "setting" that held the flower on the plant, or do I clip it? In this picture: http://www.rareflora.com/jasminemaid.jpg there are flowers and some empty "settings" that had a flower but no longer do... do I leave them alone or cut them?

Sorry if this is a dumb question! I'm still learning!

You can learn even more by doing a search on the forum. There are numerous posts discussing this subject.

I am a forever learner even with all my years of growing. Luckily, I have had opportunities of discovering other fascinating feature concerning jasmine sambac and it cultivars. It takes years of observation to finally realize those amazing qualities about them but hey I am not one that hurries life I just have my fun with it. ;-]

Hi! I have an arabian tea jasmine, after the flowers fall off, I cut that part off, if I don't it usually falls off by itself or withers anyway. If you do cut it off, the plant will be more bushy, but you should get more flowers. Also be careful to not over water them, they hate that. I lost a gelsemium sempervirens (yellow jasmine) when it got overwatered.

Hope this helps! I love the jasmine flowers for fragrance. :)

Regarding the night blooming jasmine, after it flowers I normally just let the flowers dry off on the branch. Sometimes it gives you white fruits that bears seeds. In spring, I trim the plant to encourage new growths that normally blooms about this time of the year.