I love my star jasmine. What couldn’t be loved? It stays green all winter, blooms for weeks, and smells divine. I had part of my fence dismantled this summer in order to create a complete green wall between our yard and our neighbors. Between all the vines growing on this side of the garden, I almost made it.
In fact, the plan worked so well that I’m trying to replicate it on the other side of my garden. But the vine is expensive, and my heart as a gardener definitely exceeds my budget. So my solution is to propagate as many vines as possible to keep “Operation Green Wall” affordable.
My star jasmine is just starting to bloom in June. This is how I propagated my star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) from cuttings.
Step 1: Choose your source branch and cut.
Star jasmine propagates best from a semi-leafy vine.You have a better chance of success if you take your cutting from a semi-leafy vine. Let’s break it down a bit:
- Hardwood This is last year’s growth. You can recognize it by the fact that it is brown and already solidified. It is so rigid that if you try to tie it, it will break.
- Softwood is the new growth of this year. It is soft, still green and sometimes still growing. It is not mature enough to support new growth after you remove it from the parent plant.
- medium-hard wood This is the oldest vintage of this year. It is mature enough (but not too hardened) to support new growth. It’s still flexible, but it’s starting to stiffen. In star jasmine, semi-leafy vines look like light wood.
Using a sharp pruner, make a clean cut of a few vines, each about 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm). Cut just below a leaf node, as each new leaf node becomes a root node.
You can take two or three cuttings from a longer vine.Then divide each cutting into shorter cuttings, each with a few leaf nodes. My smallest cuttings were about 4-5 inches long (about 10-12cm). This length will vary depending on the distance between the nodes.
You will notice that the vine releases a milky sap as soon as you cut it, so remember to wear gardening gloves when propagating your jasmine.
Star jasmine releases a milky sap that can irritate sensitive skin. Always wear protective gloves when spreading.Step 2 – Remove the leaves to expose a few sets of nodes.
The next step is to remove the bottom sheet set. For the longer cuttings, I removed two sets of leaves. This bare part goes into the ground, so I want to leave room for new roots to grow. I also don’t want the leaves rotting underground while still attached to the stem.
For this cut, I removed two sets of leaves.Step 3: Mark the stem.
I have found stem marking increases my chances of successful propagation. Marking (some call it bruising, a term I really don’t like) refers to the scraping off of some of the protective coating on the upper. This helps expose more of the stem’s cambium layer, the part where the cells grow into new rootlets.
You essentially manually remove the protective barrier from the branch to encourage it to take root. Again, be sure to wear protective gloves when sliding the blade across the surface of the handle.
Do not cut too deep when marking the stem. A superficial scratch is sufficient.Step 4: Prepare your soil.
I chose to propagate my jasmine in garden compost, just to keep it simple. But since the garden soil contains more water than necessary, I mix it with coarse sand. I store my garden sand in plastic bottles, which makes working with sand less complicated. If you don’t have sand, you can add perlite or vermiculite.
If you have rooting hormone, you can dip the tip of the cutting now. I couldn’t find any natural organic rooting hormone; and since I’m growing an all-organic garden, I’ve chosen to skip this step.
If you are using bagged compost, you will need to add sand or perlite to lighten it.Step 5: Insert the cutting into the ground.
Carefully insert the removed stem into the soil, making sure you have a few sets of leaf nodes under the soil. Then fill it with more soil to bury any exposed knots.
I use a larger pot to propagate multiple cuttings.I propagate my jasmine by cuttings in September, so I won’t be covering it with a protective dome to keep it warm, as we still have several weeks of sunshine and mild temperatures ahead of us this season.
However, if you are growing later in the year or face overnight temperature drops, it is a good idea to protect new cuttings from wind and cold. You can tie a plastic bag over the cuttings or make a protective dome out of plastic bottles. You can also place the pot in your conservatory, greenhouse, winter garden or any other sheltered place that still gets plenty of light.
Fill with soil as soon as all the cuttings are inside. You can of course put each cutting separately in its own pot. I prefer to hedge my bets, while saving space, so I opted to propagate more cuttings in a bigger pot. By using a larger container I can better control the moisture content in the pot (not dry out) and place the pot in sun or shade if needed.
Roots take about a month to form, but that time varies depending on a number of factors, including temperature, humidity, exposure, and the quality of the material you started with.
You can tell if your cuttings are rooted by gently pulling them out of the ground. If there’s resistance, you’re in luck. It’s the carrots that fight back. If the stem (a dry cane at this point) comes off completely…well, you’ll have to try one more time to propagate your jasmine.
Step 6: Pot the individual cuttings.
Once your cuttings have formed roots, it’s a good idea to move them to their own individual pot. If you leave them in the same pot, the roots will merge together as they grow. This is great if you plan to plant your cuttings in the same spot. However, I plan to spread them out along a fence, so giving them their own pot to grow in is the first step in that plan. I will also share some with friends and my local gardening group.
Once rooted, the cuttings overwinter in their individual pots. Propagating vines from cuttings is one of the easiest ways to keep your garden lush and full on a shoestring budget.