Niente?

I like the composition of shapes and colors - the yellow with the rusty and green leaves is lovely. Also, I am envious. I bought Gelsemium sempervirens 'Margarita', hoping it might bloom for me, but we are just too cold here. It hasn't died, but it hasn't thrived, either. I need to pot it up and find a bright, cool indoor spot for wintering over mine so I can enjoy those winter blooms.

Very nice. How rampantly does that winter jasmine grow? I have a spot where I could grow it up a trellis like yours, but I've heard it likes to spread and take over all the neighbors. Perhaps that's a bigger problem further south?

Thanks Babs. Do you think you could move it to a protected spot, such as against a wall or fence? Maybe it would help.

Sean, you can see how one season of growth creates those sprays of stems. I prune it right after flowering in spring, usually by late April/early May. The thing about it spreading and taking over is that IF you allow those clambering stems to touch the ground, then they will definitely take root, and the from there it goes on, sort of as if the stems were hopping along the ground. But some vigilant pruning every spring will stop that. I think the possibility of bright flowers at almost any time during winter (when there's a little mild spell), along with the evergreen stems, is worth the trade off. Also, after flowering, it does produce leaves, but they're tiny and in the fall there's no raking at all needed. They just sort of fall off and blend.

Thanks, Bill, but I already sited it against an uninsulated foundation of the house. It's just too cold here and for too long. We don't have a winter thaw. Might work in 5b, but last winter it got to -23, and it wasn't any happier with the -17 the previous year. I wish I had known about this plant when I lived in a warmer spot.

Bill, those plants are so awesome especially the Winter Jasmine! Question, does it have a fragrance and do you think I could grow that in my area being just north of Boston? Zone 6 I believe... Thanks

And that Yucca, does it actually survive your winters without protection even with -o readings and lots of snow...?

mikerno_1micha, I had a yucca plant that grew just fine at my previous house here in zone 5a. I started it from seed that I collected from alongside a rural road in Colorado, so there are definitely yuccas that will grow for you, but I don't know how available they are in commerce.

Bill, thank you..

Mike, I forgot to answer your question about the winter jasmine fragrance. It does not have any fragrance. I did grow a Jasminum officinale from Logee's in CT for a few years. It does have that great fragrance. I had it at the base of a south-facing stone wall, and it grew OK in summer, but was usually killed back most winters. It wouldn't die, but it wouldn't recover much either, and usually didn't even bloom. A couple of times when we had a really mild winter, it managed to produce some flowers, but it finally succumbed to a cold winter.

There is one called Jasminum x stephanense that is supposed to be fragrant with slightly pink flowers. Depending on the vendor, it may be listed as hardy to zone 6b or 7a, so it might be worth trying in a protected spot.