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Jasmine: Which One You Have, and Getting It to Flower

Half the plants sold as jasmine are not jasmine. How to tell them apart, which are hardy, and the pruning mistake that costs a season of flower.

By Zakaria 5 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
White star-shaped jasmine flowers opening from pink-backed buds on a trailing stem
Photo: John Robert McPherson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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More plants are sold as “jasmine” than are actually jasmine — and the impostors need different care, one of them is seriously poisonous, and the commonest failure is pruning at the wrong moment.

Which one do you have?

True jasmines and the plants sold as jasmine
PlantGenusHardy toScentNotes
Common / poet’sJasminum officinaleZone 7StrongThe classic summer climber, white
Arabian / teaJasminum sambacZone 9IntenseTender. Scents jasmine tea
Winter jasmineJasminum nudiflorumZone 6NoneYellow, on bare stems in midwinter
Star / confederateTrachelospermumZone 8StrongNot a jasmine. Evergreen, shade-tolerant
Asiatic jasmineTrachelospermum asiaticumZone 7SlightGroundcover, rarely flowers
Carolina jasmineGelsemiumZone 7SweetNot a jasmine. Poisonous throughout
Night-bloomingCestrum nocturnumZone 9OverpoweringNot a jasmine. Nightshade family
Madagascar jasmineStephanotisZone 10StrongNot a jasmine. Waxy, florist’s plant

Carolina jasmine is not a jasmine and is genuinely dangerous

Gelsemium sempervirens is the yellow-flowered evergreen climber sold across the American southeast, and every part of it is poisonous — leaves, flowers, roots, and the nectar, which has killed livestock and is toxic to honey bees.

It is a beautiful plant and perfectly reasonable to grow deliberately. It is not a plant to assume is jasmine because the label said so, and not one to put where children graze on things.

The pruning rule, which is the whole article

Summer-flowering true jasmine flowers on last year’s wood. Cut it back in spring and you have removed the entire coming display — this is far and away the most common reason a healthy, vigorous jasmine produces nothing.

When to prune what
PlantFlowers onPrune
Common jasmine (J. officinale)Last year’s woodStraight after flowering
Arabian jasmine (J. sambac)New growthLate winter, lightly
Winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum)Last year’s woodAfter flowering, in spring
Star jasmineCurrent season’s growthAfter flowering, or lightly in spring

The practical version for common jasmine: wait until the last flower has faded, then prune. Take out dead and tangled growth, shorten what flowered, and leave the strong new shoots alone — those are next year’s flowers.

Growing it

What jasmine wants
Sun6+ hours for most. Star jasmine manages part shade
SoilFree-draining, moderately fertile. Not waterlogged
WaterRegular in the first two years, then fairly drought-tolerant
FeedLow nitrogen, higher potassium. A tomato feed works
SupportTwining — needs wires, trellis or a frame. Star jasmine self-clings
ShelterFrom cold drying wind, which browns evergreen foliage

If it is all leaf and no flower, look at the feed

A lush green jasmine covering its support and producing nothing has usually been fed a general-purpose or lawn fertiliser — high nitrogen drives foliage at the expense of buds.

Switch to something potassium-rich, and stop feeding altogether from late summer so the wood ripens before winter.

In a pot

The only realistic way to grow Arabian jasmine anywhere with frost, and a good way to grow any of them on a patio.

  • A large container — 12 inches across minimum — with real drainage
  • Gritty, free-draining compost, not a water-retentive mix
  • An obelisk or small trellis put in at planting
  • More water and more feed than a plant in the ground
  • Indoors before frost for tender types: bright, above 50°F, watered sparingly
  • Repot every two or three years. A slightly tight pot flowers better than a roomy one

A cool winter rest — around 50–60°F — is what triggers bud set in Arabian jasmine. A plant kept in a warm living room all winter often never flowers at all, and this is a far more common cause than any failure of care.

Problems

  • No flowers — pruned in spring, too shady, too much nitrogen, or too young
  • Yellow leaves — over-watering or poor drainage first; then a nitrogen or iron shortage
  • Brown crisp leaf edges — cold wind, or drying out in a pot
  • Sticky leaves and sooty mould — aphids or scale insects
  • Fine webbing indoors — spider mites, which thrive in dry heated air
  • Dieback after a cold winter — normal on zone-marginal plants; cut back to live wood in spring and it usually recovers

Picking one

  • A hardy scented climber, zone 7+ — common jasmine, J. officinale
  • Colder than zone 7 — winter jasmine for flowers on bare stems, accepting no scent
  • A wall in part shade, zone 8+ — star jasmine, easily the best choice
  • Scent indoors, any climate — Arabian jasmine in a pot, with a cool winter
  • Groundcover rather than a climber — Asiatic jasmine, grown for foliage

Common questions

What are the main types of jasmine?

True jasmines are in the genus Jasminum: common or poet's jasmine, Jasminum officinale, hardy to about zone 7; Arabian jasmine, Jasminum sambac, the tea jasmine, tender and needing zone 9 or a pot indoors; and winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum, which is hardy to zone 6 and flowers yellow on bare stems in midwinter but has no scent. Several widely sold plants called jasmine are not in the genus at all, including star jasmine, Carolina jasmine and night-blooming jasmine.

Is star jasmine a real jasmine?

No. Star jasmine is Trachelospermum jasminoides, in the dogbane family, and it is not related to true jasmine despite the scent being similar and often better. It matters practically because the care differs: star jasmine is an evergreen self-clinging climber hardy to about zone 8, tolerates more shade than true jasmine, and flowers on the current season's growth, so it forgives pruning that would cost a Jasminum officinale its whole display.

Why is my jasmine not flowering?

The usual cause is pruning at the wrong time. Summer-flowering true jasmine sets its buds on wood made the previous year, so cutting it back in spring removes the coming season's flowers entirely — prune immediately after flowering instead. The other common causes are too little sun, too much nitrogen producing leaves at the expense of bloom, a plant too young or recently repotted, and for indoor Arabian jasmine, a winter that never got cool enough to trigger bud set.

Is jasmine poisonous?

True jasmine, Jasminum, is not considered toxic and Jasminum sambac flowers are used to scent tea. Two impostors are a different matter. Carolina jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens, is seriously poisonous in every part including the nectar, and has killed livestock. Night-blooming jasmine, Cestrum nocturnum, is in the nightshade family and its berries are toxic. Identify what you actually have before letting children or pets near it.

How much sun does jasmine need?

Full sun to light shade for most, and flowering falls off sharply below about six hours. Common jasmine and Arabian jasmine want the sun; star jasmine is the one that genuinely performs in part shade and is the better choice for a north or east wall. In very hot climates all of them appreciate shade in the afternoon, because scorching sun bleaches the foliage without improving the flowering.

Can jasmine grow in a pot?

Yes, and for Arabian jasmine in any climate with frost it is the only sensible option — a large container, gritty free-draining compost, a support, and a bright spot indoors above about 50°F over winter. Potted jasmine needs more water and more feeding than one in the ground, wants a low-nitrogen feed during the growing season, and should be pruned right after flowering. Repot every two or three years rather than annually, since a slightly tight pot flowers better.

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