True Jasmines Full Growing Guide (Plant, Grow, and Care)

For an exquisite perennial climber that produces beautifully scented flowers, jasmine is a classic choice.

In this full growing guide, we will tell you how to plant jasmine and care for it, as well as give you ideas for landscaping, companion planting and more.

Jump to:

• What Are True Jasmines?
• Jasmine Basics
• Where Do Jasmines Grow?
• Why Grow Jasmines?
• Jasmine Landscaping Ideas
• Recommended Jasmine Varieties
• When Do Jasmines Bloom?
• How Long Do Jasmines Bloom?
• When to Plant Jasmines
• Ideal Growing Conditions for Jasmines
• How to Plant Jasmines
• How to Care for Jasmines
• How to Divide and Transplant Jasmines
• Growing Jasmines Indoors
• How to Overwinter Jasmines Indoors
• Recommended Planting Combinations for Jasmine
• Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Jasmines
• Where to Buy Jasmines

What Are True Jasmines?

Starting with the basics, true jasmine plants are those that are part of the Jasminium genus, which is part of the Oleaceae family (the olive family). The genus is comprised of approximately 200 species.

It is important to note that there are some other unrelated plants that also are referred to as “jasmines.” Some examples include:

• Brazilian jasmine: Mandevilla sanderi
• Cape jasmine: Gardenia
• Night-blooming jasmine: Cestrum nocturnum
• Night-flowering jasmine: Nyctanthes arbor-tristis
• Star jasmine, Confederate jasmine: Trachelospermum

Of all of these not-true-jasmine plants, star jasmine is the most popular.

This guide is going to focus specifically on Jasminium. Plants in this genus can be deciduous or evergreen. Many of them are climbers, but others have spreading growth habits.

While jasmines are grown as ornamental plants, it is truly the scent and flavor of the flowers rather than their appearance that is the main attraction.

While eating at Chinese restaurants, you have no doubt started out more than a few meals over your lifetime with a cup of jasmine tea.

Jasmine also is often added as a scent to perfumes, soaps and similar beauty and hygiene products.

Jasmine Basics

Zones:	7-10
Blooming season:	Summer
Expected height:	Up to 15 feet
Soil:	Moist but well-draining
Sun:	Full to partial

Where Do Jasmines Grow?

You will typically find jasmines growing in tropical and subtropical areas. It is native to Africa, Oceania, Australasia and Eurasia. The vast majority of species are native to Southeast and South Asia, with just a single species being native to Europe.

Jasmine is considered to be culturally significant in a number of locations. For example, Damascus is sometimes known as the “City of Jasmine.” Various species of jasmine have been adopted as the national flower in Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines. Traditional Lei Day leis in Hawaii feature a combination of jasmine and ginger flowers.

Why Grow Jasmines?

Here are some of the top benefits of jasmines in your garden:

• A long bloom period. Months of ongoing blooms throughout the growing season add beauty to your garden you can continuously enjoy.
• Dramatic, beautiful flowers. Jasmine blooms may not be all that colorful, but they are abundant.
• Gorgeous fragrance. The true magic of jasmine flowers is in their unmistakeable fragrance. It is a strong scent that can waft across your yard on the breeze, bringing enchantment to every corner of your garden.
• Tons of landscaping possibilities. In the section below, you can check out just a few of the numerous ways you can use this versatile perennial in your garden.
• Few problems. Most of the time, jasmines grow without trouble from pests or diseases.
• Do deer, slugs and snails love to plague your plants? If you plant a jasmine vine, they probably will not eat it.
• Jasmine plants offer tremendous versatility. There are individual types of jasmine you can grow on a trellis or as groundcover.

Jasmine Landscaping Ideas

Since jasmines may be either shrubs or vines, the sky is the limit with what you can do with them in your landscape. Here are a few ideas:

• Trellis: Grow jasmine on a trellis. You can set the trellis against a wall, use a trellis arch, or even put a small trellis near a window indoors.
• Wreath: You can grow jasmine around a wreath form.
• Hedge: Some people like to grow jasmine hedges to line a walkway with beautiful flowers and fragrance.
• Pot: Jasmines can grow well in container gardens, bringing a lot more life to your patio.
• Hanging basket: Along with planting jasmines in pots on the ground, you also can grow them in hanging baskets.
• Indoor garden: While many people like to grow jasmine outdoors, you can also get away with growing it inside your house. In fact, this can be an excellent option if you live in a climate that is not conducive to outdoor jasmines.

