Overwintering Jasmine Plants: Caring for Jasmine in Winter Jasmine ( Jasminum spp.) is an irresistible plant that fills the garden with sweet scent when it blooms. There are many types of jasmine. Most of these plants thrive in warm climates where frost is rare. When grown in the right climate, jasmine winter care is a breeze, but gardeners in temperate climates can still grow them if they are willing to put in a little extra effort to care for jasmine in the winter.
There are over 200 species of jasmine. Here are some of the species commonly grown in the US and USDA plant hardiness zones [1] :
Winter jasmine [2] ( J. nudiflorum ): Zones 6 to 9, can even bloom in winter
Arabian jasmine ( J. sambac ): Zones 9 to 11
Common jasmine [3] ( J. officinale ): Zones 7 to 10
Star/Confederate Jasmine [4] ( Trachelospermum spp.): Zones 8 to 10
How to keep jasmine over the winter
If you grow the plants in their nominal zone, you must provide the jasmine’s roots with a layer of organic mulch [5] in winter. Use up to 6 inches (15 cm) of straw or 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm) of shredded hardwood to overwinter jasmine plants. Fallen leaves also make a good winter mulch, and they work even better if you shred them to about the size of a quarter before spreading them over the roots. If the stems die back, you can cut them down to 6 inches (15 cm) above the ground.
To keep jasmine plants outside of their nominal zone over the winter, you will need to bring them indoors. Growing them in pots [6] makes it much easier to bring the plants indoors for the winter. Nevertheless, dry indoor air and too little sunlight can cause plants to lose their leaves and even die. While indoors, give the plants normal room temperatures during the day and cool temperatures at night. This way they can rest over the winter.
Prepare the plants by bringing them in for a few hours each day a few weeks before the first frost. When you bring them in, place them in a very bright, preferably south-facing window. Use additional fluorescent bulbs [7] if you don’t have enough natural light in your home.
The bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room are the wettest rooms in your home and they make good winter homes for jasmine plants. If you run your heating a lot in winter, the air will be dry. You can provide the plant with some extra moisture [8] by placing it on a tray with pebbles and water. The purpose of the pebbles is to keep the pot above the water. As the water evaporates, it humidifies the air around the plant. A cool mist vaporizer also helps keep the air moist.
It is safe to move the plant back outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. Feed it liquid fertilizer and give it a few days to acclimate to outdoor conditions before leaving it outside overnight.
Jasmine Propagation: Tips for Seed Starting and Rooting Jasmine Cuttings
Propagating your own jasmine plant [1] is the best way to get more plants while ensuring they thrive in your environment. When you propagate jasmine plants from your garden, you’re not just making copies of a plant you love, you’re getting plants that will thrive in your local weather. Propagating jasmine is possible in two different ways: rooting jasmine cuttings and planting jasmine seeds. Both methods create healthy young jasmine plants that can later be transplanted into your garden.
When and How to Propagate Jasmine Plants
Jasmine is native to the tropics, so it grows best when planted outdoors once the weather approaches summer temperatures. Find out when your local temperatures average 70°F (21°C) during the day and count back from there to determine when you should start your jasmine seedlings.
Jasmine seeds
Start jasmine seeds indoors about three months before your outdoor planting date. Soak the seeds [2] for 24 hours before planting. Fill six-pack cells with potting soil and soak the soil completely. Allow it to drain before planting and then plant a seed in each cell. Cover the six-packs with plastic to retain moisture and place them in direct sunlight.
Keep the soil moist while the seedlings sprout. Repot seedlings when they grow two sets of true leaves, placing each seedling in a 1-quart planter. Afterwards, leave the plants indoors for at least a month or grow your jasmine as a houseplant [3] for the first year before transplanting it outdoors.
Jasmine cuttings
If you prefer to propagate by rooting jasmine cuttings, start by making cuttings from the stem tips of a healthy jasmine plant. Make the cuttings about 6 inches long (15 cm) and cut each one just below a leaf. Strip the leaves from the lower part of the cutting and dip it in rooting hormone powder [4] .
Place each cutting in a hole in moist sand in a planter and place the planter in a plastic bag to retain moisture. Store the planter in a 75 degree room (24 C) out of direct sunlight. The roots should develop within a month, after which you can transplant the jasmine plants into potting soil [5] to strengthen their root system before placing them in the garden.
Tips for Propagating Jasmine
Jasmine is a tropical plant and loves to be kept moist at all times. If you cannot mist or water new seedlings several times a day, install automatic watering systems and plastic covers to retain moisture.
Keeping soil moist doesn’t mean letting the plant’s roots soak in water. Allow the planter to drain after a thorough watering and never leave a planter sitting in a bowl of water.
Jasmine Leaf Drop Treatment: What To Do When Jasmine Plants Lose Leaves?
