Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum): Bright Blooms in Snowy Gardens

Just when you can't bear another gray day, winter jasmine rescues you. Cascading bright green branches studded with sunny yellow flowers bloom from Thanksgiving to early spring—even in snow.

Though often called a vine, it's a scrambler, not a climber, and can be used in several ways to brighten the winter garden. Lax stems can tumble down a slope, cascade over a low wall, or be tacked loosely to an arbor to festoon from the top. However used, its cheery flowers bring a ray of sunshine.

Botanical name: Jasminum nudiflorum
Common name: Winter jasmine
Origin: Native to China; introduced to the West by Robert Fortune in 1843
Hardiness: Hardy to -10°F (USDA zones 6–9; find your zone)
Water requirement: Average
Light requirement: Full to partial sun
Mature size: Up to 10 feet tall and 7 feet wide, depending on training
Benefits and tolerances: Bees enjoy early nectar; birds may nest in twiggy branches.
Seasonal interest: Deciduous, but main interest November–March when leaves have fallen. Bare stems studded with abundant yellow star-shaped flowers emerging from rose-colored buds.
When to plant: Spring or fall

Distinguishing Traits

• Bright green stems
• Profuse yellow flowers
• Great cut flower
• Blooms in winter
• Neither frost nor snow stops flowering
• Versatile uses

How to Use It

Plant where you can enjoy the color from inside on a cold winter day.

As a ground cover:

Left unchecked, it covers ground with an unruly tangle. Best tumbling down a slope or stream bank where branches cascade.

To soften retaining walls:

One favorite way: over a retaining stone wall where young green stems and profuse flowers are readily appreciated.

On a fence or arbor:

Since it doesn't climb, stems must be attached. Two easy training methods:

1. Attach a trellis to the fence or wrap bird netting around arbor posts; tie branches loosely with soft twine.
2. Use galvanized wire: add horizontal parallel lines on a fence or run a spiral wire up a post with screw eyes. Tie branches similarly.

When branches reach the top, let them drape casually. Older branches become woody and brown, less flexible—tie regularly.

Planting Notes

Pruning: After flowering in spring, cut back new growth by two-thirds to avoid bare stems next year (blooms on new wood). Hard prune into older brown stems to generate fresh growth and keep vine smaller.

Propagation: Easily propagated by layering. Allow new stems to lie on soil, secure with rocks or landscape pins. Roots form at contact points. Separate new plant by cutting or leave to widen branching. Note: it does this naturally; to prevent ground-cover spread, pull branches away from soil or remove them.

Photo by Amanda Slater