Recommended Jasmine Varieties

With around 200 species of jasmines, there are numerous options for bringing these fragrant flowers to your garden. Below, we share some of the different types of jasmine with you.

• Common jasmine: The botanical name for this type of true jasmine is Jasminum officinale. This is the type of jasmine that Pakistan has declared as its state flower. Sometimes it is also called “Poet’s jasmine.” It can reach astonishing heights of up to 30 feet, and produces white flowers with five petals each.
• Winter jasmine: Jasminum nudiflorum grows to 12-15 feet in height, producing sunny yellow flowers. Just as its name suggests, it fills your garden with color and fragrance in wintertime, right when your yard needs it the most. This makes it one of the most popular types of jasmine.
• Arabian jasmine: This is another of the most popular types of jasmine plants, also sometimes called “Sambac jasmine.” This is a reference to its scientific name, Jasminum Sambac. It is native to India and Southeast Asia, growing up to 10 feet tall. If you want to make jasmine tea, this is the type of jasmine you want to have growing out in your garden. It grows best as a shrub.
• Pink jasmine: Don’t want yellow or white flowers? Consider planting pink jasmine, Jasminum polyanthum. This evergreen jasmine plant has pink flowers, and can grow as high as 25 feet. It is native to China. Despite the great height it can reach, it can also be happy living in a container, and can even be grown successfully indoors.
• Royal jasmine: The scientific name for this plant is Jasminum grandiflorum. Reaching heights of 5-8 feet, it is relatively compact compared to some other types of jasmine. It produces particularly large blooms. Their fragrance is muted, however, so most people grow this ornamental jasmine for its looks rather than its scent.
• Primrose jasmine: One option for a jasmine plant that produces bright yellow blooms is Jasminum mesnyi, or the “primrose jasmine.” This type of jasmine plant is an evergreen or semi-evergreen perennial coming from Asia, reaching up to 6 feet in height. It is a good choice if you want a fast-growing, drought-resistant form of jasmine. That said, it is not very cold-hardy, so watch out for that.
• Dwarf jasmine: Need a compact option suitable to a container or a small garden plot? Look no further than Jasminum parkeri. A deciduous form of jasmine, it is native to Southeast Asia and reaches a height of around 12 inches. Other names for this type of jasmine include “Parker jasmine” and “Himalayan jasmine.” The flowers it produces are yellow. Since the fragrance is not very strong, you will want to grow it mainly to admire the visual beauty of the blooms and foliage.
• Downy jasmine: This evergreen form of jasmine has the scientific name Jasminum pubescens. It originates from Asia, and grows to heights of 8-12 feet. It is a fast-growing perennial that produces lovely white flowers with a relatively faint scent.
• Lemon-scented jasmine: This type of jasmine has the scientific name Jasminum azoricum. It is an evergreen vine that is native to Madeira, and grows up to 12 feet tall. Just as the name indicates, these jasmines have a somewhat different fragrance than most with a hint of citrus.
• Forest jasmine: Not a lot of people grow Jasminum abyssinicum, but it is worth considering. Native to Africa, it grows up to 18 feet tall. The vines are thick, and the flowers are white with hints of pink. Just be aware that it can get to be a bit unruly.
• Jasmine Vahl: With the scientific name Jasminum auriculatum, this is a compact form of jasmine that tops out at around just 4-5 feet tall. It comes from Thailand and India, and its flowers smell reminiscent of gardenia.
• Angel wing jasmine: This plant, with the scientific name Jasminum nitidum, hails from Papua New Guinea. It is an evergreen jasmine that grows up to 20 feet tall. Another name it sometimes goes by is “Shining Jasmine.” Even though you can grow it upward as a vine, you also can grow it as a groundcover, making it a versatile option for your garden. The flowers are large and white, but their petals are narrow.
• Stiff jasmine: The scientific name for this type of jasmine is Jasminum volubile. It is an evergreen jasmine that is native to Australia which can reach up to 11 feet in height. It produces large white blooms and black berries.

