Climber
How to grow jasmine (summer and winter)
Jasminum officinale (summer) / J. nudiflorum (winter)
Two jasmines are grown outdoors in the UK and they want different things. Summer jasmine (Jasminum officinale) is a scented twining climber that needs a warm, sunny, sheltered wall and is planted in March to May. Winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum) is fully hardy, flowers yellow on bare stems from November to March in sun or shade, and has to be tied to its support. Prune each straight after it flowers and keep nitrogen low.
- Hardiness
- J. nudiflorum fully hardy; J. officinale frost-hardy
- Position
- Full sun (summer jasmine); sun or shade (winter)
- Soil
- Fertile, free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting jasmine (summer and winter)
WhenPlant Mar to May or Sep to Oct; flowers Jun to Sep (summer) or Nov to Mar (winter); prune after flowering
Starting off
Plant pot-grown stock Mar to May (summer jasmine, which is slightly tender) or Sep to Oct and Mar (winter jasmine). Propagate summer jasmine by 10 cm semi-ripe cuttings in Jul to Sep at 18°C, rooting in 4 to 6 weeks; winter jasmine by 20 cm hardwood cuttings in Nov or by lifting the rooted tips of stems that have layered where they touched the ground, which they do constantly.
Spacing and planting
Summer jasmine (J. officinale) twines to 8 to 12 m by 3 m on wires or trellis; winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum) is a lax shrub to 3 m by 3 m that must be tied in. Plant 30 to 45 cm out from a wall, one per 3 m of support, in a hole twice the pot width with the rootball level with the surface. Summer jasmine 'Clotted Cream' or 'Fiona Sunrise' is good in a 45 cm pot on a tripod; winter jasmine is better in the ground.
Varieties worth growing
- J. officinale
- The common summer jasmine: white, strongly scented flowers from June to September on a vigorous twiner for a large wall or pergola.
- J. officinale 'Clotted Cream'
- Larger, cream-coloured flowers with a heavy scent on a less rampant plant; a good choice for a pot on a tripod.
- J. officinale 'Fiona Sunrise'
- Golden-yellow foliage that holds its colour in sun, with white scented flowers; slower growing than the green form.
- J. nudiflorum
- Winter jasmine: unscented bright yellow flowers on bare green stems through the darkest months, on any wall including a north one.
- J. × stephanense
- Pale pink, lightly scented flowers in June and July on a vigorous twiner.
Month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Winter jasmine in flower. Cut sprigs in bud for the house.
- February
Winter jasmine still flowering. Nothing to prune yet.
- March
Prune winter jasmine as the flowers finish. Potash feed for both. Plant winter jasmine; plant summer jasmine from late in the month.
- April
Finish pruning winter jasmine and tie in the new shoots. Plant summer jasmine.
- May
Plant summer jasmine. Cut out frost-killed stems. Guide new shoots onto the wires.
- June
Summer jasmine begins to flower. Start fortnightly potash for plants in pots.
- July
Flowering. Semi-ripe cuttings of summer jasmine. Water pots daily in heat.
- August
Last liquid feed. Cuttings. Tie in long shoots before they tangle.
- September
Prune summer jasmine once flowering ends. Plant winter jasmine.
- October
Plant winter jasmine. Lift rooted tips where its stems have touched the ground.
- November
Hardwood cuttings of winter jasmine. First flowers open. Mulch the base of summer jasmine.
- December
Winter jasmine in flower. Nothing else to do.
Feeding jasmine (summer and winter)
A moderate feeder that turns nitrogen into leaf and tangle. Feed for flower with potash in March, add a liquid potash feed in summer for summer jasmine, and give winter jasmine no more than the March dose.
A potassium-leaning feed supports flowering; too much nitrogen gives leaf.
Feeding plan
Planting
5 g per litre of root ball on the roots: 15 g for a 3 litre pot. Useful in the dry soil at the foot of a wall.
March, both jasmines
Potassium Rich Fertiliser 11% K
50 g/m², the bottom of the label range: 50 g scattered over the square metre round the base and watered in.
