The Downy jasmine with its pretty white flowers can be trained to remain in a shrub quality, or as a spreading vine.

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Downy Jasmine

This lovely plant is a native of India, who prize it for perfume making as well as being used to make tea. In Florida it tends to make beautiful tiny delicate white flowers that grow in a clustered fashion.

Often each bush will have five to six such clusters. The flowers themselves are star-shaped. Other jasmines are more fragrant than this type, but it can leave a delicate romantic aroma.

The leaves themselves are covered with a downy-like pubescence, which means that it has fine hairs making it appear more velvety than anything. The coloring of this pubescence is a mixture of green and gray.

The leaves of this beautiful plant are dark green, rounded at the base, and ovate in form. Each leaf may be as long as 2" and they grow as opposites on the stem.

It grows well in the hotter parts of the U.S. including Louisiana, California, Texas and Florida. Luckily for those in colder climates, it can be grown as a houseplant, since it takes well to being trained to remain small sized.

Numerous gardeners have used this plant as ground cover. It will not push roots into the ground thus if you use it on a hill, it will remain as a vine but it covers the ground admirably well.

More often than not, people like it close to their front door, due to the delicate scent that this plant puts out. It’s not overpowering as some other plants can be. As ground cover, it’s more than workable.

Those who wish to begin their own Downy Jasmine will want to obtain woody stem cuttings. The vine itself is basically drought tolerant, but the plant should never be allowed to dry out as it will then not make the beautiful flowers, though it’s not in need of copious amounts of water.

Fences allow this plant to grow well on them, as do trellises, thus landscapers use this plant often. Because it can be trimmed back though and therefore not need a trellis or fence to climb, it’s a very versatile plant, since it can be used as either a foundation or a climber. If you prune it regularly it will remain in a shrub form.

You may find this plant called star jasmine due to its absolutely lovely star shaped flowers that are not only dainty but considered very romantic, probably due to its feminine scent. Also, I am told that Downy Jasmine pearl tea is supposed to be a wonderful tea.

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