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.

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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

How to grow jasmine - star jasmine growing up a brick wall
How to grow jasmine - star jasmine growing up a brick wall

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.

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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

Jasmine growing up a support post
Jasmine growing up a support post

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:


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

Jasmine 'Sunbeam'
Jasmine 'Sunbeam'
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  • 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

Frequently asked questions

Help! My jasmine leaves are turning brown!

Some jasmine varieties, particularly star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) suffer in frost and their leaves can turn brown and fall off. They should recover as temperatures increase. To prevent this from happening, make sure your jasmine is planted in a sheltered spot, away from cold winds, or cover with horticultural fleece when frost is forecast. 

Can I grow star jasmine in a container?

Star jasmine can be grown in a container. Choose a pot with a diameter of at least 45cm and add a crock at the bottom to stop compost falling out of the drainage hole. Part fill with a loam-based compost such as John Innes Number 3 and plant your jasmine at the same depth it was in its previous pot. Star jasmine needs a structure to climb up, so make sure you can train it up a wire frame or trellis fixed to a wall or fence next to the pot, or up an obelisk positioned in the pot itself.

Which jasmines are hardy all year round?

Common jasmine (Jasminum officinale) and winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) are hardy, so can be grown outside all year round. Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is hardy throughout most of the UK but may need winter protection. Tender jasmines, such as many-flowered jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) are best grown as a house or conservatory plant, where they can be moved outdoors in summer but taken in again when temperatures fall in autumn.

Should I train my jasmine up a trellis or wires?

Jasmines can be trained up trellis or tensioned wires fixed vertically or horizontally, or both. One fitted, tensioned wires last longer than trellis and need virtually no maintenance, except occasional tightening. What's more, it's easy to extend the framework as and when you need to. Fit them using zinc-plated vine-eyes so the wires are held away from the wall or fence, for ventilation. Wooden trellis can rot after a few years and are difficult to maintain once the plants have started growing up them.

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