Common jasmine

Profile

Family

Oleaceae

Habit

Climber

Height

10 m

Spread

10 m

Growth

very fast

Lifespan

20 years

First yield

after 1 year

Hardiness

zone 7–9

Shade tolerance

partial shade

Soil

Sand, Silt, Loam

Soil moisture

semi-dry – very moist

pH

5.6 – 7.6

Uses

Edible: The flowers smell delicious. They are eaten or used to flavour tea. Dried flowers are used as a tea substitute. An essential oil from the flowers is used as a flavouring in various foods, especially maraschino cherries, but also in baked goods, ice cream, sweets, chewing gum etc. It gives them a bittersweet, floral note.

Other uses: An essential oil is obtained from the flowers, which is used in perfume production. The flowers are picked each morning shortly after opening and used fresh for oil extraction.

Growing

Thrives in good, well-drained loam and prefers a sunny position. Very shade-tolerant, it also grows on a north-facing wall. The plants are hardy to about -15°C. In northern England they need the protection of a wall, but in the south they are fully hardy. According to another report, they are hardy to about -10°C, with the shoot tips often dying back in winter, but the plant recovers quickly. It climbs by twining. It is self-supporting and fast-growing. Pruning is best done in late winter or early spring. A very decorative plant of which there are several cultivars. The flowers smell strongly, and the plant is sometimes cultivated for the essential oil in its flowers. The subspecies Jasminum officinale grandiflorum (L.) Kobuski is used. The flowers appear on the current year's wood as well as on older wood. Plants of this genus are particularly resistant to honey fungus.

Propagation

Seed – best sown directly after ripening in a cold frame. Once the seedlings are large enough, prick out into individual pots and grow on at least the first winter in the greenhouse. Plant out at their final position in late spring or early summer, after the last frosts. Cuttings of semi-ripe wood, July/August in a cold frame. Very easy. Cuttings of mature wood, November. Layering.

Origin & habitat

Scrub and woodlands, mostly on humus-rich soils, 1200–3000 metres in the Himalayas. Valleys, ravines, thickets, forests, river banks, meadows; 1800–4000 metres in western China.

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