Plant Care Guides / Outdoor & Coastal / Climbers
Indigenous | Easy Care | Climbers
The starry wild jasmine is one of the prettiest and most sweetly scented indigenous climbers, and it is completely at home on the Eastern Cape coast. It is a scrambling shrub or climber with glossy, dark green, compound leaves and masses of starry, pure white, intensely fragrant flowers from spring through summer.
The scent is heavenly, especially on a warm evening, carrying across the garden and drawing moths, butterflies and other pollinators. It is not a vigorous, heavy climber like a wisteria; it is more of a gentle scrambler that needs a support to lean on (a trellis, a fence, an arbour or another shrub) but will not rip your structure apart. It handles wind, coastal conditions and moderate drought once established.
2 to 3 m as a scrambler. Can reach 5 m with support.
Moderate to fast.
Trellis, fence cover, arbour, pergola, scrambling through other shrubs, container with support. Plant it near a window, a door or a seating area where you can enjoy the evening scent.
Full sun to semi-shade. Flowers best in sun, but the scent carries even from a shaded position.
Any well-drained soil with compost. Not fussy about soil type.
Moderate. Water while establishing. Reasonably drought-tolerant once settled, but flowers better with regular moisture through spring and summer.
A feed in spring with a balanced fertiliser supports heavier flowering.
Prune after flowering to control size and shape. It does not need hard pruning but responds well to it if it outgrows its space. Thin out old, woody stems to encourage fresh growth.
Ask about availability. WhatsApp us to check what is currently in stock, or visit the nursery and we will help you choose the right plant for your spot.
