As if to defy December and the ornamental reds of Christmas cactus, poinsettia, holly berries and ‘Yuletide’ camellia, winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum, strings a pastel yellow shower of stars along green stems to welcome the New Year.
Russian native Alexander von Bunge first discovered the scrambling shrub in China in 1833. British botanist Robert Fortune introduced the shrub to England in 1840 after finding specimens in nurseries and gardens in Shanghai.
By the middle of the nineteenth century winter jasmine had spread to North America where it flourished prolifically in the antebellum south. Today winter jasmine is found throughout USDA hardiness zones 6-9.
Portrait of Winter Jasmine
Winter jasmine is in the olive family. Unlike most jasmines, its flower is unscented.
Botanically classified as a deciduous shrub and with a species name, nudiflorum, referring to bare stems, in many parts of the south and under mild winter conditions, winter jasmine remains evergreen or semi-evergreen. Small trifoliate leaves are shiny green and delicate in texture.
From December through February waxy yellow 5-6 lobed flowers an inch in diameter pop-up and line-up along four-sided slender flexible olive green stems. As stems age they turn brown.
Flowers appear or disappear in response to weather conditions. Sunny warm days promote flowering; cold spells reduce flowering. Flowers persist 6-8 weeks at a time with peak flowering occurring in February.
Cultivating Winter Jasmine
British and American gardeners praise winter jasmine’s ease and speed in growing and propagating.
Winter jasmine blooms best in full sun although it tolerates moderate shade. The carefree shrub adapts to any well-drained soil and is often sited in poor soil.
Arching stems propagate themselves wherever they touch ground. This habit can produce a thick impenetrable mass for fencing or privacy. The dense growth inhibits weeds.
Gardeners propagate the shrub by taking stem cutting during the growing season.
Because winter jasmine flowers on last year’s growth, pruning should be delayed until after flowering.
This hardiest of jasmine shrubs is free of serious diseases and insect pests. Spider mites may occur but they can be easily controlled with intense sprays of water or pruning affected stems.
Once established, winter jasmine rarely needs supplemental watering.
Landscape Uses of Winter Jasmine
The sprawling mounding growth habit of winter jasmine suggests its landscape uses. The plant gets 3-4 feet high and can spread 4-6 feet wide so it requires room to grow.
Landscapers use the shrub along eroded slopes, embankments, hillsides, drainage ditches and unmanageable areas. Since it covers ground, it makes an excellent groundcover. The arching stems cascade over fences, garden walls, and retaining walls. If you have a rock ledge or waterfall, consider trying winter jasmine alongside it.
Georgia garden expert Walter Reeves considers winter jasmine as one of the plants to use if landscaping your yard for dogs. He recommends winter jasmine as an interior boundary plant for a dog run along a fence.
Winter jasmine stems can be trained on a trellis. Since the shrub does not have natural twining tendencies with tendrils or thorns, gardeners must to do the work to guide and tame the whiplike stems to conform to the trellis.
Winter Jasmine Cultivars
Several cultivars of winter jasmine are available.
- ‘Aureum’ – with yellow blotched leaves
- ‘Mystique’ – with silver and white leaf margins
- ‘Nanum’ – compact slow-growing shrub
- ‘Variegatum’ –grey-green leaf center with white leaf margins
Welcome the hardiest of jasmines, Jasminum nudiflorum, to your home landscape for the New Year.
Sources
- Bender, Steve. “Winter Jasmine – Now in Bloom,” January 5, 2009. The Grumpy Gardener website.
- Cothen, James R. Gardens and Historic Plants of the Antebellum South. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003.
- Kellum, Jo. Southern Sun: A Plant Selection Guide. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 2008.
- Reeves, Walter. “Dogs – Landscaping For” on Walter Reeves website
Arlene Marturano - Arlene Marturano, an educator, consultant, master gardener, and writer advocates gardens as a context and gardening as a tool for ...
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