Is Asian Jasmine Fragrant?

Flowering Features

• Asian jasmine bears small, white flowers, measuring up to 3/4 inch in diameter any time during the heat of late spring to midsummer. Each blossom comprises five, twisting petals and turns more yellow as it ages. Asian jasmine blossoms are fragrant, especially in the morning and evening. The flowers arise in short, clustered branches called cymes, which sprout from the bases of leaves. The cyme displays the oldest flower in the cluster center, with successive blossoms opening later at the outer edges.

Flowering Insight

• Americans rarely see or smell Asian jasmine flowers because they are widely grown as sprawling groundcover vines. The plant's horizontal stems rarely bloom. However, if an Asian jasmine grows vertically up a pole or trellis, flower production becomes markedly more obvious and abundant. Pruning controls growth in the bed but also limits the amount of flowers produced.

Growing Asian Jasmine

• Robust, healthy Asian jasmine plants produce the most flowers. Plant them in acidic soil that is fertile, moist but well drained. From spring to fall when temperatures are warm, water the soil freely, keeping it moist. Granular, slow-release fertilizer provides nutrients. If Asian jasmine grows in a container, apply a liquid fertilizer product monthly from spring to fall. Stop fertilizing and markedly reduce watering in winter, keeping the soil a bit dry. Plants overwinter better if not exposed to cold, drying winds. Newly planted plants establish slowly grow more vigorously after two summers of growth.

Comparison to Confederate Jasmine

• Asian jasmine is closely related to the Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), but both are easily distinguished from each other. Confederate jasmine is a more vigorous, aggressive vine that does not remain sprawling on the ground. Confederate jasmine blooms profusely anytime from March to May with scores of larger white flowers, 1 inch in diameter, with a strongly sweet, nutmeg scent. The petals also are twisted. Confederate jasmine's leaves are two to three times as large as Asian jasmine leaves.