Training jasmine on a fence, and repotting it later

April 6, 2016 8:32 AM

I just bought a jasmine vine and a large planter (22"). I want screening along a fence adjacent to my patio. I assume I'll have to repot the vine in a couple years. Is there a way to train the vines such that there will be enough slack to do this replanting without cutting off all the vines?

The plant we bought came in a two quart (?) container and already has vines about eight to ten feet tall. They're wrapped around a central pole now, but I'm going to try to fan them out. Any tips you have about doing this would be much appreciated.

posted by slidell to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

The vine is going to grow primarily up and out, so:

1. Put the vine, in the planter, up against the trellis.

2. Holding the top of the vine against the trellis with your hand, get your arm around the planter and try and tilt the bottom toward you, as you would when working it off for repotting.

3. If you can do this, you're set. You will have to do the initial repotting at an angle (that is, slide the old planter off, slide the new planter w/some soil in the bottom of it onto the root bundle, then level it, loosen the roots, and fill in the gaps / top off) but this is not much of a hassle.

Keep in mind, though, that jasmine develops its root system via runners - anywhere the plant touches the ground, it will eventually form roots. If you want it to expand enough for screening, you need to give it the room to do so.

So, you'll either need to be mindful, trim it as it grows, and accept it at a smaller size, or (and IMO, this is the better option, if possible), plant it directly in the soil and let it do its thing, trimming it selectively for aesthetics.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:53 AM on April 6, 2016

Sorry, that should be "holding the BASE of the vine against the trellis". You just want to get an ida of how much play the pot has when the vine is fixed to the fence, as it will be when it is more mature.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:59 AM on April 6, 2016

Jasmine is very easy to train. We have a lot of it, and a lot of vine-habit roses, that we train through twine loops for just this purpose. The twin loops affix to the fence/tree/support structure, and we train the vines through those loops, not through the support structure. Easy peasy, but requires vigilance and maintenance.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 12:41 PM on April 6, 2016