jasmine plant

by linda
(victoria, b.c. canada)

i bought a jasmine plant last year and planted it in my garden - as we have had some snow this year it seems to be frostbitten or not doing too well. should i uproot it or give it some time to come back to life? i love it and would like to see it blossom a lot more times. thanks for your help p.s. live in victoria. b.c.

Doug says that Jasmine officinale is one of the hardier jasmines and it's only hardy (reliably) to around 30F (just below freezing). So even in balmy Victoria - this isn't a reliably hardy outdoor plant. If you're frosted it - it isn't going to be at all happy.

The question of course is whether it's alive or dead - and that's not something I can tell from here. Scrape under the bark with your thumbnail - if it's a nice green then the vine is still alive. If a sick green or brown, then it's toast.

Dig or leave? I guess it depends on what kind of weather you expect for the rest of the winter. It's dormant now so you can do anything you like with it without hurting it too badly.

Good luck with it.