Remember, plants with names that do not start with “Jasminum” are not true jasmines.

When Do Jasmines Bloom?

Jasmine is mostly a summer-blooming perennial, but it often starts flowering as early as spring and as late as fall.

How Long Do Jasmines Bloom?

Jasmines can bloom continuously through the season with proper care and ideal growing conditions.

When to Plant Jasmines

As with a lot of other perennials, you will have the best luck planting jasmines if you do it in the spring or fall, avoiding extremes in weather. But you can get away with planting it during summer as well sometimes, or even winter, depending on the variety of jasmine you have.

Ideal Growing Conditions for Jasmines

Growing happy jasmines begins with knowing what conditions they thrive in. Below, we review jasmine sun, water and soil requirements.

How Much Sun Do Jasmines Need?

Jasmines enjoy lots of bright sunlight, so planting your jasmines in full sun can work great in a lot of locations. But if you do not have a sunny spot, partial shade is okay as well. And in really hot, bright locations, it can in fact be better to choose a spot which offers some afternoon shade. The leaves will be less yellow.

Direct sunlight is important for indoor, potted jasmines. Between 6-8 hours of sunlight is best for these plants.

What Type of Soil is Right for Jasmines?

Loamy soils are ideal for jasmine plants. If you do not have fertile, well-drained soil, you can amend it for better drainage and nutrition. The pH can be mildly acidic, neutral, or mildly alkaline.

How Much Water Do Jasmines Need?

Jasmine plants require regular watering. Most of the time, weekly watering is sufficient. You will know when your jasmine needs water once the soil starts to dry out.

In especially hot, dry climates, the soil may dry out more quickly, necessitating more frequent watering. You might need to do it every three days, or even every other day.

We should take a moment to discuss humidity. Jasmine plants need air circulation so that they do not rot, but they do not do great in dry conditions.

There are a couple of ways you make conditions more tolerable to your jasmines in case of dryness. One is to make a pebble tray. This is as simple as adding some rocks to a tray and then filling the bottom of it with water. Then, set the pot the jasmine is in on top of the pebbles. The water will make the air around the plant more moist, while the pebbles prevent the water from getting into the bottom of the pot and causing wet feet.

The other thing you can try is spraying the air around the jasmine plant now and again. Just do not overdo it! If you get the leaves too wet too often, rot is a likely outcome.

How to Plant Jasmines

You can propagate jasmines from seeds and cuttings, but when you buy a jasmine for your garden, it will usually be a nursery plant. Let’s talk about how to plant these nursery plants in your garden beds or containers. Then we will dive into propagation techniques for jasmines.

Container Planting

1. To grow jasmine as a container plant, start by picking out a suitable variety. Go with one that is relatively compact so you do not need to worry about sizing up the container later.
2. Jasmine in pots should go in reasonably large containers. Aim for around 16 inches across at a minimum. There should, of course, be drainage holes.
3. Fill the pot partly with fresh potting soil.
4. Carefully remove the jasmine plant from the starter container.
5. Place the root ball in the pot. Before you do, check if it was rootbound. If it was, you may need to carefully spread the roots out a little.
6. Backfill the soil.
7. Pick a spot for the container, and set up a trellis so your vine has something to climb.
8. Water well.
9. Consider adding some mulch to the top of the pot, but not too close to the stem of the plant.

Water extra while your potted jasmine is establishing, and do not forget that container plants dry out more quickly than those in flower beds.

Ground Planting

1. Pick a sheltered spot that meets jasmine’s sun and soil requirements.
2. Prepare your soil if necessary. Organic material can offer more richness when soil conditions are poor, and can also improve drainage. It is important that water not pool where you plant your jasmine.
3. If you need to push a trellis or other support structure into the ground, do it now. Do not wait until the plant is already in the ground, or you might harm the roots.
4. Dig a hole for the jasmine plant.
5. Carefully remove the jasmine plant from the nursery pot. If the roots are tightly bound, loosen them a little.
6. Put the plant in the ground and backfill the soil.
7. Water well.