March, first 2 years or on poor soil only
50 g/m², half the label rate, once: 50 g round the base. Leave it out for established plants that are growing strongly.
June to August, summer jasmine, every 2 weeks
Potassium Rich Fertiliser 11% K
0.5 to 1 g per litre of water: 5 to 10 g in a 10 litre can poured round the base. Plants in pots get it in place of a normal watering.
Potting summer jasmine
5 g per litre of compost: 150 g for a 45 cm pot holding about 30 litres.
Signs to watch
Rampant leafy growth and few flowers on summer jasmine
Excess nitrogen or heavy shade
No balanced feeds after Apr, sulphate of potash in Mar, full sun
Older leaves yellow between the veins in Aug after weeks of potash feeding
Magnesium short
Epsom salts drench at 20 g per litre
Yellow leaves with green veins against a lime-mortared wall
Iron locked out
Chelated iron and a compost
Pests, diseases and problems
Shoot tips and flower buds of summer jasmine sticky and clustered with green or black insects
Aphids in late spring and early summer
Squash them, or wash them off with a jet of water every few days. Avoid nitrogen-rich feeding, which produces the soft growth they prefer.
Stems of summer jasmine brown and dead in spring, sometimes down to the main framework
Frost and cold wind in a hard winter
Wait until May, then cut back to live wood; it regrows strongly from old stems. Mulch the base in November in cold gardens.
A thick tangle of dead stems with leaves and flowers only on the outside or at the top
Years without pruning
Thin after flowering every year. A badly congested plant can be cut back to about 60 cm from the ground in spring and retrained, at the cost of two or three years' flowers.
Open flowers of winter jasmine turn brown overnight
Hard frost on the open blooms
Nothing needed. The unopened buds are undamaged and continue to open in the next mild spell.
Summer jasmine drops most of its leaves in winter
Normal; it is deciduous to semi-evergreen depending on the cold
No action. New leaves come in April.
Leaves finely speckled and yellowing on a plant in a conservatory or against hot glass
Red spider mite in hot, dry air
Mist and hose the foliage, ventilate, and under glass introduce the predatory mite Phytoseiulus in summer.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Both flower on the previous year's growth, so prune straight after flowering. Winter jasmine: in Mar to Apr cut the flowered shoots back to 5 to 8 cm from the main framework and remove 1 in 4 of the oldest stems at the base; tie new growth to horizontal wires 30 cm apart, since it does not climb on its own. Summer jasmine: in Sep thin congested stems, cut flowered shoots back to a strong side shoot, and
Good to knowSummer jasmine is scented and twining; winter jasmine flowers on bare stems, prune each after flowering.
Growing in pots
Summer jasmine, especially 'Clotted Cream' or 'Fiona Sunrise', grows well in a 45 cm pot of loam-based compost on a tripod or obelisk in full sun. Water daily in summer, feed with potash fortnightly from June to August, and prune after flowering to keep it within the frame. Move the pot against a south wall for winter and wrap it in hard frost, since roots in a pot are more exposed than those in the ground. Winter jasmine tolerates a large pot but is sparse and thirsty in one; plant it in the ground.
Common questions
When should I prune jasmine?
Prune each kind straight after it flowers: winter jasmine in March to April, summer jasmine in September. On winter jasmine cut the flowered shoots back to 5 to 8 cm from the main stems. On summer jasmine thin out crowded stems and shorten flowered shoots to a strong side shoot.
Why is my jasmine not flowering?
For summer jasmine the usual causes are too little sun, too much nitrogen and pruning in spring, which removes the flowering wood. It needs a south or west-facing position and a potash feed. Young plants can also take two or three years to settle before they flower well.
Is jasmine hardy in the UK?
Winter jasmine is fully hardy everywhere in the UK. Summer jasmine is hardy on a sheltered, sunny wall in most of England but can be cut back in a hard winter inland and in the north. Jasminum polyanthum, sold in flower as a houseplant, is not hardy, and star jasmine is a different plant altogether.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.