![Stephanotis plants can be coaxed to rebloom. (Photo by Forest & Kim Starr [CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons)](https://media.gardenmaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/23182420/1024px-Starr_080530-4657_Marsdenia_floribunda-600x450.jpg)
I frequently see people studying these plants, seeming to wonder what they are and how to keep them in bloom. There are some secrets to growing this frost-tender tropical vine that originated in the woodlands of Africa, Madagascar and Asia. Given that this is the beginning of a northern winter, could it be any further out of its comfort zone?
Stephanotis is frequently sold in juvenile form, with its green stems and thick, shiny foliage tightly wrapped around a circular wire frame and stuck into a six-inch (15-cm) pot. The scented blooms are produced in short-stalked axillary cymes, their pristine white waxy petals forming tubular flowers with five spreading lobes. Usually, it’s available in late autumn, with several bunches of the deeply perfumed flowers on display. They may hold on to the stems through December, but then fall off and are seldom replaced with new flushes. Fertilizer fails to provoke any further flower buds, and eventually we grow bored and pitch the plant out. This is a great shame, because a young stephanotis vine is poised to provide a long season of flowers, if we would only pay attention to its blooming cycle.
A summer-blooming plant, stephanotis makes vine growth and repeated flower flushes beginning in spring, and continuing through autumn. Unfortunately, we encounter it as a December holiday plant, just at the end of its long season of bloom. When the last blooms are finished, the plant takes a winter rest period before resuming growth in mid-spring. Understanding the plant’s potential, it’s wise to enjoy the flowers until they drop, and then treat this plant to a restful winter in preparation for a return to flowering in spring and summer.
If we consider stephanotis as a permanent plant, it opens some interesting possibilities for indoor and outdoor gardeners. Outdoors in the tropics, the vine is capable of forming woody stems and growing to 20 feet (6 m), enough to cover a small garage! But it won’t tolerate temperatures lower than 15°C or cold drafts, and in our northern climate stephanotis makes a better permanent container plant.
Although it flowers well when slightly root bound, a new young plant should be potted up to an eight-inch (20-cm) pot. A clay- or loam-based potting soil is preferable to light soilless mix, and the vine should be grown somewhat dry over the winter, providing water sparingly only when the soil is dry. Stephanotis performs best in a humid environment, and in spring and summer, an indoor pot can be set on a tray of pebbles and water, with the water level just below the bottom of the pot. It also appreciates a morning misting when in active growth.
As a permanent plant, we can expect to see new growth in the spring. The wire hoop frame will soon be too small, and it makes sense to get the plant separated from the hoop in the first winter. A new climbing frame will be necessary, and that could be as simple as bamboo stakes with soft ties or a trellis in the pot. An older plant may eventually require pruning to reduce its size, and that can be done in late winter before new growth starts, cutting back main branches by no more than half their length.
Stephanotis can remain indoors permanently, in a sunny window with east or south exposure. It can also be taken outdoors to a patio or apartment terrace for the summer when night temperatures are reliably above 18°C, placing it in bright shade or half a day of sun. During the spring and summer months, the vine will need consistently moist soil and good drainage. Feed every third week with a water-soluble fertilizer with a higher middle number to encourage consistent flowering.
Feel free to pass this information on to those confused supermarket shoppers dallying over the stephanotis pots. With an understanding of this plant’s bloom cycle, we could all enjoy an extravagantly blooming perfumed vine for many summers to come.
HI I live in Australia and have a Stephanotis white climber its a few years old .But it has a lot of woody stems and no leaves in parts .Some are bare and leaves at ends .It does flower but it should be a lot more advance for its age and bushy .Should I have cut it back where it bare and at what time of the year to do it . Is it to late here early September spring time to trim back .? Many thanks yvonne,
My plant is in a south facing window and has grown to be about 20 ft long. How much can I safely cut it back?
The article says not more than half the stem length at a time. Good luck!
I bought my stephanotis 9 years ago it has flowers when I bought it. I flowers twice every year and has grown big and just this month I saw 1 pod as big as a small mango. It is still green. Since I bought it I fertilize it with fish emulsion every 3 weeks. leaves are dark green and it gives a lot of flowers. I live in Hayward California. It is outside in the terrace all year and never had a problem.
Hi there , my stephanotis has been doing well, well flowered and nice foliage . I have discovered some brown spots on one of the vine, that particular vine is fully covered with brown spots on it . Is it something I should worry about ?
where can I buy a stephanotis plant in Southern California. Preferably by Newport Beach Ca.
