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Gelsemium sempervirens 'Margarita'

Carolina Jessamine

A reliable zone 6 Gelsemium? This is it! It has flowered here in Landenberg for 10 years and the survival rate is 100%, with occasional dieback in the harshest winters. A profuse display of clear yellow trumpet flowers in early summer with semievergreen foliage.

'Margarita' is a superior seedling selected by Don Jacobs of Eco Gardens in Decatur, Georgia. With its much larger, more prominent flowers, it was superior in every way to common seedlings, so Jacobs named it for his wife. He had no idea that it would survive winters to minus 25 F. as it has here in Pennsylvania. Gelsemium 'Margarita' is a Gold Medal Award winner from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Carolina Jessamine is found from Virginia to Texas to Florida, usually in a bright spot at wood's edge or in a clearing, but it can also be seen climbing a fence or tree in an open field where the Kudzu hasn't yet taken over.

Prefers moist, rich, well-drained, slightly acidic soils in full sun to partial shade. Tolerant of short periods of drought. Can cut back to the ground in early spring to control height. Propagate by softwood terminal cuttings. Best used to climb trellises, arbors and fences, as it is a twining rather than clinging vine.

A beautiful and restrained vine with dark green foliage and golden yellow flowers in spring. May repeat some in fall, too. Also semi-evergreen! Margarita is a strikingly hardy selection for gardeners who could never grow Jessamine before! Easy to grow and very giving. A PHS Gold Medal Award winner. Brushwood Nursery

This spring-blooming vine can also be used as a ground or bank cover. It can add color and light fragrance to entryways and patios and is often seen spilling over walls or cascading down the sides of containers. PlantAdvisor.com