How to Grow and Care for Italian Jasmine

Chrysojasminum humile

Looking for a vine that delivers months of cheerful blooms with hardly any effort on your part? Italian jasmine might be just what your garden needs.

With its bright yellow flowers that pop from late spring through early autumn, Chrysojasminum humile is a reliable performer in USDA Hardiness Zones 7 to 10. It’s highly adaptable, unfussy, and practically takes care of itself once established.

Whether you want something to cover a bare fence, climb a trellis, or spill over a retaining wall, this vine brings a bold splash of sunshine wherever it grows.

Ready to learn more? Here’s what we’ll cover:

This plant isn’t a true jasmine, despite the name. Italian jasmine is closely related to the plants in the Jasminum genus, but it’s classified in the Chrysojasminum genus instead.

The name “Chrysojasminum” means golden jasmine and includes about a dozen species. “Chryso” is Latinized Greek for gold, which is one of the features that sets this species apart from its white-flowered relatives.

C. humile is sometimes still listed under its former classification, Jasminum humile, so don’t be confused if you see both names used interchangeably. The reclassification is relatively recent.

Sometimes called Italian yellow jasmine, this species puts on a vibrant display of small, trumpet-shaped flowers from late spring through summer, followed by shiny black berries in the fall.

Leaves are elliptical with smooth, entire margins, and unlike most true jasmines, they grow in an alternate pattern – staggered along the stem rather than opposite one another.

Plants can sprawl up to 20 feet in both height and width under ideal conditions, though they’re usually more restrained in garden settings.

Italian jasmine is native to a broad swath of Asia including Afghanistan, Burma, China, the Himalayas, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Tibet.

The plant has naturalized in parts of southern Europe, where it’s become a familiar sight.

How to Grow

Italian jasmine is highly adaptable. While it prefers well-draining soil, it will happily grow in clay or sand.

Full sun encourages the best flowering, but the plant will tolerate partial shade, though it may bloom less impressively.

It’s both heat and drought tolerant once established, though it does best with fairly consistent moisture. When the top inch or two of the soil dries out, it’s time to add more water.

You can easily test this by sticking your finger into the soil to your second knuckle. If it feels dry, water. Or use a moisture meter to be more accurate.

If you aren’t sure, don’t water. Overwatering is far more dangerous to this plant than letting it dry out a bit.

The soil should be anywhere between slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, but neutral is best.

The nutrients from the well-rotted compost will work their way into the soil and nourish the plant, which isn’t a heavy feeder.

Varieties to Select

While there aren’t a huge number of cultivars to choose from, there are a few different varieties and forms you may encounter.

Microphyllum

C. humile var. microphyllum features a scrambling, semi-climbing growth habit that makes it ideal for use as a ground cover or trained against a support.

True to its name, it has smaller leaves than the species, giving it a finer texture overall.

Though it can be difficult to source, this variety is well-suited for rock gardens or for stabilizing slopes and banks where erosion control is needed.

Revolution

‘Revolution’ aka ‘Revolutum’ has larger, more fragrant flowers than the species, blooming reliably from late spring into early autumn.

This semi-evergreen cultivar grows to about eight feet tall and wide, with an upright, bushy habit and glossy green foliage that adds year-round interest in mild climates.

It tends to be grafted onto J. fruticans rootstock, which supports its vigorous growth. While not as frost-tolerant as the species, it remains evergreen in areas with mild winters.

In colder regions, heavy frosts may cause dieback, but it can regenerate from the base in spring. The Royal Horticultural Society awarded it the Award of Garden Merit in 1993.

Wallichianum

C. humile f. wallichianum is a botanical form originally described from specimens collected in Nepal and introduced to Britain around 1812.

This variant stands out for its distinctive foliage, typically bearing seven to 13 leaflets per leaf – more than the species average. Its growth habit is semi-evergreen and arching, reaching up to 10 feet tall under ideal conditions.

Unlike the species plant, wallichianum tends to produce fewer but more pendulous bright yellow blooms during the summer, sometimes lightly fragrant.

Though some taxonomists consider it synonymous with C. humile var. humile, the distinctive leaf structure and more relaxed flower clusters make it a recognizable and garden-worthy option, especially for those looking for a softer, more textured look in the landscape.

Maintenance

Italian jasmine can grow as a spreading, sprawling shrub that is far wider than it is tall, or it can grow as an upright shrub that is equally tall as it is wide.

Or it can take on a tree-like form, taller than it is wide and with a single main trunk.

You can prune to shape it however you like, whether you want to train it upright, maintain a dense hedge, or espalier it along a support.

But whatever style you choose, wait to prune until after flowering has finished. Cutting earlier may reduce or eliminate the following year’s blooms.

 Learn all about pruning jasmine in our guide.

Propagation

There are multiple ways to propagate Italian jasmine, starting seeds, taking cuttings, or transplanting nursery start are the most common.

If you’d like to learn more about the slightly more complex and less common methods of air or mound layering, we cover those in more detail in our guide to propagating jasmine.

From Seed

Start seeds indoors about six weeks before the last predicted frost date in your region. Soak the seeds for about 24 hours in room temperature water before sowing to soften the seed coat.

While they soak, prepare small pots with a well-draining potting mix that includes compost or humus and a moisture-retentive material like coconut coir.

Sow each seed about half an inch to an inch deep, and water the soil thoroughly.

Set the pots in a spot with bright, indirect light. After the seeds germinate and the leaves emerge, put the pots in a spot with at least six hours direct light per day, or use a grow light.

From Cuttings

Take semi-hardwood cuttings in late spring when new growth has just begun to harden.

Using clean pruners, snip a six- to eight-inch section from the end of a healthy vine, making your cut just below a leaf node at a 45-degree angle.

Remove all but the top two leaves, then dip the cut end in rooting hormone to encourage root development.

Insert the cutting two to three inches deep in a four- or five-inch pot filled with moist potting soil. Firm the soil to keep the cutting upright and water gently.

Place the pots in a warm area with bright, indirect light. Keep the soil evenly moist, but never soggy. To maintain humidity, you can tent a clear plastic bag or place a glass cloche over the pot.

Transplanting

If you’ve started Italian jasmine from seed or cuttings, or picked one up at the nursery, the next step is getting it into the ground.

Dig a hole that’s twice as wide and twice as deep as the container the plant is growing in.

This gives the roots room to spread and prevents them from becoming tangled or circling, which can eventually girdle and weaken the plant.

Fill in around the roots with the removed soil and water well. Add more soil if the ground settles.

Pests and Disease

Italian jasmine is generally low-maintenance and rarely troubled by pests or disease. But no plant is completely immune.

Healthy specimens may occasionally host a few aphids, especially on tender new growth, but this rarely causes any harm.

Grow a Bit of Golden Sunshine

I firmly believe every garden benefits from some cheerful yellow to bring a little sunshine to the space, and Italian jasmine delivers just that.

With vivid, long-lasting blooms and semi-evergreen foliage, it brings warmth and color to the landscape season after season.

How will you use yours? Will it brighten a dull fence, climb an archway, or spill over a wall? Share your plans in the comments section below.

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