How to Trim Confederate Jasmine
Many gardeners fear that they’ll injure their plants while pruning, but your Confederate jasmine won’t mind a bit if you give it a good trim every year. In fact, this tough and very forgiving plant will respond quite favorably to what may seem to be extreme treatment. Even if your space isn’t particularly limited, vining stems of Trachelospermum jasminoides can quickly race out of hand. If you don’t keep this vigorous beauty trimmed, stems will attain lengths in excess of 20 feet. The best time to trim this plant is during April and May after it blooms. For the most part, trim your Confederate, or star, jasmine so that it looks good to you.
Put on gloves and old clothing when you trim your Confederate jasmine. The sap is known to stain fabrics and may irritate the skin of sensitive individuals.
- Many gardeners fear that they’ll injure their plants while pruning, but your Confederate jasmine won’t mind a bit if you give it a good trim every year.
Use clean, sharp pruning shears to cut out dead, damaged, diseased, or weak and spindly stems.
Prune long or shaggy vines back to about 3 feet shorter than you desire their total lengths to be for this season. You can safely remove as much as one-third of each. If stems look unattractive to you, prune them out.
Trim back stems throughout the growing season if they become to long for your taste, or if you feel that the star jasmine plant begins to look untidy.
Pinch off new tips as they appear after the Confederate jasmine has finished blooming. Continue pinching shoots throughout the season to stimulate lateral growth and help to keep the length of vining stems in check.
- Use clean, sharp pruning shears to cut out dead, damaged, diseased, or weak and spindly stems.
- Trim back stems throughout the growing season if they become to long for your taste, or if you feel that the star jasmine plant begins to look untidy.
Clean your pruning shears with an old rag and rubbing alcohol. It will easily remove the sticky sap.
Plant Confederate Jasmine
Confederate jasmine can be planted year-round in USDA zones 9 and 10. In most areas, confederate jasmine does well with full sun, but this plant may require partial shade in the warmer parts of USDA zones 9 and 10, due to potential heat damage. While you can put container-grown confederate jasmine into the ground all year in most warm climates, planting in fall or winter may produce better results for the next year. Expect confederate jasmine to flower during June and July. Confederate jasmine can also be grown indoors in a container, though it may require heavy staking or pruning to conserve space. Place container-grown plants outside in bright sun whenever possible. If new leaf buds appear, the cutting has rooted successfully and you can then transplant it to a spot in the yard.
- Clean your pruning shears with an old rag and rubbing alcohol.
- Confederate jasmine can also be grown indoors in a container, though it may require heavy staking or pruning to conserve space.
Related Articles
References
- University of Florida: Confederate Jasmine
- Clemson University: Confederate Jasmine
- HortChat: Confederate Jasmine
- University of Florida: Landscape Horticulture -- Vines
- University of Florida: Confederate Jasmine
- Mississippi State University: Try the Attractive Confederate Jasmine Vine
- North Carolina State University: Trachelospermum Jasminoides
- Virtual Library of Phoenix Landscape Plants: Trachelospermum Jasminoides
Resources
Writer Bio
A full-time writer since 2007, Axl J. Amistaadt is a DMS 2013 Outstanding Contributor Award recipient. He publishes online articles with major focus on pets, wildlife, gardening and fitness. He also covers parenting, juvenile science experiments, cooking and alternative/home remedies. Amistaadt has written book reviews for Work At Home Truth.
