There is no sweeter fragrance!

If you get this many Confederate star jasmine flowers together, odds are you’ll find me headed toward them for some sustained deep breathing. All images are clickable for a larger view.

My greenhouse is across the creek from our house. I went over a couple of evenings ago to set plants I wanted to bring to our landscape for the summer into the aisles. This is a ritual we’ve been going through for almost 40 years.

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But, before I could even begin, right inside the door to the 30×60-ft. greenhouse was the large potted Confederate star jasmine. As soon as I opened the door it just about knocked me over with its fabulous aroma. Oh, my gosh how I love this plant. It’s simply the best smell of all smells. Top of the smell list!

To bring everyone up to speed, you probably know Asian jasmine, the groundcover. This is its less cold-tolerant sister, Confederate star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).

Pinwheel-shaped blossoms and the plant’s wide use in the Old South have given rise to its two common names, Confederate jasmine and star jasmine. I’ve just grafted them together for the sake of this story. Confederate star jasmine.

The important things to know…
Scientific name: Trachelospermum jasminoides

Common names: star jasmine, Confederate jasmine, Confederate star jasmine

• Winter-hardy to Zone 8. Great in South Texas. You’ll see it north of Tyler/Waco/Hill Country line, but it has frozen every time I’ve tried it in rural Collin County (DFW area). February 2021 did a real number on it deep into Central and South Texas. But it’s worth replanting.

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• You’ll hear about more cold-hardy varieties (like ‘Madison’), but they haven’t done any better for me in the DFW area.

• Evergreen, twining vine growing to 15 to 18 feet tall.

• Does best given a trellis or fence for support.

• Can be grown as a tall, somewhat scrambling groundcover to 16 to 24 inches.

I’m so taken by this plant that I’ve grown it in the same pot and on the same trellis for 30 years. We bring it out of the greenhouse in time for it to perfume our entire yard every April. It goes back in in November. It’s worth all the effort! And yes, it’s been repotted a couple of times. It’s about time to do so again after it finishes blooming this year.

• Can be grown on a trellis in a large patio pot and protected during sub-freezing weather, either in a greenhouse or sunroom.

• Larger leaves than Asian jasmine and more open growth habit.

• Good in sun or part shade.

• Blooms heavily in late March in South Texas and through mid- or late April farther north. Mine, in a warm greenhouse, just popped into bloom this week.

• Propagated by cuttings, but it’s easiest to get new plants as 1-gallon pots in nursery in spring. That assumes you can find it. It should be common in South Texas, but hopefully nurseries won’t be pushing it hard for outdoor use in North Texas.

Posted by Neil Sperry
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