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Growing Gelsemium sempervirens
Training Climbers - Video Tip
Plants

Gelsemium - Growing Guide

Growing Gelsemium sempervirens

Commonly known as ‘Carolina Jasmine’

This evergreen climber will tolerate a little frost but is one of those plants which we lost in our unheated tunnels during the late cold snap in the spring of 2012. It is therefore a plant for the conservatory or greenhouse except in the mildest locations. Where you can grow it outside on a hot wall or on a sunny pergola it is a vigorous, twining climber which will grow up to 10ft tall.

The flowers of G. sempervirens appear in clusters 2-3in across with individual flowers 1¼in long. They are a spectacular pale to deep yellow with darker orange throats and very fragrant.

The flowers appear in late spring and on into summer. We find that they are slow to get going and flower in spring which is another argument for growing them in a warm greenhouse for best effect. There you can apply liquid feed more readily in the growing season and top dress the pots in the autumn.

Cuttings of semi-ripe new growth will root fairly slowly if taken in summer and given bottom heat. We have not seen our plants produce seeds.

So these are slightly difficult to grow but very rewarding when you grow them well alongside other jasmine perhaps?