Jasmines are evergreen or deciduous climbers with twining stems. They can be summer or winter flowering, with flowers that are white, yellow and occasionally red and pink.
All jasmines have small star-shaped flowers with a sweet and distinctive fragrance. Some are tender and only suitable for growing in a conservatory or greenhouse but the hardier varieties are perfect for greening up a wall or fence, provided they have wires to support them. Plant jasmine somewhere sunny, warm and sheltered, preferably near a seating area to enjoy the scent of the flowers.
How to grow jasmine
Grow jasmines in moist but well-drained soil in full sun, up a sturdy support such as a trellis or wires. Feed weekly with a high potash fertiliser in summer and mulch in autumn with well-rotted manure or leaf mould. Cut back after flowering.
More on growing jasmines:
Where to grow jasmine
For best results, grow jasmine near a wall or fence in moist but well-drained soil in a sheltered, sunny, site. Many varieties will tolerate shade, but they do best in full sun.
You can also grow jasmines in large pots.
Here, Monty plants a jasmine to increase fragrance to a seating area at Longmeadow:
How to plant jasmine
Dig a planting hole and add well-rotted manure or compost to the bottom. On heavy soils, add grit to aid drainage. Provide support using an angled cane, which should be pointing in the direction of wires or a trellis for later growth.
Watch Monty’s video, below, to find out how to repot a jasmine:
Caring for jasmine
Summer- and winter-flowering jasmines should be pruned after flowering. Watch Alan Titchmarsh’s video where he shows how to prune and train jasmine after it has finished flowering. Both types of jasmine can be pruned back hard if they have outgrown their original planting spot. Look out for vigorous new growth to train into your desired shape and space. Plants will take a few years to start flowering again.
Feed weekly with a high-potash fertilise in summer, tying in young shoots to their support as and when you need to. In autumn it’s a good idea to mulch around the base of the plant with well-rotted manure, compost or leaf mould.
You will need:
- High potash fertiliser – buy from Thompson & Morgan, Van Meuwen and Amazon
- Trellis – buy from Thompson & Morgan and Amazon
- Wire packs for climbing plants – buy from Amazon
How to propagate jasmine
Jasmines can be propagated by layering or from cuttings. Outdoor varieties are best propagated from hardwood cuttings taken in winter, but tender and glasshouse varieties do best from softwood or semi-ripe cuttings taken in spring or summer.
Growing jasmine: problem-solving
Jasmines are easy to grow with no serious pest and disease problems. Indoor grown plants may be prone to greenhouse pests like mealybug and red spider mite, and look out for aphids on outdoor plants.
Quick Tips video: Why won’t my jasmine flower?
Advice for buying jasmine
- Make sure you choose the right jasmine for your growing space. Check its height, spread and hardiness before buying
- Make sure your jasmine has healthy leaves and flower buds before buying/when it arrives
Where to buy jasmines online
Jasmine varieties to grow
- Jasminum ‘Argenteovariegatum’ – with long, twining stems of variegated leaves in green, pink and cream, and white summer flowers. A fast grower, it’s ideal for covering a large south or west-facing wall
- Buy Jasminum ‘Argenteovariegatum’ from Amazon
- Jasminum ‘Sunbeam’ – a new variety with golden leaves, that are at their brightest in full sun. The fragrant white flowers appear from June to August. ‘Sunbeam’ grows quickly, and is ideal for covering a large south or west-facing wall
- Buy Jasminum ‘Sunbeam’ from Amazon
- Jasminum angulare – an evergreen climber with white flowers appearing between July and November. A South African native, it’s half-hardy, and needs overwintering indoors in frost-prone areas
- Buy Jasminum angulare from Fibrex
- Jasminum x stephanense – with pale pink flowers in June and July, this is a vigorous, deciduous climber. It will cope with partial shade as long as the soil is well-drained
- Buy Jasminum x stephanense from Thompson & Morgan and Crocus
- Jasminum beesianum – a vigorous, semi-evergreen climber, with red-pink flowers in summer. It’s frost hardy, but may suffer in harsh winters. Choose a sheltered to enjoy the fragrance. Remove old and overcrowded shoots after flowering
- Buy Jasminum beesianum from Thompson & Morgan and Crocus
- Trachelospermum jasminoides – the classic star jasmine is a woody, evergreen climber with rich, dark green leaves which turn bronze in winter. The scented white flowers appear from mid- to late summer
- Buy Trachelospermum jasminoides from Thompson & Morgan and Crocus
