Jasminum polyanthum

Jasminum polyanthum, the pink jasmine or Chinese jasmine, is the most floriferous of the group, a fast, evergreen twining vine that smothers a support in late winter and spring with clouds of intensely fragrant white flowers opening from deep pink buds. Native to China, the plant is beloved wherever winters are mild for the sheer volume of bloom and a perfume strong enough to fill a garden or a room.

The pink of the name is in the buds: tight rosy buds cover the vine and open to a starry mass of white, so the plant reads pink one week and white the next, all of it heavily scented. Bloom comes early, often in late winter, when little else is in flower, and a single well-grown vine can carry thousands of flowers at once.

Pink jasmine is tender, hardy to about zone eight, and where winters are colder is grown as a conservatory or greenhouse vine or a houseplant on a hoop, moved outdoors for the warm months. Given a support, full sun to part shade, and ordinary well-drained soil, the plant grows vigorously and needs regular pruning after flowering to stay in bounds.

Grow pink jasmine where the late-winter fragrance can be enjoyed at close range: on a trellis, arch, fence, or pergola near a door or window, spilling over a warm wall, or trained on a hoop in a large pot. The early flood of bloom makes a fine cool-season show, and the scent is unmistakable. Cut back hard after flowering, since the vine grows fast and blooms on the previous season's wood.