Chinese jasmine is one of the vines with scented flowers most appreciated by gardening enthusiasts, since it is not a demanding plant in its care and, instead, it contributes a lot to any space with the beautiful green of its leaves and the white coverage that its flowers form in the flowering season, very fragrant, too.
If you want to learn how to care for a Chinese jasmine in a pot or outdoors , join us in this article where you will see a practical and complete gardening guide on the care of Chinese jasmine .
Characteristics of Chinese jasmine
It is commonly called Chinese jasmine, winter jasmine or climbing jasmine , although its scientific name is Jasminum polyanthum . It is a climbing plant native to China and Burma, as its common name suggests, and it is evergreen. When grown as a climbing plant , it can reach heights of up to 6 meters if you have the right support, which is why it is widely used in pergolas and walls.
This type of jasmine gives rise to a large number of pink buds, which later form white flowers with five petals, in the shape of a star. Its flowering is early, between late winter and early spring, and it is not a species with invasive roots, so it can be grown together with other plants without any problem.
Location and light for Chinese jasmine
Winter jasmine can be grown both in soil and in a pot, although, as with most climbers, it is usual to find an outdoor location for it . The plant does well in areas of direct sunlight or semi-shade , but it will not grow adequately in an area where the sun never reaches or does not do so very little. Regarding the climate, it is a plant that can withstand occasional mild frosts, which is why it has a certain resistance to cold, but it does not tolerate genuinely low temperatures for long periods.
If you want to know how to guide a Chinese jasmine , it follows most of the rules of any other climber, and it will not be difficult to climb any suitable surface on which it has some support. However, if you find it difficult, provide guides or sticks next to its stems so that it can support and grow.
Soil for Chinese jasmine
The soil is not one of the most important cares for this plant, and the only really important thing with it is that it has good drainage . Winter jasmine does not tolerate excess moisture in its roots, so a clay soil or that tends to puddle will end up killing the plant or not allowing it to develop well.
Find an area where to put your jasmine plant in the garden that does not retain irrigation or rain water and, if you are clear about the location in which you want to plant it, you can prepare a good hole for it with a suitable soil mixture . The coconut fiber mixed with equal parts peat results in a very light and very draining, very suitable substrate. If you also enrich it with worm castings or some other organic fertilizer, your plant will develop better initially.
Watering the Chinese jasmine
This is the key point in winter jasmine care . Their roots rot if you water too often, so you need to wait until the soil or substrate has dried beyond the top layer before watering again. This tends to happen every other day in warm months and up to once a week in cold months. Logically, these are guide times for watering Chinese jasmine , and they depend on the climate and soil of each area. In fact, outdoors and when it rains, it is better not to water during the cold months.
If you have your Chinese jasmine in a pot , do not put a plate on the plant underneath or, if you do, empty it about ten minutes after you have watered.
Chinese jasmine pruning
Chinese jasmine does not need intense pruning and, unless you want to keep it reduced to certain dimensions, you only need to do regular maintenance to remove dry or damaged parts, as well as branches that grow in a way that interferes with others. You can prune it at any time except during the flowering season.
How to reproduce Chinese jasmine
Chinese jasmine reproduces very easily both by suckers and cuttings.
- The suckers are taken from the mother plant in spring, and can be transplanted to the new location.
- The cuttings should be made at the end of summer, being advisable to choose branches that are half lignified, where the wood is not yet completely hard.
How to transplant Chinese jasmine
If you have grown your Chinese jasmine in a pot and you think that the time has come to take it outside, the best time to transplant it in the spring , paying special attention to the fact that the risk of frost in your area no longer exists.
If you want to continue keeping it in a pot but your plant needs a larger container, it is recommended to transplant it also during the spring, although if it is going to be indoors you have a longer working period.
Chinese jasmine diseases
The Chinese jasmine is not particularly sensitive to any special pests, being sometimes attacked by the most common ones, such as the mealybug or the aphid . In any of these cases, pay attention to the leaves and their underside, and treat them as soon as possible with ecological remedies, such as Neem oil or potassium soap , which will not damage the plant and will end the plague.
