Pink jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) care

Flowering · needs attention to keep

Pink jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) wants bright light with several hours of direct sun. Water it every 5 days. Keep damp in spring and summer, drier in autumn and winter. The cool dry autumn rest is what sets the buds. Pot it in loam-based compost with grit. A high-potash feed every two weeks from spring until flowering finishes, and repot once a year. Humidity: above 50%. Non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Pink jasmine: a vigorous twining climber that covers itself in pink buds opening to white, scenting a whole room. It is sold trained around a hoop in midwinter and needs a cool, dry autumn to flower again — which is why most are treated as a one-season plant.

Quick facts

Water: Water every 5 days. Keep damp in spring and summer, drier in autumn and winter. The cool dry autumn rest is what sets the buds.
Light: Bright light with several hours of direct sun.
Humidity: Above 50%.
Soil: Loam-based compost with grit.
Feeding: A high-potash feed every two weeks from spring until flowering finishes.
Repotting: Repot once a year.
Toxic to pets: Non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Difficulty: Needs attention.
Mature size: Climbs to 2–3 m.
Native to: Southwest China.

Watering a Pink jasmine

Water every 5 days. Keep damp in spring and summer, drier in autumn and winter. The cool dry autumn rest is what sets the buds.

That cadence is the one PlantParlour sets for this species when you name it, and it is deliberately on the cautious side — a plant that asks a day early is safer than one that asks a day late. Log each watering and the reminder moves with the plant rather than with the calendar.

Light

Bright light with direct sun. Indoors it needs the sunniest window there is; outdoors in summer it is happier still.

Humidity and temperature

Above 50%. Central heating in winter is what turns a comfortable room into a dry one, and it is the usual reason an established plant suddenly browns at the edges or picks up spider mites.

Soil and potting

A loam-based compost with grit for drainage. Jasmine is a vigorous climber and wants something with body to it.

Feeding

A high-potash feed every two weeks from spring until flowering finishes. Stop feeding in autumn and start again when you see new growth in spring — feeding a plant that isn't growing just builds up salts in the pot.

Repotting

Repot once a year. Every second spring. Prune hard right after flowering — it flowers on the previous season's growth, so pruning later costs you next year's blooms.

Common problems

No flowers
Too warm in autumn, or pruned at the wrong time.

Fix: Give it six weeks of nights around 10 °C in autumn, and prune only immediately after flowering.
Yellow leaves dropping
Overwatering, or a pot that is too small.

Fix: Check the drainage and repot in spring.
Red spider mite in a warm room
Dry heat.

Fix: Raise humidity and treat weekly.

Propagation

Semi-ripe cuttings in summer, or layer a stem into a neighbouring pot.

A cutting taken in PlantParlour keeps its link to the plant it came from, so a propagation years later still traces back to the mother plant — which is the point if you ever sell or trade it.

Toxicity and safety

Non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Questions people ask

How often should you water a Pink jasmine?

Water every 5 days as a starting point — that is the cadence PlantParlour sets for Jasminum polyanthum. Keep damp in spring and summer, drier in autumn and winter. The cool dry autumn rest is what sets the buds. Light, pot size and the time of year all move that number, so treat it as a reminder to go and check rather than a rule.

How much light does a Pink jasmine need?