Vine & groundcover · North Texas care guide
Trachelospermum jasminoides
Nursery Pro tip: May evenings smell like this plant. Give it wire or lattice to twine on.
The best-smelling plant in a Texas May — pinwheel white flowers over glossy evergreen leaves, with a fragrance that carries across a yard. A 10–20 ft twining vine that also works as a shrubby groundcover if you keep it cut.
Full sun to part shade; afternoon shade is welcome. Well-drained soil. Give it a trellis, fence or wall wires — it twines rather than clinging, so it needs something to wrap. A spot near a porch or window is where its scent pays off.
Spring, so it establishes before winter. Hole twice the pot width, ball at grade, native soil with compost, Root Stimulator, mulch. Tie the leaders to the support.
Twice a week the first summer, weekly after. It's less drought-hardy than Asian jasmine.
Light feeding in spring and again after bloom.
Right after the May bloom. Shape and shorten then; later pruning removes next year's flower buds. Shear it as a groundcover in late winter if you're growing it flat.
Cold damage in a severe winter — it's hardier than it looks but a 2021-type freeze burns it back; cut to live wood in spring. Scale occasionally.
Arbors, patio screens, porch columns and fence panels. Gorgeous with Knock Out roses at its feet.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.