Star Jasmine is an evergreen perennial vine in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). It is native to Japan and China. The genus name refers to the Greek words trachelos and sperma for neck and seed. The specific epithet means similar to jasmine. For best flowers, grow in fertile, well-drained soil in a sheltered, sunny spot. In colder climates, grow as an annual or in containers overwintered indoors. As a vine, it can grow 20’ tall given a support structure for its twining stems. Apply a spring fertilizer if the soil is not fertile. Prune after flowering to keep the plant within the available space. Clean tools after pruning from the sticky sap. Propagate by stem cuttings or layering. The abundant creamy white flowers bloom in late spring and sporadically in summer. The flowers are very fragrant like jasmine but are not part of the jasmine genus. Glossy dark green leaves are bronze-red where it is an evergreen. Star Jasmine has been awarded with the RHS Award of Garden Merit as a reliable plant to grow. Once established, it is drought-tolerant. In addition to growing the vine on a trellis or fence for screening, use as a ground cover or sprawling shrub. Clip it to grow as a houseplant. Plant it in a patio container or near a walkway to smell the scented flowers. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: There are no serious insect or disease problems but watch for Japanese Beetles.. Quick ID Evergreen vine with opposite, entire leaves Flowers white, fragrant, salverform with pinwheel-like lobes Bruised twigs & petiole with white milky latex
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 20 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
6 - Vine (vertical)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Climbing; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen
Leaf color
Green; Purple/Lavender
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Leathery; Smooth
Leaf size
3-6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Opposite, simple, elliptic to oval-lanceolate, subacuminate, broadly cuneate to rotund, entire, glabrous; juvenile leaves bronze-purplish, becoming lustrous dark green, paler green below; venation with major veins a darker green; petiole very short, pubescent.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Star; Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Creamy-white with slight yellowish-tinge, pungently sweet; calyx 5-lobed; corolla salverform, lobes 5, spreading, slightly twisted, overlapping to the right.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Black
Fruit detail
Fruit a pair of elongated follicles.
Stem detail
Stems and shoots pubescent when young, becoming glabrous; latex milky.