Winter Jasmine
Jasminum nudiflorum
Text: Debbie Ricigliano
Photo: OSU Department of Horticulture
Much good can be said for a shrub that bursts forth with tiny yellow flowers during the bleakest part of the year.
Jasmine nudiforum or Winter jasmine is known to be one of the earliest blooming plants in the landscape. Flowers open between January and March, usually peaking in February. This 3-4 ft. x 4-7 ft. shrub has trailing branches that form a mounded mass. The trailing branches root where they contact bare soil, so give this shrub room to sprawl and fill in areas if you like. The deep green leaves are attractive in the summer.
It can be trained up a wall or trellis, grown as a groundcover, or planted to allow the stems to tumble down a wall or slope. Plant in full sun for best flowering. It adapts to many soil types as long as it is well-drained. It is not known to be prone to insect or disease problems and deer leave it alone.