Jasminum grandiflorumSpanish Jasmine

Jasminum grandiflorum, Spanish or Royal Jasmine, carries the largest and most powerfully scented flowers of the cultivated jasmines: pure white stars opening from pink-flushed buds, produced steadily through the warm months on a light, fine-leaved climbing frame.

It has been grown for perfume across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia for centuries, and in landscape work it is the standard scented climber for a courtyard wall, a pergola over a seating area or a boundary trellis.

Specifications

• Height3 to 5 metres as a climber
• Width2 to 3 metres
• Native toSouth Asia and north-east Africa; long cultivated across the Mediterranean and the Middle East
• FoliagePinnate leaves with small dark green leaflets; semi-evergreen, thinning in a cool winter
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilPrefers well-drained loams; tolerates a wide range including alkaline soils
• LightFull sun to partial shade; flowers most freely in full sun
• WaterModerate; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in subtropical, warm temperate and warm arid regions

Additional Features

• FlowersLarge, intensely fragrant white star-shaped flowers opening from pink-flushed buds, through the warm months
• UsesIdeal for courtyard walls, pergolas over seating, trellises, boundary screening and scented entrance planting
• SpacingPlant 1.5 to 2.5 metres apart along a structure
• Low MaintenancePrune after the main flush to keep the frame within bounds and to encourage new flowering wood
• Pest ResistanceGenerally resilient
• Drought ToleranceEstablished plants flower on modest irrigation in hot dry climates
• Cultural SignificanceGrown for perfume and for garlands across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia
• Wildlife AttractionEvening scent draws moths, and butterflies work the flowers by day

Spanish Jasmine is the scent people associate with a warm courtyard after dark, and no substitute reads the same way.