Pruning and Training Star Jasmine
Question from Margaret:
Hi Pat,
My husband and I are not gardeners, but now we have a house with a big yard and we have some very happy star jasmine. They are planted near a wall and we installed some wire trellis above so it could eventually grow up and over the trellis. Basically, I want to know whether it’s ok to cut off all the lower shoots (which are very long!) and unravel some of the upper ones in order to get them trained on the new trellis. Right now, the plants are growing like crazy in all directions. Can we cut it back a lot and handle it a lot to unwind the shoots and retrain them? They’re currently all twisted around each other and falling down because they aren’t secured to the trellis. Just want to make sure we can be aggressive with them and they’ll continue to be happy.
Thanks so much! Your gardens are beautiful!
Answer from Pat:
Star jasmine (Trachelosperumn jasminoides) takes well to pruning, which can be done if necessary to previously neglected plants in early fall or early spring. If you live in an area where frost is a yearly occurrence wait until spring. Once established, star jasmine needs cutting back immediately after bloom each year to keep the plant from becoming bare and woody. It blooms in June. You will find it difficult to untangle the wiry, twisted stems, but it can be done and then you could use those to tie it back to the trellis. A better way is to tie it back with garden twine. You can even cut it all the way back to the old wood and it will come back but it will look ugly for a year, since it will take a year to regrow. I suggest tying it back to the trellis before you start whacking away at it because every stem you cut will ooze white sap and ruin your clothes.
Thank you so much for your reply! I forgot to mention that we are also in Southern California (Los Angeles area) and so it sounds like we should get started soon. I will prune back the lower shoots and untangle the upper ones to train on the trellis.
Yes, I think I would risk it. Even though the LA Basin gets yearly frost, there should be enough warm weather for it to recover and enough growth left on the plant to protect it through the winter. Whereas it’s fine to be aggressive with this plant, one caveat: if you cut it all the way down to the ground it would take many years to grow tall again. Star jasmine is sold two ways: (1) in gallon cans as ground cover and (2) in 1, 5 and 15-gallon cans trained onto stakes or trellises for use as climbers. It takes many years for the plants that have been pruned flat as groundcovers to grow tall like vines.
We moved into a new house. Jasmine were planted this year to form a privacy fence. Thin single shoots are starting to climb and attach to the wire fencing. I don’t want it to grow thick on the top and stay thin on the bottom. How do I prune the plants so they will remain thick for the entire 7 ‘ tall fence. We want the privacy a thick growth will provide.
Thank you for your help.
Barbara
When planting star jasmine to climb up a fence and create a privacy screen, always begin with trellis-grown plants (plants that have never been cut back and are already 3 or 4 feet tall and already trained onto a trellis.) If you begin with plants 3 feet tall in 5-gallon cans space them approximately 6 feet apart or closer if you want a very quick cover. The tag hanging from the plant will often provide the correct spacing.
Never begin with short plants that have been hedged. It will take years for those plants to form a privacy screen. If, on the other hand, you began with trellis grown plants you will have no problem with them being thin at the bottom. They will quickly reach the top of your 7 foot tall fence and fill out down below. Then your job will be to train the long twining pieces to fill in between the plants and meanwhile prune off the top shoots as they grow and this will encourage thicker growth below.
If you began with short plants in gallon cans, simply add the trellis-grown ones now and if you need to discard a few of the others to make room, it’s worth it to begin with the right plants and have a good result. Otherwise you will be waiting many, many years for jasmine to cover your fence. Trellis-grown star jasmine is usually widely available in June because that’s when it’s in bloom. However, you can order these plants at other times of year. Just be sure they have never, ever been cut short or as I explained above it will take years and years for them to climb to the top of the fence, if ever.
Hi Pat! Not sure you will still see this as it’s an older thread 🙂
I have a star jasmine, maybe was a one gallon when planted last year in an obelisk like structure. It now just flowers at the top 1 foot of the plant and the rest is wood. Should I cut it back to the ground? Will this happen every year? I thought it would be a bushy yummy smelling thing that would fill the obelisk up.
I live in Orange County.
With appreciation,
Chantal
It is normal for a tall star jasmine to grow heavier wood below and flowering wood above. Do not cut it back or it will stay short and take many, many years to grow tall again. Mine is growing on a fence and very bushy this year due to rain. It also began flowering in May instead of in June as is usual. The late rains and cool weather are due to climate change.
In my opinion, our government needs to wake up and realize that people are suffering fires and floods because nothing is being done to stop machines and cars from pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Here we are only having problems with plants but in many parts of the US floods and summer fires are wreaking havoc with crops and destroying people’s homes.
Full sun is important for star jasmine to be its best. Also a fence or wall is ideal since you can train this vine to cover a wide swath of it. Prune if necessary and train the branches after bloom.