Plant Finder

Other Names:  Winter Jasmine, Downy Jasmine

Description:

A beautiful evergreen shrub with spreading stems that may twine on surrounding plants for support; incredible display of small, star-shaped flowers with a mild fragrance; may be allowed to climb, or trained as a shrub

Ornamental Features

Star Jasmine is covered in stunning clusters of lightly-scented white star-shaped flowers held atop the branches from late fall to early spring, which emerge from distinctive dark red flower buds. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive small oval pinnately compound leaves remain forest green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Star Jasmine is a dense multi-stemmed annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Star Jasmine is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Star Jasmine will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. As a climbing vine, it should either be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This species is not originally from North America.

Star Jasmine is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.