Tag: Jasmine

Pruning helps to manage the size of these vigorous climbers and to maintain a tidy form.

It also creates dense, lush growth by promoting branching – and the more branches there are, the more flowers you’ll enjoy.

And more jasmine flowers are always appreciated!

So if you’re ready to create a sumptuous wall or screen of fragrant finery, keep reading for how to prune jasmine for lush, showy plants.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

Jasmine Fundamentals

One of the most endearing traits of jasmine is its fast growth, adding 12 to 24 inches of new growth each year.

But this fast growth can also cause lankiness, long branches with flowers only on the higher stems.

Annual pruning helps to keep plants densely foliated, and promotes flowers the entire length of the stems, including on the lower reaches where the scent can be appreciated.

It’s also needed to control their size and spread and to prevent straggly and tangled growth.

Both the common summer varieties, J. officinale and J. grandiflorum, and winter types (J. nudiflorum) benefit from regular pruning, but it has to be done at different times of the year – more on that coming up.

Always use sharp, clean shears and wear protective gear like safety glasses, gloves, and long sleeves to avoid scratches and poked eyes.

And although I’m referring to vines in this guide, shrub varieties like angel wing (J. nitidum) and Arabian jasmine (J. sambac) are pruned in the same manner.

Learn more about these species and more in our guide to 13 types of jasmine vines and shrubs.

And if you need a refresher about how to grow jasmine in your landscape, check out our guide.

Early Spring Cleanup

In early spring just as the buds start to swell with new growth, a light grooming is useful to tidy up plants, control the direction of growth, and ensure a vigorous start to the growing season.

Starting at the bottom of the vine and working your way up, remove broken or dead stems and winter damaged tips as well as crossed branches.

Next, head back the tips of last year’s growth. Remove only as much length as needed to keep the stems within the shape you desire, cutting them just above a leaf bud with clean, sharp shears.

Even though jasmine produces two leaves opposite one another on a stem, you can still control the direction of growth.

To train a stem’s growth, choose a strong bud that’s pointing the way you want the vines to travel and pinch off the smaller one close to the stem – the remaining strong bud will continue growing in the direction you’ve chosen.

This is also the best time to reinforce support for your climbing vines – mature growth can become heavy and sag from the weight, pulling vines down and away from their support systems.

Check for any weak spots, gravity pulls, or vines that are bulging away from the trellis and reattach them with plant clips, garden twine, or velcro.

When to Prune Jasmine

As the names suggest, summer-flowering varieties bloom in summer and early fall, and winter flowering varieties flower in winter.

Both types flower on the previous year’s wood and are best pruned right after they finish blooming.

This makes midsummer to mid-fall the time to prune summer blooming types.

But don’t delay too long after flowering to cut back your summer vines or shrubs. 

Flowering takes place primarily on old wood – sometimes with a light, later flush on the tips of the current year’s growth – so giving your plants the longest possible time to develop new growth ensures an early and luscious floral display the next year.

Also, these plants are typically hardy in Zones 7 to 11, and in regions at the cooler end of their hardiness range the new growth should be given plenty of time to harden off before frosty temperatures arrive. Harsh temperatures can easily kill or damage tender new tips.

You can learn more about winter care in our guide.

For winter-flowering varieties, early to mid-spring is the best time to prune, eliminating the need for a spring cleanup – tidying can be done at the same time as pruning.

Throughout the growing season, feel free to cut back the odd wayward stem or any that have become broken or damaged.

Prune for Shape and Size

After flowering, to prune the shape and size of your jasmine start at the bottom of the plant and work your way up.

For a light trimming, snip stems that are growing outside of the trellis or support boundaries, choosing a strong set of leaves within the support framework to keep regrowth on the path you want. Snip just above a set of healthy leaves.

You can also bring longer stems back into the fold by wrapping them around stronger ones or attaching them to a trellis with plant clips, twine, or velcro.

If you want a more robust reduction in shape and size, cut back lateral and main stems to where they meet a strong side shoot, removing as much as one-third of the overall size, depending on the results you desire.

Take your time with this and do the cutting in measured amounts – step back frequently to view your work and avoid over-pruning.

At the same time, thin out damaged, overcrowded, or unruly shoots. If you hit a tightly woven tangle, remove the stem in sections rather than trying to pull it out in one piece, which can pull away healthy growth as well.

After new growth starts, pinch out or snip the top one to two inches of growth on all main and lateral stems.

Pinching out the tips early in their life promotes branching, lush foliage, and rapid growth.

