Confederate Jasmine

Confederate Jasmine is a twining evergreen vine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, grown for star-shaped creamy white flowers whose sweet scent carries across a yard in late spring. Glossy, leathery, dark green leaves hold their color year round, and new growth flushes bronze-purple. Native to eastern Asia, from Japan south to Vietnam, it takes full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil, and it is hardy in USDA zones 8 through 10. Trained on a fence or arbor it climbs to about 20 feet; left unsupported and clipped it spreads as a ground cover about 2 feet tall. Bloom peaks in late spring, with scattered flowers into summer. Once established it tolerates drought and salt, which suits coastal yards. Prune after flowering to keep it dense, and clean the sticky milky sap off tools afterward.