Shrub · Oleaceae
Common Jasmine
Jasminum officinale
Offer it sun, warmth, and a sturdy support, and common jasmine will fill your summer evenings with scent.
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 loved for the sweet white flowers it sends out from summer into fall. A member of the olive family, it climbs eagerly once it settles in and rises well above head height where winters stay mild. Trained along a wall or trellis, it transforms a plain support into a curtain of fragrant bloom, and it's a far gentler plant to grow than its lush looks suggest.
This is the true jasmine, the very one perfumers and tea makers treasure for its scent, and it should never be mistaken for the toxic plants that share the name. Outdoors it feels right at home in zones 7 to 10, and where the cold bites harder it makes a lovely container plant you can bring inside for winter. Whichever way you grow it, the wishes are simple: bright light and something to climb.
What it really wants is a little patience, not constant fussing, so don't worry about getting everything perfect. Keep it steadily moist through the growing season, prune at the right moment, and feed it across spring and summer, and it pays you back with months of evening fragrance. Even if you forget the support or leave it short on light, the worst you'll get is a leafy tangle with few flowers, and that's easily put right.
Care
The short version: give it full sun to part shade with something to climb, keep the soil moist through the growing season, offer a monthly feed in spring and summer, and prune right after the flowers fade. None of it is demanding, and small slips are easy to recover from.
Light
Common jasmine blooms most generously in full sun, yet it happily accepts partial shade and gets along on bright indirect light indoors. More direct light means more flowers, so when you can, give it the sunniest spot in the house or garden.
Water
Keep the soil moist through the growing season, watering every 5 to 10 days as the top dries out. Established plants brush off a little drought, but steady moisture brings the best flowering, so don't stress over the occasional missed day. Ease right back through the winter rest from October to March.
Soil
Settle it into moist, fertile, well-drained loam with plenty of organic matter mixed in. It's relaxed about acidity and will take a pH anywhere from 6.0 to 7.5, which gives you comfortable room to work with.
Temperature
It copes with a wide span, holding up from a hard 5°F (-15°C) at the cold end to 100°F (38°C) in high summer. That generous cold tolerance is exactly what lets it live outdoors through zones 7 to 10.
Humidity
Outdoors it isn't picky at all, but indoors it prefers high humidity, ideally 50% or more. Dry household air is what tempts spider mites in, so a humid corner keeps your plant content and trouble-free.
Feeding
Feed it monthly through spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer. If you'd like a fuller show of flowers, switch to one higher in phosphorus, and simply stop feeding once growth slows for winter.
Pruning
Always prune right after flowering and never before, because jasmine blooms on old wood and early cuts carry the buds off with them. The good news is it takes hard pruning in stride, so you can cut it back firmly to keep its size and shape in check. Indoor plants appreciate that hard pruning plus a trellis to climb.
Repotting
For container plants, repot every 1 to 2 years in spring. Keep an eye out for roots circling the pot or poking through the drainage holes, water rushing straight through, and growth slowing down, all friendly hints that it's ready for a bigger home.
Size & spacing
With room and time, it can reach 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) tall and spread 7 to 15 feet (2.1 to 4.6 m) wide. Plan ahead for a strong support and plenty of space, since this is an enthusiastic climber rather than a tidy little shrub.
When to plant
Common jasmine lives by the warm half of the year, so let the seasons guide you. Set young plants out in spring once the last frost has passed, let them climb and fill out through the warm months, and the fragrant flowers will arrive 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
Almost every jasmine hiccup comes down to one of two things: a pest settling in, or a plant that won't flower. Both reveal themselves clearly once you know the signs, and happily, both are fixable. Match what you're seeing below, then step in early so the plant bounces back quickly.
Sticky tips and twisted new leaves dotted with tiny soft bugs
Take heart, because this is a common, very fixable problem: aphids or mealybugs are feeding on the soft new tips and leaving behind sticky honeydew that later attracts sooty mold. Start gently by knocking a light infestation off with a firm spray of water, then coat anything left with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. The mealybugs tucked into leaf joints come away with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, and a weekly repeat clears the rest.
