Is a Jasmine a Perennial Plant?

Jasmine -- plants that belong to the Jasminum species -- grow as vines or shrubs. A wide variety of jasmine plants exist. All of them flower on a perennial basis and thrive in warmer climates with full sun.

Being a perennial vine means that plants belonging to the Jasminum species grow each year -- which means you don't have to replant them each season. While the flowers may die during the winter, the roots of Jasminum vines stay alive.

The term "jasmine" may refer to a number of flowers. Types of jasmine include Jasminum officinale or poet's jasmine; Jasminum nudiflorum or winter jasmine and Jasminum floridum or showy jasmine. The Clemson University Cooperative Extension lists several other varieties of jasmine that are subtropical: downy, Italian, Spanish, South African and primrose jasmine.

You can identify Jasmine officinale, or poet's jasmine, by its 1-inch white flowers that bloom during the summer and fall. The vines grow up to 15 feet and produce leaves with five to nine leaflets, according to the Clemson Cooperative Extension website. Jasminum nudiflorum, or winter jasmine, is a shrub-like vine that produces 1-inch yellow flowers. Unlike the flowers on poet's jasmine, winter jasmine flowers do not possess a strong scent. They bloom during winter and the early parts of spring. Jasminum floridum, or showy jasmine, is similar to winter jasmine. Its flowers resemble and smell like the flowers on winter jasmine vines, but bloom from April to June. The vines produce dark green leaves that last longer than the leaves of winter jasmine plants.