ShrubsCarolina Jessamine
Gelsemium sempervirens
Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is a medium-growing shrub, hardy in USDA zones 7-10, that matures to about 12-20 ft × 3-6 ft. It does best in full sun with medium water needs in well-drained, moist and occasionally-dry soil. Expect yellow blooms in winter and spring. It attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, stands up well to deer and salt.
- USDA zones
- 7-10
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Medium
- Mature size
- 12-20 ft × 3-6 ft
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Maintenance
- Low
- Soil
- Well-drained, Moist, Occasionally-dry
- Bloom color
- Yellow
- Bloom season
- Winter, Spring
- Attracts
- Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Pollinators, Small mammals
- Tough against
- Deer, Salt
- Native to
- Southern United States, Mexico, Guatemala
In the landscape
Data sources
Freeze survival
Will it survive your winters?
Hardiness zones show a normal bad winter. We check the worst one — Carolina Jessamine is hardy to about 0°F (estimated from USDA zone 7), so we'll score it against the real coldest nights your area has actually had.
Powered by ~35 years of daily lows from the nearest NOAA weather station. A risk read, not a guarantee — a sheltered spot or mature plant beats the odds.
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