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Carolina Jessamine
Gelsemium sempervirens
Also called carolina yellow jessamine, yellow jessamine, evening trumpetflower, carolina jasmine, carolina yellow jasmine, false jasmine and false jessamine
Also comes in orange.
Carolina Jessamine blooms from February through April.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Carolina Jessamine
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 6–10. Expect it to reach about 15 ft tall and 4.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 4 years (checked).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
- Listed as poisonous to people by NC State Extension and Royal Horticultural Society.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Carolina Jessamine
Plant Carolina Jessamine in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 8, the middle of its hardy zones 6 to 10, spring means February to April and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from February to April.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 8, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 8 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Carolina Jessamine get?
15 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult4.5 ftwideSee Carolina Jessamine in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Carolina Jessamine
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Carolina Jessamine about 4.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Carolina Jessamine to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Carolina Jessamine's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 11 published sources on October 13, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- Internet Archive (archived page)Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center (archi...height, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, pests and toxicity
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, diseases and pests
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- Plant Addictsheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- University of Florida IFASGardening Solutionsheight, sun, water, trait tags, soil, diseases and toxicity
- Internet Archive (archived page)Southern Living Plant Collection (archived brand page)height, spread, hardiness zones, water and bloom months and color
- repository.library.noaa.govNorth Carolina Sea Grant, Coastal Landscapes Initiative, NC Coastal La...height, spread, hardiness zones and bloom months and color
- climatereadyplants.ucdavis.eduUniversity of California, Davis, Climate Ready Vines Project species s...height, spread and water
- University of Georgia ExtensionUniversity of Georgia Cooperative Extension, Native Plants for Georgia...height and bloom months and color
- Internet Archive (archived page)Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Plants of the World Online (archived publi...trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.