I’m in Ventura area, So Cal. I was surprised to see them at my local home depot. $25 for a 5 gallon
Lowes
We live in Perth Western Australia, my Stephanotis is covering a upstand at the end of a large pergola it has about 7 seed pods, each year it produces them. This creeper is the daughter of the first Stephanotis I planted years ago. She is in the ground and loves the same types of food and soil as the Gardenias that grow around her. I find she loves to have moist roots with lots of sun on her leaves. I have to cut her back a couple of times a year as she will get too large. I also give her liquid Potash, it is late autumn here and she has a few flowers but will be resting soon.
Hi, I live in Illinois; discovered this plant in a friend’s plant sunroom– over quite a few years hardly budging in growth, hanging in its small clay pot near a dim inner wall shelf, 5 to 7 feet or so from any of the remaining all-glass windows (room on s-west side of house).
I used to housesit, so visited often months apart but continuously over many years, so was witness to its sluggish growth. But this little plant with those deep green wax shiny leaves always attracted me.
Even moreso when I researched it. You see, it is my namesake plant, and since childhood have wanted to travel to Madagascar! So, I thought about asking my friend for a cutting.
As fate would have it, in watering her plants one day while housesitting, a piece fell off (about an 8- inch slip of an already-woody stem, not new growth). I snipped this in two pieces, plastic-bagged one in a sheet of soaked paper towel to take home w. me and the other slip I added to a tiny pewter vase containing another ‘stubborn’ woody slip from this same plant (which sat right near a north-facing window ledge over her kitchen sink). I’d never seen this little piece budge in growth all the years I houesat.
Well, apparently that little “accident” woke up the Stephanotis…because, only after several weeks (of getting my slip home and recutting a bit off the bottom and placing it in a smallish glass jar of water), it took off…and hasn’t stopped since (several years later)! I repotted this vigorous-rooted slip into a 6-inch diameter plastic pot.
I months later saw that, my friend’s mother plant and vased slip also were producing vigorous new growth as well (while the piece that had been in the vase previously still wasn’t doing anything noticeable).
Thus, the ‘moral’ of this tale might be: there is a factor besides, light, humidity, fertilizing, et al, that was inadvertently tapped into in dealing with this piece that fell off from the original sluggish plant.
So, for those of you wanting to root a slip, you might have best luck starting w. an older “woodiesh’ stem piece, rather than a fresh and tender slip, put in a plain bottle of water (not right ouut of the tap, but water having sat for a while to allow any chlorine to evaporate from hard city water taps). I also shade the bottle bottom where the roots will sprout (in a box or if you have a brown bottle that would work well too).
Alas, my slip is now a thriving vine in a potyed commercial houseplant soil, winding round a little trellis; but it has yet to produce flowers. I have been on track w. appropriately low Winter watering, letting it really go to the Dry Side (though, it gets a daily spritz of water on its leaves/vines.
So, we shall see, as come the Spring Equinox later this month (March 2019), I will be transplanting it into a slightly larger pot, with soil additive, lighting and fertilizing suggestions I have read here, from all of you (so, thanks for them!). And, will let you know if ‘Stephani’ blooms!!
Thank You Judith, very useful article, with a lot of great tips. 🙂
I live in SW France. My 8 year old potted Stephanotis has bloomed every other year, always on new growth. I intend to repot again using a loam based compost mixed with a small amount of slow release fertiliser – cotton seed meal.
I have had mine for 10 years, grows like a weed, actually have to keep it away from my other trees but it has only bloomed once , when i first got it ! I did transplant it a couple years ago to a bigger pot but again it still hasn’t even produced a flower bud ever ! it gets lots of light all day , quite sad about the blooms.. any ideas ?
Give it bone meal (phrosferous and potassium =flower power ).with with little palm and cactus mix ( granules). I work in Lowes nursery. When Appling granules just sprinkle on top of soil. When watering it slowly releases into soil. Reason why cactus and palm mix is because it has minerals especially when growing in pots
I was told they like their feet in the shade, so mine grows under the patio with the top of the climber on trellis and part sun.
It likes to be rootbound. Maybe plant a small cutting in a small pot and see how that works out
I live in northern Illinois and bought a stephanotis plant in the beginning of May. It was full of unopened blooms. I was excited because I’m a floral designer and Stephanotis adds so much beauty to bouquets. Anyways, I researched how to care for it and after it bloomed they all fell off and some leaves turned yellow. Okay, I assumed it was because it wasn’t getting enough humidity/undesirable temp because I wasn’t under or over watering it. It’s grown one new vine that has taken 3 1/2 months to grow 3 inches. I don’t see any other new growth. I plan on repotting it. What can I do to trigger new growth? I know someone who doesn’t know much about flowers who bought one as well and she tells me all the time that hers has a ton of new vines growing out of it. What am I doing wrong? Ignorance is not bliss!
