Here in AZ we call it "Arabian jasmine", and use it as a landscape plant. Here's what I've learned from it:

Indoors, give it lots of light: an east exposure, or a south or west exposure with shade screen or chintz curtains, should be ideal.

Moving it damages the flower buds: find a good spot and just leave it there.

Keep on the watering: if you let your plants tell you to water by wilting, be aware that wilting damages flowerbuds far more than leaves in almost any plant. Feel the soil 1/2 in. down, and water as soon as it feels dryish--BEFORE the plant wilts.

Use a mild fertilizer with a 3-1-2 proportioned formula (18-6-12 or the like): too much phosphate will damage the flower buds. So also will irregular blasts of strong plant foods. Some of the timed release fertilizers are useful that way.

Either water away from the drainage saucer and return after the pot has drained, or empty the saucer within 15 min. of watering: any sodium at all in the tap water--especially softened water--will damage flower buds.

Here's hoping that helps!
Kevin : )

Kevin, I will try some of those tips. Most I follow anyway. The plant stayed in a west facing window with other plants over the winter, but it was moved outside for the spring/summer. It has thrived and grown well, never wilted. Tons of would be blooms. Weird!!!I'll look at my fertilizer. Maybe it would be better in the ground.?!
Thanks for your help.

Theresa

I think something ate your buds -- it looks like each bud was carefully plucked from its housing (don't know what that underlying structure is called, didn't think it was calyxz, but I could be wrong).

I grew this (indoors) for a while a few years ago, never saw anything like this. Since you're growing it outside, I think some creature decided it was delicious -- sorry.

I got an email from someone with the same problem...??? It's still acting the same way. It gets tons of buds, but either a deformed flower with short, tiny petals or none at all....???

Theresa

Theresa that's weird. It appears that the buds have dropped but the calyx continued to develop. Mine sometimes develop dark purple markings on the blooms. I pretty much ignore my sambac jasmines and they bloom for a good part of the year. I give them am to early afternoon sun, water as necessary and feed every 4-6 weeks, or when I think about it. They stay outside during the growing season and in the GH over the winter. They always manage to get mealy bugs over the winter even though they look perfectly clean when I move them.

that other person was me. My moo was fine until Jan of this year when it got this problem as desribed by Theresa.

The new growths looked normal. But when the buds 'bloomed', they looked as if they were immaturely developed, tiny petals and no scent.

I do not know if this will help because the plant I had was a NOID Jasmine.

I received one in a trade and I would get buds that would drop. Someone on another forum suggested I try a pinch of Miracle gro miracid in a gallon of water and use that with every watering, I was told they like acid soil and that would raise the acid level slowly.

It worked.

That is exactly what happened to mine in the past from, get this, "over fertilizing"..fertilizers with too much phosphate will encourage many bud sets, like the bunches you have, and then cause them to abort from too much stress..

I would do a repot into a very open porous mix and in the meantime make sure the roots look healthy, or wash out any fertilizer or salt build up in your containers with good flushes, then feed with a 3.1.2 ratio and use vinegar in your mix..1 capful to a gallon at each watering..

Mike

Careful now, I think above poster meant to say use vinegar in your water, not in your mix as he typed.

PLS. DO NOT USE VINEGAR IN YOUR MIX, NOT A GOOD IDEA.

Mike, pls. slow down & read what you've written. We've all posted in a hurry, but pls. the newbies won't know enough to distinguish btwn what you wrote & what you MEANT to write. I'm sure some poor soul will actually put vinegar in their mix, cause that's what you actually wrote.

How many tea spoons is a capful?
I'll give her a low dose of fertilizer from now on. Thanks Mike!

(Whew, i'm glad someone could diagnose this issue; i was thinking of throwing this poor thing out)

Kemistry. the fertilizer I was told to use is a fert for acid loving plants. If you are going to use the fert use Miracid.

Acid loving?? M.o.O?? here in Pakistan we have our soils (except for the Alpine region) mostly Alkaline reaction with Phosphate deficiency (the agriculture department regularly urges farmers to use phosphate fertilizers).. these plants perform exceptionally well here (all under full sun), they prefer a compact medium like clay (just like the one at river banks), drying out between watering and pruning (new blooms always appear on new shoots), they send long branches which take root where they touch the ground....

Mine are in ground and in pots too, during our mild winters they stop growing and become dormant, haven't watered those in ground since mid of August and both (in pots and ground) are still growing & blooming.. we daily pick flowers for our rooms and cars, the only fertilizer used was composted dairy manure in April and nothing else...

GD prefers afternoon shade and a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer every third week with watering to bloom well, I have it in the pot only, will be planting it in the ground by next spring...

Izhar

I use 1 capful of vinegar per gallon of "water" when I fertilize my acid loving plants..Measuring a capful gave me a teaspoon...My gardenias, citrus, and jasmine thrive this way..It helps them stay green and flower wonderfully by taking up nutrients properly..

I also use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of fertilizer at each watering in my mixes, soilless that is...The mixes I use are very porous..

Maybe you can explain what kind of mix you use to us and you could get advice on how to fertilize from one who does well in that type mix with these plants.?...The key is not to over fertilize, especially with "bloom boosters" which have been know to even kill my plants, let alone cause bud blast.

Mike..:-)

Wow! This thread has taken off...LOL Thanks for all the replies. Right now my MOO jasmine is in potting soil with extra perlite added. I know.... I'm trying to read up and absorb all the info on Al's mixes and getting all the ingredients together. I definitely have to pay more attention to a care regimen. I've tried different things over the three years that I have had the plant, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.
Mike, you might be right about the bloom booster fert.Although used I think only 2x over the summer,that might be the problem. I also used epsom salts in the beginning of the summer and hit it with a systemic about a month ago to bring it in for the winter.

Theresa

Sorry,

1 capful of vinegar equals 1 teaspoon..

Mike