Rejuvenate Overgrown Plants

For overgrown plants that have outgrown their space, both summer and winter types can take a hard pruning and bounce back with vigorous growth.

This type of pruning is done in early spring, to give the plants plenty of time to recuperate and produce ample new growth before winter.

To hard prune, cut back all vines to eight to 24 inches above the base.

As new shoots emerge, select the strongest stems to train onto their support structure and remove weak or unwanted shoots.

New growth appears in the same season as the hard pruning, but it can take two or three years for full flowering to resume.

Caring for these plants is generally quite easy, and you can read more about that in our guide to growing jasmine.

A regular fertilizing routine with the right nutrients helps the plants to stay strong, healthy, and vibrant with an abundance of perfumed flowers!

Timing your feed applications is important to give them a strong start and to maintain vigor.

And there are a few methods for feeding your jasmine plants, so you can choose the best option for your schedule.

Ready to get down and dirty for spectacular, showy vines? Then let’s dig into how and when to fertilize jasmine plants.

Here’s what’s up ahead:

When to Feed

For your jasmine to receive the maximum benefit from the additional nutrients, late winter to early spring is the best time to start providing fertilizer, depending on your region.

Feeding jasmine at this time provides them with the nutrients they need for abundant flowering, foliage development, strong, healthy roots, and resistance to disease and pests.

If you opt to use a slow release fertilizer, a second application is beneficial to promote vigorous growth. This second application is typically applied in early to midsummer, or after flowering.

For liquid or water soluble feeds, monthly applications are needed throughout the growing season, and container-grown jasmine may even require biweekly fertilization.

Use this schedule for all varieties, including winter-blooming types, but wait until the winter flowers have finished before you start to feed the plants.

Once the growing season ends, you can stop fertilizing until the new growth cycle starts again the following spring.

Start With Compost

Jasmine plants that are grown in rich soil with plenty of organic materials rarely need a lot of additional nutrients, but they do benefit from an annual application of compost, well-rotted manure, or worm castings.

Applying a layer of organic mulch in spring feeds the roots slowly, with the nutrients leaching out from the mulch every time it rains or you irrigate, percolating down into the root zone.

Start by scraping away a couple of inches of topsoil then replace it with a two- to three-inch layer of fresh compost.

Compost can be applied as a top dressing or it can be gently worked into the soil with a hand cultivator as a side dressing, taking care not to disturb the roots as you work.

Make sure you apply the compost, manure, or castings evenly over the entire root zone.

Starting out with a feed of organic materials not only provides nutrients for the plant, but it also helps to maintain the soil’s tilth and prevents compaction, so air and water can circulate freely in the root zone.

Fast Acting or Slow Release?

For jasmine plants grown in lean soils or containers, a further application of commercial fertilizer may be required to provide the minerals needed for strong, robust growth.

Either fast acting or slow release fertilizer can be used, depending on your preference.

Fast acting fertilizers are available either as liquid or water-soluble granules, and these products release the nutrients quickly into the soil around the root zone.

For maximum effectiveness, fast acting fertilizers need to be applied monthly while plants are actively growing, starting in early spring and continuing until the end of summer.

Slow release products come in forms such as granules, meal, or pellets and are scratched into the top two inches of the soil surface.

Then, each time the plants are watered or it rains, the pellets or meal gradually dissolves, releasing nutrients slowly into the soil.

Slow release feeds are typically applied once in early spring after new growth emerges, and then again in summer after flowering has finished.

For the most effective dispersion and absorption of nutrients, ensure that the soil in the root zone is moist before applying fertilizer. This is because the roots take up nutrients faster and more efficiently in a moist environment.

Whether you use a fast acting or slow release food, look for an all-purpose or flower-boosting formula that has slightly higher levels of phosphorus than nitrogen.

Phosphorus is used by plants in part for bud set and flower development and is an important element for highly floriferous vines like jasmine.

As potted plants have limited access to nutrient sources, I recommend using a fast acting fertilizer to promote healthy growth and blooming.

After applying the compost and once new growth has emerged, use a liquid or water soluble product once a month until the end of the growing season.

If your containers are on the small size – less than 16 inches tall and wide – and your plants are lagging or underperforming, you may need to use a half-strength solution every two weeks instead of once a month.

Our guide to growing star jasmine discusses all you need to know to grow this plant in your outdoor living space.

This article examines star jasmine’s suitability for cultivation as a landscape hedge.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Let’s jump right in!

What Makes a Good Hedge?

A hedge consists of multiple shrubs planted in close proximity that intermingle to form a continuous whole, creating a barrier and defining a garden or property perimeter.

