How to Care for Pink Jasmine

Pink jasmine produces clusters of dainty pure white flowers that infuse the air with a sweetly intoxicating aroma. The flowers grow on evergreen vines with two-tone leaves that are dark green on one side and a pale dark crimson on the other. Pink jasmine throws off sprays of pink or purple budded flowers in spring and fall, which are white when open. Its heady fragrance and hearty growing habits make pink jasmine a popular choice for gardeners.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel Compost Granular fertilizer high in nitrogen Granular fertilizer high in phosphorous Pruners

Instructions

1. Grow pink jasmine plants in locations that receive some sun, either direct or filtered. Placing jasmine plants in the garden where they receive more sun than shade will result in faster more compact growth and more flowers. Growing jasmine in too much shade results in a sparse plant with elongated vines and few leaves and little, if any, flower production. Planting jasmine in areas where the vines can grow to reach direct sun within 10 feet or so from the soil is also advisable. The plant may look sparse and elongated at first, but will grow more dense with better sun exposure as it reaches higher.

2. Plant pink jasmine vines in a soil mixture rich in composted organic matter. Add soil amendments if necessary to enrich your soil. Mix bags of compost with your existing soil to achieve a mix that is about half compost half soil. Till the soil well to evenly blend the amendment at least one foot deep and smooth flat when done. Dig a hole as large as the pot the pink jasmine is in and remove the pink jasmine from the pot and place in the hole. Cover the root ball with soil.

3. Water newly planted pink jasmine thoroughly to saturate the soil. Keep the soil evenly moist for the first week after planting, which may require one watering or several depending on the temperature in your area and the nature of your soil. Scale back the frequency of watering after the first week to once every two weeks and then once per month. Once the plant is established, it will only need watering a few times a year. For best results, water monthly deeply and thoroughly, but allow the soil surface to dry between watering.

4. Fertilize pink jasmine three times per year. Use two different fertilizers, depending on the season. Feed the plants high nitrogen fertilizers during the late spring after the last of the flowers have bloomed, using the amount directed by the product directions. Feed the plants a high phosphorous fertilizer in late summer before the fall bloom begins and again in late winter before the spring bloom begins. Water the plants deeply and thoroughly after each feeding or disperse fertilizer before a rain.

5. Prune pink jasmine vines when they get larger than you want or to maintain a healthy lush plant. The larger jasmine vines get, the more woody and ratty they may be. Annual pruning after a bloom cycle helps thin the bulk of the undergrowth on the vine and encourages abundant fresh new growth. Time pruning so that you trim the plant just before fertilizing and watering.

Tips & Warnings

• Train pink jasmine vines to grow on trellises or terrestrially as ground cover.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Monrovia.com