Water your jasmine extra while it is establishing.

Starting Jasmines from Seed

The exact steps for starting jasmines from seeds may vary depending on the variety of jasmine you want to grow, but here are the basic steps.

1. First, either buy or collect the seeds.
2. Soak the seeds for a night. They need to be softened.
3. Obtain planting cells or small containers with drainage holes.
4. Fill the containers with seed starting mix. A good mixture is 1:1:1 perlite, coconut coir, and sand.
5. Gently press the seeds into the seed starting mix. They should not go far down, but you should cover them with a thin layer.
6. With a spray bottle, mist the soil.
7. Cover the tops of the containers so that you lock in the moisture.
8. Find a sunny spot for the containers. They will need a minimum of 8 hours of direct sun daily. The temperature should be close to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, you can supplement the heat/light using a heating mat and grow lights.
9. Check on the jasmine seeds regularly, lifting up the covers on your containers to make sure the soil is still moist. Spray it when it starts to feel dry.
10. The germination period should be 2-4 weeks. After the seeds sprout, take off the lids from your containers and continue to provide water while they grow.
11. When they are ready to be transplanted, you can put them in your garden beds or larger containers.

If you are keeping them indoors, at this point, your work is done. If they are going outdoors, you need to harden them before you transplant them.

Starting Jasmines from Cuttings

While starting jasmines from seeds is one way to propagate them and save money, growing them from cuttings is another popular method.

1. In fall, sanitize some shears and take your cuttings. The length of the cuttings should be about 6 inches, and you should make your cuts right under leaf nodes.
2. Leave the top set of leaves in place, but pinch off the rest.
3. Get a container with drainage holes, and fill it with sand and coconut coir in a 1:1 mixture.
4. Mist the potting mix with a spray bottle.
5. Before you can plant your cuttings, you need to carefully remove the bark from the bottoms. You only need to take off about half an inch.
6. Dip the jasmine cuttings into rooting hormone.
7. Push the cuttings down into the potting mix. Make sure that each of them has several inches of space.
8. Cover the cuttings to trap moisture. If you are using a bag, prop it so the cuttings do not make contact with the side.
9. Choose a location for the cuttings that is between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit. They should receive indirect sun.
10. Keep checking on your cuttings. Water them with the spray bottle when necessary. Wait for them to root.
11. Within about a month, your cuttings should be rooting. But you will want to take a couple more weeks before you transplant them so they have more time to develop their roots. You can uncover them during those additional weeks, but you should keep the soil moist.
12. If you will be planting them outside, harden them first. Transplant them in their permanent homes, and watch them grow!

How to Care for Jasmines

Now that you are ready to plant your jasmines, it is time to read up on jasmine care. Let’s discuss fertilizing, mulching, disease and pest control, and more.

How to Fertilize Jasmines

Exactly how much fertilizing jasmine needs depends on the type you have. But to give you an example, let’s consider sambac jasmines. Almost Eden Plants recommends, “A combination of periodic liquid fertilizing and a good quality balanced slow release fertilizer ( like Scotts Osmocote® 14-14-14 which is what we use ) will help to achieve [rich conditions]. A good rule of thumb is to apply about one tablespoon of a fertilize similar to Osmocote 14-14-14 to the soil’s surface about once every 3 months at the start of and during the growing season. You generally want to stop fertilizing about 6-8 weeks before the first average frost date for plants that are grown in the ground as this can push late tender new growth that can get frost or freeze damaged.”

Make sure you look up the type of jasmine you are growing for the best recommendations. Consider the impact of your soil type as well. Jasmines grown in poor soil may need more fertilizing than jasmines grown in rich soil.

How to Mulch Jasmines

Jasmines do like a thick layer of mulch. Not only can it help preserve soil moisture, but it also will provide additional nourishment. Make sure it is not too close to the base of the plant, so that you prevent rot.