Ideally, it is:

• Adorned with seasonal interest, like spring flowers or autumn berries
• Dense
• Evergreen
• Fast growing
• Long-lived
• Tolerant of regular trimming

Heights and styles can vary. Some are clipped into crisp, geometric forms, while others are loose and informal.

T. jasminoides meets all of the above qualifications, but because it is a vine, you may wonder if it’s sturdy enough to be grown as a hedge.

The answer is yes, provided you start pruning the day you plant. You can shape your star jasmine into a small, two- to three-feet-tall fragrant hedge with a bit of careful trimming.

Here’s how! 

Cultivating Star Jasmine as a Hedge

Plant star jasmine in the spring or early fall. The ideal setting has full sun to part shade, although deep shade is well tolerated.

The soil should be organically rich, well-draining loam with a slightly acidic pH of 5.5 to 6.5.

Decide the length of the hedge you want and place a marker every three to five feet to determine how many plants to buy.

There should be at least three to five feet behind and in front of the flora to accommodate mature dimensions and facilitate trimming.

Water the nursery pots about an hour before planting to minimize transplant shock.

Dig a hole as deep as the pot and twice as wide for each plant, working the soil to a crumbly consistency and removing debris.

Mixing in a few handfuls of compost and horticultural sand improves soil fertility and drainage. Adding one to two tablespoons of bone meal jumpstarts root establishment.

The proper depth for planting is to set the crown about an inch below the soil surface, as it was in the original container, followed by backfilling and tamping to secure it in place.

Add a two to three-inch layer of mulch to aid in moisture retention.

It’s best to keep the soil moist during the first growing season. After that, provide supplemental water if it doesn’t rain and the top two inches of soil are dry. Established plants have good drought tolerance.

Each spring and just after blooming in early summer, T. jasminoides benefits from an application of a well-balanced, slow-release fertilizer. A 10-10-10 N-P-K ratio is appropriate.

When and How to Prune

Pruning curbs growth to keep flora manageable, direct it in a desired fashion, rejuvenate, and remove damaged or dead foliage.

Because star jasmine blooms on old wood, we can cut back new foliage in late winter to early spring. We can also trim right after blooming in early summer.

When cutting stems, wear gloves to avoid contact with the toxic white sap.

Sanitize pruners in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water, rinse, and dry. As you trim, you may find the blades impaired by the sticky residue and have to stop and sanitize them again.

Place tarps or plastic trash bags on the ground to collect the cuttings.

When growing star jasmine as a hedge, pruning begins on planting day. Once in the ground, use clean pruners to shorten all stems to about six inches tall. Make all cuts just above a leaf node to encourage regrowth.

This deep initial trimming promotes lateral branching off the main stems and dense foliage at the base of the soon-to-be shrub.

If you like, you can use the cuttings to propagate new plants. Re-cut the stems just below a leaf node to initiate root formation. You’ll find instructions in our guide to jasmine propagation.

During the establishment phase, prune twice a year, once in late winter to early spring and again after blooming.

Use pruners to remove half of each young green stem. Regular manual cutting of individual stems leads to more lateral branching and less trailing.

Avoid allowing stems to lengthen, or they will weigh heavily on those underneath and deprive them of light.

Some gardeners use support structures, like trellises or twine and stakes, to support the foliage during the establishment phase. However, with effective trimming to promote lateral branching, this should be unnecessary.

Gradually, your plants will resemble shrubs, and as they grow, they will merge. Once they form a hedge, you can move into the maintenance phase, in which you’ll trim once a year to curb trailing growth and preserve the compact form you have achieved.

Use sanitized loppers or electric hedge clippers to trim the top and sides, cutting multiple stems at once without regard for leaf node locations.

Here are two landscaper pro tips for maintaining an established hedge:

Use loppers or power clippers to cut mature hedges about six inches shorter than you want them to be to accommodate the next flush of new growth and – maybe – get away with one cutting a year. Cutting multiple stems at once creates a formal appearance.

Or, continue to trim the stems of fresh growth individually. Instead of cutting them flush with the old growth, cut them slightly below it to hide the chopped stem ends and foster a naturalistic, informal look.

In addition to pruners, loppers, and hedge clippers, you may need a pruning saw to remove dead woody stems. If possible, always make cuts above a bump in the bark, as this is a leaf node and a natural point of regrowth.

After pruning, apply an all-purpose, slow-release 10-10-10 fertilizer.

Our guide to pruning star jasmine has more details.