A puzzling question that thousands of gardeners ask every year is: Why is my jasmine drying and losing leaves? Jasmine [1] is a tropical plant that can be grown indoors [2] or outdoors in warm conditions, the plant dropping leaves is usually due to some type of environmental factor. Jasmine leaf falling can be caused by too much attention, too little attention, and even nature itself. Not all jasmines need treatment when their leaves fall, but when they do, it’s usually a matter of correcting a poor environment.
What causes jasmine leaves to fall?
What causes leaves on jasmine plants to fall? When they are dissatisfied with their environment, the plants show this for the first time. If your jasmine doesn’t get enough water, the roots can’t move through the soil and absorb nutrients. This can cause leaves to dry out and fall off.
Too much water can be just as harmful to your plant. If you constantly leave a puddle of water under the planter, the roots may suffer from root rot [3] . You may think you’re doing your jasmine plant a favor by giving it a regular source of water, but this is a case of too much of a good thing.
If your jasmine is planted outside, cooler weather may cause it to drop its leaves. This is completely natural for many jasmine plants in the fall. The difference in this case is that the leaves turn yellow before they fall, similar to how tree leaves change color before they fall.
Lack of light can be another cause of jasmine plants losing leaves. If you moved your potted plant from the outdoor patio indoors for the winter, it’s probably getting a lot less light than before. This causes the leaves to fall off.
What to do for Jasmine Leaf Drop?
Treatment of jasmine leaf drops is a matter of correcting the bad environment. If the soil is too dry, water more often or attach an automatic watering device to the planter.
If you have recently brought your jasmine plant indoors, place it under fluorescent lighting for 16 hours a day [4] or place the planter in a location where it will receive strong sunlight for most of the day.
If jasmine is overwatered, remove the root ball from the planter and wash off all soil. If some of the roots are black, soft, or mushy, the plant has root rot. Cut off any damaged roots and repot the plant with fresh potting soil [5] . If you do not see root rot, place the root ball back in the planter and reduce watering. The jasmine plant should recover in about two weeks.
Jasmine Pest Control: Learn About Common Pests That Affect Jasmine Plants
Drooping leaves? Damaged leaves? Bite marks, spots or sticky spots on your jasmine plant [1] ? You probably have a pest problem. Pests that attack jasmine plants can seriously impact their ability to thrive and produce these all-important fragrant flowers. You can successfully fight jasmine plant pests once you get a handle on which pests are chewing on your precious beauty. You need to know how to apply effective jasmine pest control, and with a little patience, this beautiful little bush will perk up and scent your entire garden.
Pests of jasmine
There are two main types of jasmine plant pests. The sucking insects, like aphids [2] , are those whose feeding behavior consists of piercing the plant material and eating the sap.
There are also foliage insects that cause visual damage to a plant’s leaves. Most of these are caterpillars [3] and larvae of a variety of moths and butterflies, but a few represent other invertebrates.
Pests that attack jasmine plants vary in size and degree of damage, but it’s best to establish some basic methods for dealing with the invaders.
Jasmine plant pests of the foliage
The budworm [4] is a small white moth whose larvae feed on the buds of the jasmine plant, effectively destroying the flowers. The gallery worm tunnels in and around the buds and builds silk-lined burrows.
Leaf rollers [5] do exactly what they sound like, while leaf webworms [6] cover both leaves and twigs with silk webs.
Even a tiny mite is responsible for leaf damage. The mite tunnels under the top layer of the leaf, leaving bumps and ridges in the epidermal surface. Sometimes the sheet even distorts and deforms.
Most foliar pests can be controlled with horticultural soap [7] or oil. Treat at the first sign of damage or for preventive measures in early spring at bud break.
Jasmine Plant Pests That Literally Suck
Unfortunately, pests love your ornamental plants and a variety of sucking insects can reduce the vitality of your jasmine. Pest control of jasmine plants in this variety requires vigilance and fortitude. Whiteflies [8] , scale insects [9] , mites [10] and a host of other “ickies” can damage more than just the appearance of your bush. They feed on jasmine’s life-giving juices, reducing its ability to retain and absorb important moisture and nutrients.
Most of these pests are so tiny that they are not easy to spot and are more easily identified by plant death. This can include brown streaks on stems as seen in thrips damage [11] , yellow leaves seen in whiteflies, and several other worsening conditions. If you are unsure which pest is your problem, use a magnifying glass or place a white sheet of paper under the plant and shake it. The tiny insects that fall can be examined more thoroughly to determine which villain is causing the problem.
For any pest problem, try non-toxic methods first. A soapy solution of water and dish soap can block the respiratory tract of most pests and kill a large portion of the population. Use targeted pesticides if you can identify the insect to avoid killing beneficial plants. Overall, treat your jasmine like a queen so that it is healthy and can withstand occasional attacks from small intruders.