Shrub · Oleaceae
Common Jasmine
Jasminum officinale
Under warm sun on a stout frame, the slender twining stems of common jasmine drape the summer in white, scented flowers.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 7–10
20–40 ft · 6.1–12.2 m
Overview
Common jasmine is a fast, twining shrub whose slender stems wind up any support and carry sprays of small white flowers from summer into fall. It sits in the olive family and climbs hard once settled, lifting its fragrant bloom well over head height where winters stay mild. Train those stems across a wall or trellis and the bare framework disappears under a sheet of leaf and flower.
This is the true jasmine, the one whose scent perfumers and tea makers prize, and it should not be mistaken for the toxic plants that borrow the name. Outdoors it settles into zones 7 to 10, and where the cold bites harder it makes a fine container plant carried inside for winter. Whichever way you grow it, the plant wants bright light and a frame to twine through.
It rewards patience more than constant attention. Hold steady moisture through the growing season, prune at the right moment, and feed it across spring and summer, and the slim stems load up with white buds that open into months of evening fragrance. Deny it a support or starve it of light and you get a snarl of leaves with barely a flower among them.
Care
The short version: bright sun (light shade is tolerated) with a frame for the stems to twine up, soil held damp while growth is active, a monthly feed over spring and summer, and shears taken to it only once the white flowers have faded.
Light
The flowers come thickest in full sun, though the plant takes partial shade and gets by on bright indirect light indoors. More direct sun on the stems means a heavier load of bloom, so hand it the brightest spot you have.
Water
Hold the soil moist through the growing season, watering every 5 to 10 days as the surface dries. An established plant shrugs off a short dry spell, but steady moisture is what fills the stems with flower. Ease back through the winter rest from October to March.
Soil
Set it into moist, fertile, well-drained loam with a good helping of organic matter dug through. It stays relaxed about acidity, taking a pH anywhere from 6.0 to 7.5.
Temperature
It takes a broad swing, from a hard 5°F (-15°C) at the cold end up to 100°F (38°C) in summer heat. That cold tolerance is what keeps the stems alive outdoors through zones 7 to 10.
Humidity
Outdoors it isn't particular, but indoors the foliage wants high humidity, ideally 50% or more. Dry household air is exactly what brings the spider mites out, so a humid corner keeps the leaves in better shape.
Feeding
Feed it monthly through spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer. Move to one higher in phosphorus when you want more flowers on the stems, and stop feeding once growth slows for winter.
Pruning
Cut right after flowering, never before, because the flowers form on old wood and an early cut carries the buds off with it. The plant takes hard pruning well, so shorten the stems firmly to hold its size and shape. Indoors it needs that hard cut along with a trellis for the stems to grip.
Repotting
For container plants, move it up every 1 to 2 years in spring. Watch for roots circling the pot or pushing out the drainage holes, water running straight through, and growth that has slowed, all signs the stems are ready for a wider home.
Size & spacing
Given room and time, the stems run 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) tall and spread 7 to 15 feet (2.1 to 4.6 m) across. Plan for a strong frame and real space, because this is a vigorous climber, not a tidy little shrub.
When to plant
Common jasmine lives on the warm half of the year. Set young plants out in spring once the last frost has passed, let the stems climb and clothe their support through the warm months, and the fragrant white flowers open from summer into fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring, after the last frost
- Harvest: summer into fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–10
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Most jasmine trouble comes down to a pest settling in or a plant that refuses to flower. Each shows itself plainly once you know the look of it, and each can be put right. Match what you see below, then act before it sets the plant back.
Tacky shoot tips and twisted new leaves crowded with soft-bodied insects
Those crowded shoot tips are being drained by aphids or mealybugs, soft little feeders that gather on the youngest growth and weep a sticky honeydew that turns the leaves black with sooty mold. Knock a light cluster loose with a hard spray of water, then wet whatever clings on with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. The mealybugs tucked into the leaf joints look like specks of white cotton, and a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol lifts them away; come back once a week and they thin out for good.
Fix:
- Spray off light infestations with a strong stream of water
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to coat the pests
- Dab mealybugs with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol
- Repeat treatment weekly until controlled
Pinprick-yellow leaves laced with webbing or studded with waxy lumps
Warm, dry indoor air draws spider mites that pepper the leaves with tiny pale dots, while scale and whitefly turn up as hard little bumps along the stems or a puff of pale fliers. Lift the humidity and rinse the foliage to set the mites back, then wet the leaf undersides thoroughly with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap. The crusty scale scrapes off under an alcohol-dipped swab, and a few return visits finish what's left.