How to Stake Jasmines

As we discussed in the planting section, jasmine vines need a trellis or something else to climb on. But what about jasmine shrubs?

Generally speaking, no, a jasmine shrub should not need staking, regardless of how you plan to grow it. If you want to train it against a wall, you can. But the support from a wall is optional. You can also simply grow it as a hedge, or you can encourage it to spread across the ground if that is what you prefer.

How to Prune Jasmines

It is smart to prune your jasmines yearly. When to do this depends on the type of jasmine. There are some types you should prune in summer or fall after they finish blooming, and others that you should prune in spring. Check the instructions for your specific jasmine variety so you are pruning properly.

How to Deadhead Jasmines

As with many other perennials, you can deadhead jasmine if you want to encourage your plant to produce fresh blossoms. Do this diligently throughout the season and you will enjoy blooms for months.

Deadheading jasmine plants also stops them from going to seed, and as with general pruning, it may contribute to a tidier appearance.

How to Divide and Transplant Jasmines

Wondering how to divide and transplant jasmines? If you are growing jasmine vines, the answer is, “Don’t.”

Horticulture technician Carol Wilder explains, “These plants grow as vines and cannot be divided. The original stem is now more trunk-like and would not withstand division.”

For that reason, it is very important to plant your jasmine vine in a location where you will be happy with it, and to prune it to a size you like. You are not going to have the option of dividing it to make it smaller later.

What if it is a container vine, and it is outgrowing its pot? Either size up the pot, or try to “gently root prune it,” as recommended by Wilder.

Growing Jasmines Indoors

Jasmines can be grown as indoor plants. In fact, indoor gardening of jasmines makes sense in climates where jasmines may not thrive outside year-round.

When planting indoor jasmine, use a well-draining pot and porous soil that holds in moisture, but does not get soggy. Mixing peat or bark into the soil can help.

Find a location in your home where the jasmine can get sunlight, such as a south-facing window. Set up a trellis there so the jasmine has something to climb. Be sure that the spot does not get to be too hot; the ideal temperature range is 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is very important that indoor jasmines receive sufficient air circulation to prevent rot (see our section on pests and diseases).

How to Overwinter Jasmines Indoors

If you want, you can grow jasmine outdoors in containers, but bring it in for the winter if your climate gets too cold.

Check to see if the variety of jasmine you have is winter-hardy in your climate zone. If it is, this may be unnecessary. In fact, the plant may be better off in your garden bed where it has more insulation than leaving it outdoors in a container year-round.

But if the type of jasmine you bought is not winter-hardy for your region, you will need to bring it in once nighttime lows start dropping under 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Are Jasmines Vulnerable to Diseases or Pests?

You will be happy to find that jasmine plants rarely come down with pest or disease problems.

Jasmine diseases may include rust, wilt and blight. Prevention of these problems is easy. Just make sure that your jasmine vines get sufficient air circulation. Also, try to water them near the ground.

Spider mites, white flies, soft scales, mealybugs and other common insect pests sometimes afflict jasmines—both outdoors and indoors.

We have seen jasmine on multiple lists of slug-resistant plants, so that is good news—the slugs and snails in your garden hopefully will leave your jasmines alone.

Just as exciting is the fact that jasmine is a deer-resistant plant!

Recommended Planting Combinations for Jasmine

Here are some ideas for what to plant with your jasmines:

• Clematis: Like jasmine, clematis is a climber. The blooms have a very different appearance to those of jasmine, offering a nice contrast, and the growing conditions these plants like are similar. Check out our Clematis Flowers Full Growing Guide.
• Bananas: If you are planting jasmine in a hot tropical location, you might want to do it next to some bananas. They will offer it some shade, and it can provide you with mulch for the jasmine.
• Like jasmine, hibiscus is a flower that flourishes in warm, tropical climates. Hibiscus flowers come in many colors, but the classic pink ones can make for a bold contrast with white jasmine blooms.

Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Jasmines

Where to Buy Jasmines

If you are ready to fill your perennial garden with the lovely perfume of jasmine blossoms, you can click below to shop jasmine cultivars online now.