You may have the Swamp Jessamine, instead of the Carolina Jessamine, Rob. The Swamp Jessamine blooms in both the Spring and Fall. But the Carolina Jessamine only blooms in late Winter or Spring. Another identification factor is the aroma. The Carolina Jessamine has very aromatic flowers and the Swamp Jessamine's flowers have no fragrance at all. In appearance, the vines are nearly identical. Tony

Tony,
Thanks for the response. The blooms are quite fragrant so I don't think it is swamp jasmine. Maybe mine is just "special". Anyway it was a pleasant surprise. Thanks again...Rob

Mine blooms in Feb.

our recent hurricanes have alot of plants "out of sink" here..some kind of plant shock maybe..

I had a Gelsemium rankinii (Swamp Jessamine) that was fragrant. It was less so than G. sempervirens, but definitely had a light, sweet odor when in bloom. Mine bloomed spring and fall, and I liked it better than C. Jessamine for that reason.

Soeur

Hi. I have been studying these two species since 1999 and have some answers that might be useful here: Fragrance-all known individuals of Carolina Jessamine (G. sempervirens), with the exception of populations in the high mountains of Eastern Mexico, are fragrant. Most individuals of G. rankinii are not fragrant but there appears to be considerable individual and population level fragrance. It was originally thought that the two species might be hybridizing and the fragrant G. rankinii were F1 hybrids but genetic analysis has shown that is not true. They are separate species. As for flowering time, this is strongly influenced by cultivation. In nature, both rarely flower in the fall, and in the spring, G. sempervirens flowers consistenly prior to G. rankinii with little overlap. In cultivation, extensive fall flowering occurs, particularly in warm winters. In S. GA, where I live, warm Octobers with no freezing nights lead to the initiation of flowering of G. sempervirens in early November (at my house along a fence). Once a freeze happens, the buds appear to stay dormant and then start opening in early Feb.-finishing by late March. Your flowering time will depend on your climate zone, light levels, extra water and nutrients provided, microclimate, etc.
If anyone has seeds from fragrant G. rankinii, please contact me if you can provide them as I will be starting a new study looking at genetic control of odor production using HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) and Mass Spectrometry to characterize fragrance chemistry in the two species.
Thanks, John Pascarella
Associate Professor of Biology
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, GA 31698

Here is a link that might be useful: my university web page

I have 2 Carolina Jasmine's. I have one planted where it gets afternoon sun. It is blooming so pretty, & 1 in noon time sun. It is also blooming , but not like the one in afternoon sun. I love them, they are so pretty.

Dirtygardener, no one should be offended by being corrected politely and respectfully. You certainly should never apologize for doing so.

Thanks, rhizo_1. I would have done the correction privately like I usually do, but I've seen that so many times this week (since Jessmine is blooming now) that it just got to me.

I have two, side by side as I love my native SC flowering vine. One is in full bloom right now, the other nothing! I blame it on the brutally warm winter here in the Georgia mountains.

And thank you for correcting the Jasmine comment. Makes me crazy also!