Description of Jasmine Vines

Arabian Jasmine

• Known in Hawaii as pikake, Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac) is an evergreen shrub or vine that can grow to 5 feet tall -- an excellent container plant. This is the jasmine you've probably enjoyed brewed as tea or used in perfumes. Hardy for outdoor growing to Zone 8, Arabian jasmine has dark green, glossy leaves and white, very fragrant flowers. It grows into a bushy shrub, with regular pruning, when grown in full sun, and as a vine in shade or partial shade, producing larger, darker leaves.

Common or Poet's Jasmine

• Poet's or common white jasmine (J. officinale) has a classic sweet jasmine scent. This fast-growing shrub, which can develop a semi-vining habit, has deep green finely divided leaves. Lanky vines may grow to 15 feet and need to be tied to supports. Prune plants regularly to keep them as bushy shrubs. Very fragrant, 1-inch white flowers keep coming all summer and continue into fall. Spanish jasmine (J. grandiflorum) is semi-evergreen to deciduous, depending on climate, and is similar to poet's jasmine -- San Marcos Growers suggests it may be the same plant -- though the plant is smaller and flowers somewhat larger.

Italian Jasmine

• Sometimes known as Himalayan jasmine, yellow jasmine or Italian primrose, very vigorous Italian jasmine (J. humile) when restrained is an evergreen or semi-evergreen mounding shrub that can grow to 10 feet. Unrestrained, it develops into a vine that may reach 20 feet. It produces clusters of fragrant, bright yellow star-shaped flowers from spring well into fall. Like other jasmines, Italian jasmine grows well in full sun to part shade.

Winter Jasmine

• Old-fashioned winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum), a classic in many Southern gardens, grows to 4 feet tall as an unsupported deciduous shrub. As a vine it can grow to 15 feet. Winter jasmine produces 1-inch unscented yellow flowers in winter or early spring, before glossy green leaves emerge. Vines also grow well as ground or bank cover, and will root wherever stems touch the soil. They are also attractive cascading over walls.