In the Mediterranean countries you can often admire entire hedges of real jasmine. In our latitudes, the popular ornamental plant is only partially suitable for planting as a hedge. It is not hardy and must be kept indoors over the winter.
Is real jasmine suitable for hedges?
True jasmine is not well suited to hedges in colder climates because it is not hardy, needs to be dug up in winter and does not grow densely enough. An alternative is to create a summer hedge made of jasmine in pots on terraces or balconies.
True jasmine is not well suited for hedges
There are several reasons why real jasmine is not well suited to creating hedges:
- Jasmine is not hardy
- Jasmine is not dense enough
- Jasmine needs to be dug up in winter
The perennial jasmine is deciduous. It loses its leaves in autumn. Even if you could overwinter it outside, the jasmine would not form an opaque hedge in winter.
Create a summer hedge from jasmine
However, there is a good alternative as to how you can grow a real jasmine hedge for your terrace or balcony in summer. To do this, place several climbing plants in pots and attach trellises. You can get offshoots by propagating them from cuttings.
Place the pots as a border on the terrace or along the balcony railing.
If you cut the jasmine back in spring, it will branch out well and become quite dense. During the flowering period, you can enjoy the intense scent when you spend the evenings on the terrace.
Real jasmine must be kept frost-free over the winter
As soon as frost sets in, the glory of a jasmine hedge is over. The pots have to go to winter quarters before the temperatures drop below zero.
Perennial jasmine cannot survive frost, even with good winter protection. An exception is Jasminum nudiflorum, which is partially hardy. However, it also blooms in winter and spring and is therefore no longer as decorative in summer.
You can overwinter jasmine in a pot in a frost-free place where temperatures must not rise above ten degrees. If the potted plant is too warm, it will not bloom the following year.
Tip
If you see dense hedges of jasmine in this country, it is exclusively false jasmine or fragrant jasmine. These varieties belong to the pipe bushes and are hardy. They are also deciduous and shed all their leaves in autumn.