I have a stephanosis plant that is blooming. I took it outdoors and now it has lost it’s scent. Will the scent come back if I bring it back indoors?
Mine does not have its scent either. It makes me wonder if there are different varieties and some do not give a scent. Does anyone know?
We just saw two fruits from our Hawaiian wedding vine, size of very small mango. What are they? Are they going to open when matured and bear seeds. We had this plant for over five years now and enjoy the flowers but this is the first time it produce fruits.
I live in Auckland New Zealand. Summer temperatures are usually between 23/26 C daytime dropping to 15/16 at night. In my part of Auckland winter temperatures day time 11/14 C and night 5/11 a few frosty mornings too most winters. I bought a stephanotis plant about 12 years ago planted in the ground by a pergola. In the winter it gets very little sun and in the summer sun from mid-day. It’s about 3 meters tall and is covered in flowers from late January until mid-February it doesn’t get much TLC. Every year it bares several seed pods that eventually pop open spreading seeds with their attached cotton like tuffs. I have tried planting these over the year without success. However I looked into the planting methods in some detail and in the last few weeks out of 20 seeds I planted 20 have sprouted. I simple put the seeds in small pots 100mm wide placed the seeds on damp seedling mix and covered with about 2/3 mm of sand. I then cut in half two empty 2 liter bottles of soft drink, clear plastic, coke/tonic water/ginger ale or whatever and placed these over the pots to make a very mini greenhouse environment for each pot and kept these close to an indoor window with temperatures between 22 and 15 degrees C. After 14 days up they came.
How did you plant green large seed that looks like an egg . Thank you
That large green ‘seed’ that looks like a (big) egg is actually a seed POD, not a seed. As it dries, it will slowly split open from top to bottom. You will then see the actual seeds, which are attached to white fluff–they look a lot like milkweed. There are dozens and dozens of seeds in each seed pod. I see that some of the comments provide help with growing the plant from seed.
Here in Hawaii, stephanotis can easily grow into a sturdy vine–though in dry areas, it may need to be watered. But once it is established, it develops woody stems and will require little care. Mine now covers the chain link fence along our back property line.
Good luck with growing yours! This is a lovely plant, even when it isn’t blooming.
I just purchased a stephanotis and I live in southwest florida zone 9-10 I think ..should I put it in the ground or in a pot?? It is fairly large noe about 2 ft tall
I would opt for the pot, I am in Calif.and mine has spent years in the same pot..
Flowers each year and I usually only get one pod per year, easy to pot up
Hi..I do have a nice-tall-healthy leaves stephanotis..”4 years old”..I
did get ”him” with flowers..never bloomed after.
Any suggestions ?..So, I repeat , the plant now is tall , looking happy,
why ”he” did forget about blooming ?
thanks in advance for your answer , and have a very very nice
celebration of Easter !
angela
I have discovered that they like old coffee grounds….I put the grounds in during the summer when it was out on the deck….it grew lots of new vines….it likes the coffee for the acidity….now that I have it in the house for the winter I mix a little diluted room temperature coffee once a month to add acidity to the soil …the vine bloomed 3 new flowers off a new vine …I mist it in the morning with de- humidifier water before I go to work every 3 rd day or so
..I also gently wipe down the leaves once a month with a moist paper towel…hope this helps
Hello I have a stephanotis that I bought last spring.It has flowered twice.I live in Mediterranean Spain.My roses and geraniums are already in bloom but this plant looks sad It is outside in a large pot What do I do please.
I’m bringing in my Madagascar Jasmine for the winter and really need to cut it back ? Any suggestions on how ?
Mine is a year old and has produced few flowers for this year..early November. Last February I had a fruit from it..small plum size something that I m still not sure what it was. I didn’t touch it but when it dried up, I opened it and indeed was it’s fruit. Small cherry size and green with a seed similar to plum. Anyone knows about this?
Yes they are seed star a new
Plant
Thank you , how do you plant those green fruits mine are large like an egg .
I have a plant that is 1 year old, I am thrilled it has flowered again this year , but no smell at all. Where am I going wrong ?
My stephanotis is 4 years old and as not flowered since its first year
The secret to flower it is to give it morning light(east facing window). Mine flowers in appril and again in september.Mine in on south east facing window
Hi I have large pods on my stephanotus plant. How do I grow from the seeds {the pods are still green and attached to the plant!}
I have a plant that is blooming really well this year. I need to know how to harvest the blooms if I want to use them in a corsage or wedding bouquet.
