Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium Sempervirens)

Fundamental Facts

HARDINESS: Zones 7 to 9
PREFERRED SOIL pH: Acid
PREFERRED SOIL TYPE: Average
PREFERRED LIGHT: Sun to partial shade
ATTRIBUTES: Evergreen (eaves and fragrant yellow flowers; for arbors or groundcover
SEASON OF INTEREST: Year-round evergreen foliage where hardy; flowers in spring
TYPE OF VINE: Woody evergreen perennial; climbs by twining
FAVORITES: G. sempervirens and double-flowered 'Pride of Augusta'
QUIRKS: Poisonous if eaten
GOOD NEIGHBORS: Spring-blooming snapdragons, lungwort, primroses, sweef woodruff
WHERE IT GROWS BEST: In warm climates, in sun or partial shade
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: Rapid growth requires shaping to control size
RENEWING PLANTS: Lives many years; prune back hard in summer if the vine is top-heavy
CRITTER RESISTANCE: Excellent
SOURCE: Bedding plants, cuttings
DIMENSIONS: To 20 ft (6.1 m) if unpruned; may be pruned to 10 ft (3 m)

Carolina Jessamine in the Landscape

Drive through the Southeastern part of the continent in the spring and you will see this vigorous flowering vine scrambling over walls, and fences, twining around mailboxes, growing on arbors, and framing the entryways to homes and gardens. With its glossy evergreen leaves and sweetly fragrant honeysuckle-like yellow flowers, Carolina Jessamine makes a well-behaved adornment for a balcony, arbor, or
fence.

This care-free North American native vine also grows as a ground-cover on rocky slopes, where its narrow green leaves and 1 in (2.5 cm) long yellow flowers make a handsome display. For an even stronger floral statement, you can grow 'Pride of Augusta', a double-flowered variety. Though Carolina Jessamine can grow to 20 ft (6.1 m) or more, it is easily controlled by pruning and can be kept to any size you like. Because the plants bloom at a young age, you can also grow this vine in a pot, training it on a trellis or tripod of bamboo poles inserted into the pot. All parts of Carolina jessamine are poisonous if eaten, so grow it far from the reach of children and animals.

Growing Carolina Jessamine

When selecting specimens at the nursery, make sure you get the right plant. Carolina Jessamine is sometimes called jasmine, even though it is an entirely different genus than true jasmine (Jasminum). Set out container-grown plants in the fall or first thing in spring. In hot-summer areas, select a site that receives partial shade from nearby trees or the half-day shade cast by buildings. Carolina Jessamine tolerates sun if the plants receive enough water to prevent wilting. Dig a planting hole as deep as the nursery pot and twice as wide. Before planting, amend the hole with organic matter, such as aged manure or compost.

Fertilize plants each spring with a low-nitrogen fertilizer, such as 5-10-10 formula, applied according to package directions. For best flowering, water as needed to keep the soil barely moist all through spring. Prune Carolina Jessamine immediately after the flowers fade in spring, cutting it back as needed to remove crowded shoots and dead branches and to control the size of the vine. Mature vines may grow top-heavy and require thinning every 5 years or so.

In general, insects rarely pester the tough, glossy leaves of Carolina Jessamine, and because all parts of the plant is poisonous, four-footed pests do not nibble it.

Increasing the Bounty

Carolina Jessamine's tiny seeds may be sown in spring in a warm place, but it is faster to root 6 in (15.2 cm) long stem cuttings taken in late spring. To determine when to take cuttings from this vine, bend a branch. If the branch snaps but hangs on by a fragment of bark, it is ready. Remove the leaves from the bottom half of a 4 in (10.2 cm) cutting, dip the cut end into commercial rooting powder, and insert it into moist potting soil, pushing it in up to the first leaves. Mist the cuttings often and keep the soil at room temperature. Cuttings take 4-6 weeks to root. Transplant rooted cuttings into pots and grow them outdoors in shade until early fall, when they can be planted in the garden in warm climates, or overwintered in a space that stays above freezing.