Fix:
- Raise humidity and rinse foliage to discourage spider mites
- Apply horticultural oil or insecticidal soap, coating leaf undersides
- Scrape or wipe off scale with alcohol-dipped swabs
- Repeat applications as directed until pests are gone
Plenty of green leaves and hardly a single white flower
When the pinnate leaves look thick and healthy yet no white buds appear, the trouble usually traces to too little light, badly timed pruning, or too much nitrogen. The flowers form on old wood, so a cut made before bloom takes off the very stems that were carrying the buds. Shift the plant somewhere brighter and warmer, hold off the shears until after it flowers, and feed it something higher in phosphorus to coax the buds back out.
Fix:
- Move the plant to a brighter, warmer location with plenty of direct light
- Prune only after flowering to preserve old growth that carries blooms
- Switch to a fertilizer higher in phosphorus and lower in nitrogen
Toxicity
Nothing in these leaves, stems, or starry white blooms carries a toxin: true jasmine is safe. Jasminum species appear on the ASPCA's non-toxic list for dogs, cats, and horses alike, so the vine can climb wherever children and pets wander. What matters is knowing the plant in front of you, because poisonous impostors like Carolina jessamine trade on the jasmine name, so check the botanical name on the label before the plant comes home.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
The ASPCA keeps true jasmine on its safe list, so a cat that gnaws a leaf or paws at the small white flowers has nothing to worry about.
Dogs None
A dog can push through the twining stems or chew a loose vine without coming to harm, because no part of true jasmine carries a toxin for them.
Horses None
This plant brings no harm to horses. The ASPCA clears true jasmine for them right alongside cats and dogs.
Rabbits Safe
A rabbit nibbling the leaves runs no toxic risk from true jasmine, though tender green foliage like this is always best offered in moderation.
Livestock Safe
Goats, sheep, and cattle that reach the climbing stems won't be poisoned by true jasmine.
Birds Safe
Birds face no chemical danger from the plant, whether they settle among the twining stems or peck at the open flowers.
People Safe
For people there is nothing toxic in any part of it. The scented flowers are even steeped into tea, so a home with children can sit easy around it.
Safe around pets and children. Be sure the plant is a true Jasminum and not a toxic look-alike such as Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), which is highly poisonous.
Varieties
Common jasmine turns up in a few named forms, and several of its relatives travel under the jasmine name as well. These are the ones worth being able to tell apart.
'Affine' (also sold as 'Grandiflorum')
Its flowers are larger than the species and often pink-flushed while still in bud, and the scent they give off is especially strong.
'Fiona Sunrise' ('Frojas')
Golden-chartreuse foliage frames the fragrant white flowers, throwing a far brighter cast than the plain green species.
'Inverleith'
Red flushes the buds and carries on into the open flowers, lending it more color than the white-flowered forms.
Jasminum sambac (Arabian jasmine)
This tender cousin shows rounded leaves and gives the flowers used for jasmine tea, but it has no cold hardiness.
Jasminum nudiflorum (winter jasmine)
Yellow flowers open along bare green stems in late winter, though they arrive with no scent at all.
Jasminum polyanthum (pink jasmine)
A houseplant favorite whose pink buds unfurl into very fragrant white flowers.
How to propagate
Common jasmine is simple to multiply, whether you root a summer cutting or peg one of its low stems against the soil and let it root on its own.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer, from semi-ripe current-season growth · 4-8 weeks to root
In summer, cut semi-ripe lengths from this season's growth, where the stems have firmed but not gone fully woody, dip the cut ends in rooting hormone, and hold them warm and humid. Roots push out in roughly 4 to 8 weeks, though carrying the cuttings to that point asks for a steady hand.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer · A few months to one season
Layering is the simple path. Bend a low, supple stem down and pin it against the soil in spring or summer so it roots while the parent still feeds it, then sever it once it has anchored, usually inside a few months to a full season.
Myths
Everything carrying the jasmine name is one and the same sweet-scented, harmless plant.
Only Jasminum species count as true jasmine, and a handful of toxic plants have taken the name for themselves. Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is poisonous in every part, while star or Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum) and night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum) belong to entirely different plants. Check the botanical name before you trust that a jasmine is harmless.
The white jasmine blossoms hold poison, so animals must never get near them.
That worry comes from mixing it up with its toxic look-alikes. True jasmine, including Jasminum officinale, sits on the ASPCA's non-toxic list for cats, dogs, and horses, which makes it a safe pick around animals.