Just pick the bloom of the plant. You can buy stephanotis stems at a floral design supply store. The have a little cotton topped end. Soak those in water and then just push into the bottom of the bloom and it will pop out the center of the flower. Push in until the cotton is barely able to be seen inside the bloom. This will give you enough stem length to use in a bouquet or corsage. I hope that helps.
Hi there, my stephanotis was grown by me from a seed and is now 2 years old. I keep it in my greenhouse all year round with heat in the greenhouse in winter. Both summers it has been absolutely covered with flowers I am really chuffed that I have managed to keep it growing. The scent when I walk in my greenhouse every morning is wonderful.
It is a really beautiful plant and hope to keep it for many years.
I live on the UK.
Yes, I was very successful with stephanotis in Poland. In Illinois i already killed 3. The last 2 probably lost all leaves in my green house when temp dropped suddenly. I am learning how to manage temp with propane heating. Hopefully it will grow back so I will be able to make a new plants at least
Hello,
I purchased a medium size pot full of blooms last year, I have kept it in the same pot and added new soil. All of the leaves are green & healthy, it has grown quite a bit but no blooms this year. I only saw 3 that did open fully but that was it. What am I doing or not doing that is preventing my vine from blooming? I live in Central Florida.
I purchased a new one a few weeks ago, and it was also over flowing with flowers. I don’t want to make the same mistake with this one again.
Please help. Thank you 🙂
Can you start new plant from Stephnotis cutting? And how?
I tried before and did not succeed.
Earlier in the spring, I pruned my stephanotis and put 4 to 5 inch cuttings with partially woody stems, in plain water. Within weeks, several root “bumps” and then true roots appeared. I trimmed cutting to only two leaves at the top and then trimmed those leaves in half crosswise. I then transfered the 6 cuttings to peat pots with vermiculite. Placed them in lidded vented tall plastic container and kept evenly moist. Placed container outside in filtered sunlight. Within a matter of weeks, 4 of 6 had new growth. All have strong roots growing through the peat pots at the bottom.
I am a Michigan/Florida snowbird. I received a Stephanotis for mothers day in Michigan. It is doing well as a houseplant but wondering if I can plant it in the ground in central Florida, zone 9.
It is too cold in the winter in central FL to have them growing in the ground. You could keep them in a pot and place outside during the summer.
You should be able to if temp is not dropping below 55deg
No, don’t prune it back, that would be cutting off the bloom potential for the plant.
This is not unusual for stephanotis, particularly when grown indoors and not on a semi-tropical jungle hillside! It’s making a long vine because, with maturity, it wants to wrap itself around a tree limb. If you can find a way to wind the long stem growth around an object, like a wire frame or small trellis, it should put out foliage and flowers. You’ll need to be inventive, but should find something you can use for getting the vine into a circular position.
Good luck, and be glad you have a vigorous plant that wants to bloom.
My vine is planted in the ground for about one month now, it’s sending out lots of new growth, but the main part of the plant has lots of its leaves turning yellow. Can you tell if you think I have a problem? I fertilized it once. I live in Hawaii.Thank you
Hello, Diane: Here is Judith Adam’s reply to your question.
“Yellowing foliage is a symptom that can be caused by several circumstances. Two good indications will help to understand the problem. If the foliage is yellowing uniformly throughout the plant, that shows you the problem is cultural (moisture or nutrition issues), and not caused by a disease. Also, there is lots of new growth.
My thought is that the amount of fertilizer you applied was too generous, causing older leaves to yellow (signs of burned roots), and stimulating new growth at the same time. Try to keep the soil moist and be sure it drains well; that will help to leach out some of the excess fertilizer salts. And don’t fertilizer again for at least six to eight weeks. When you do provide another fertilizer meal, use half the amount of what is advised on the product package.
I think your plant will recover and survive, and go on to make lovely flowers.”
I live in the Highlands of Scotland my Stephanotis Floribunda I have had about 6 months bought in Feb. in full bloom now July 2018 and plant in sorry state with dry brownish leaves, I have put it in to a larger pot and it is kept in East window, would it be better in my West facing sun room in the summer which can get to 30degs with about 20 hours of daylight, unable to find any new growth would bring it into warm house from September to end of May!!
My plant was growing slowly over the past two years, about 8-10 inches tall with leaves every inch or so. This fall it suddenly shot up! It’s now about 5.5 ft tall with little nubs but no more leaves have grown and it’s just the original leaves at the bottom. It’s awkward now and I don’t know if I should prune it back down or what I should do! Any suggestions?!
I have had a Stephanotis jasmine for 3 years now. Last spring I was lucky to have a bloom filled plant that lasted for a few weeks. This spring not so lucky yet… Thank you for the helpful growing tips.