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
Speckled yellow leaves with delicate webbing or waxy bumps
Warm, dry indoor air gives spider mites an opening, and scale and whitefly turn up as crusty bumps or little clouds of fliers. None of it is hard to reverse. Lift the humidity and rinse the leaves to set the mites back, then treat the undersides with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap. Scale lifts off with an alcohol-dipped swab, and a few patient rounds will see the plant cleared.
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 healthy leaves, yet hardly a flower
If the leaves look wonderful but the blooms stay away, the reason is almost always too little light, badly timed pruning, or too much nitrogen, and every one of those is easy to correct. Jasmine sets its buds on old wood, so cutting before it blooms quietly removes the very growth that would have flowered. Give it a brighter, warmer spot, hold off on pruning until after it flowers, and switch to a feed higher in phosphorus, and the flowers will return.
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
Here's the reassuring part: true jasmine is safe. The ASPCA lists Jasminum species as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, so you can plant it freely where pets and children play. The only thing to double-check is identity, since toxic look-alikes such as Carolina jessamine borrow the jasmine name, so confirm the botanical name before you buy and you're set.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Because true jasmine sits on the ASPCA's safe list, a curious cat that chews a leaf or swats at the flowers has nothing to worry about.
Dogs None
Your dog can push past the vines or nibble a stray stem and stay perfectly fine, since no part of true jasmine is poisonous to them.
Horses None
Horses take no harm from this plant at all. The ASPCA clears true jasmine for them right alongside cats and dogs.
Rabbits Safe
A rabbit that tastes a bit of the foliage runs no toxic risk from true jasmine, though it's always kind to offer rich greens in moderation.
Livestock Safe
Grazing animals like goats, sheep, and cattle will not be poisoned by true jasmine even if they reach the vine, so you can relax about it.
Birds Safe
There's no chemical danger to birds here, whether they perch among the climbing stems or pick at the open blooms.
People Safe
Nothing about this plant is toxic to people. Its fragrant flowers are even used to scent tea, so a household with children can feel at ease 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 comes in a few named forms, and several of its relatives are sold under the jasmine name as well. These are the ones worth learning to tell apart, and it's easier than it sounds.
'Affine' (also sold as 'Grandiflorum')
You get larger flowers that often show a pink flush in bud, along with a fragrance that's especially strong.
'Fiona Sunrise' ('Frojas')
Its golden-chartreuse leaves frame the fragrant white flowers and give it a brighter look than the plain species.
'Inverleith'
Here the buds and the open flowers both carry a strong red flush, lending more color than you'll see on the white-flowered forms.
Jasminum sambac (Arabian jasmine)
This tender cousin has rounded leaves and provides the flowers for jasmine tea, but it can't take the cold.
Jasminum nudiflorum (winter jasmine)
It brightens late winter with yellow flowers on bare green stems, though you won't find any scent in them.
Jasminum polyanthum (pink jasmine)
A much-loved houseplant jasmine whose pink buds open into very fragrant white flowers.
How to propagate
Common jasmine is a forgiving plant to multiply, so don't be shy about trying. You can root a summer cutting or simply peg a low stem down to the soil and let it root all on its own.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer, from semi-ripe current-season growth · 4-8 weeks to root
In summer, take semi-ripe cuttings from this season's growth, dip the cut ends in rooting hormone, and keep them warm and humid while they settle in. Roots usually appear in around 4 to 8 weeks, and while this route asks for a little care, it's very doable.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer · A few months to one season
If you'd like the gentlest method, try layering. Pin a low, flexible stem to the soil in spring or summer and let it root while the parent still feeds it, then snip it free once it has taken hold, usually within a few months to a full season.
Myths
Any plant called jasmine is the same safe, fragrant true jasmine.
Only Jasminum species count as true jasmine, and a handful of toxic plants simply borrow the name. Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is poisonous in every part, while star or Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum) and night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum) are entirely different plants. Check the botanical name before you trust that a jasmine is harmless.
Jasmine flowers are poisonous and should be kept away from pets.
This worry usually comes from mixing it up with 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 and easy choice to keep around animals.