How to Grow and Care for Stephanotis

Stephanotis, often called Madagascar jasmine or bridal flower, is a beautiful flowering vine known for its small, fragrant white blooms and glossy green leaves. It thrives in tropical and humid environments with warm winters, making it ideal for regions with consistent temperatures ranging from 65°F to 90°F. To ensure healthy growth, provide full sunlight and maintain moist, slightly acidic soil.

Common Name	Stephanotis, Madagascar jasmine, bridal flower
Botanical Name	Marsdenia floribunda (formerly Stephanotis floribunda)
Family	Apocynaceae
Plant Type	Perennial, vine
Mature Size	3-4 ft. tall indoors, 10-20 ft. tall outdoors
Sun Exposure	Full, partial
Soil Type	Well-drained
Soil pH	Acidic
Bloom Time	Spring, summer
Flower Color	White
Hardiness Zones	12 (USDA)
Native Area	Madagascar

Stephanotis Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing stephanotis:

• Provide a suitable trellis, wire round, or fencing for the vine to support the tendrils and avoid a tangled mess.
• Plant in full sun or part shade.
• Keep a humid environment and moist soil for the plant indoors or out. Maintaining and tweaking humidity levels throughout the year is the trickiest part of growing this finicky plant.
• Follow proper overwintering steps for this plant.

 

Light

Outdoors, the plant requires full sun though afternoon shade may help the vine from becoming scorched. Indoors the plant needs a sunny windowsill for growth.

Soil

Use soil with a high content of loam and peat moss. Keep the soil well-draining by adding perlite or coarse sand. Add some organic matter to provide essential nutrients and to help to acidify the soil.

Water

Stephanotis vines like moist but not soggy soil. Don’t try to make up for a lack of humidity by overwatering the plant; you’ll end up with root rot. Water the plant infrequently if you have a cooler, less humid environment.

Temperature and Humidity

Stephanotis vines are very intolerant of frost and will only reliably survive the winter in zone 12. These vines appreciate cool roots, so cover the soil with shredded bark or another natural mulch to protect them from the sun.

Do what you can to boost the humidity around the plant throughout the growing season, especially if growing indoors. Keep it beside a water feature, keep the pot in a dish of pebbles and water, or spray the concrete of your patio.

Fertilizer

In the spring, when the weather begins to warm, fertilize your stephanotis with a balanced flower fertilizer, following product label instructions. Fertilize the plant once a month until the winter resting time resumes.

Types of Stephanotis

• M. floribunda ‘Isabella’ produces larger flowers and foliage with a vigorous growth pattern and delicious fragrance.
• M. floribunda ‘Puanani’ is very similar to ‘Isabella.’ These cultivars were bred to make superior cut flowers.

Pruning

Pruning does not harm this plant. Prune the vine lightly in the late winter, just to retain a pleasing form. Find the main stems and trim off side shoots to reduce the size of the plant.

You can also cut the main stems by half their size to lighten the plant. Take care not to allow the plant’s milky sap to drip on your furniture.

Propagating Stephanotis

Propagate stephanotis with cuttings any time during the year. Take these steps:

1. Choose a cutting with internodes between 1 and 2 inches apart.
2. Remove the lower leaves on the cutting, but leave a few leaves on top.
3. Optionally, dip the bottom of the cutting into rooting hormone.
4. Fill a small container with sand, peat, or perlite, and insert cuttings up to four inches deep.
5. Keep the soil moist and provide a humid environment in bright conditions.
6. Wait for the cuttings to root, which could take about a month.

How to Grow Stephanotis From Seed

It is considered difficult to grow stephanotis from seed, because it is rare to produce the fruit with the seed. More often older stephanotis vines will produce the fruit and pods. The pods may take months to almost a year to ripen enough to harvest the seeds.

The seeds are smallish, white, and furry. If you do have withered, brown pods with seeds, you can try the following:

1. Harvest seeds from split pods and begin preparing to plant the seeds immediately for best germination rates.
2. Place seeds in a tray or small pot filled with potting soil and cover with soil.
3. Keep humidity levels high by placing a clear plastic bag over the tray or pot.
4. Place the container in a bright spot without direct sunlight and keep the tray or pot warm (about 75°F).
5. Once a few sets of leaves have emerged, transplant the seedling into a larger pot with potting soil and trellising to support the rapidly growing vines.

Potting and Repotting Stephanotis

Due to the plant’s vigorous growth, you may need to repot stephanotis every other year to a larger container.

Choose a larger container with adequate drainage holes for your stephanotis vine. The newer vessel should be about two inches wider than the previous one. Fill it with half potting soil and half leaf mold or compost. Always provide a trellis, hoop, or lattice to support the vine.

Overwintering

Overwintering stephanotis grown indoors is extremely important for proper care of the plant. Winter care seems like an afterthought for the stephanotis, but don’t ignore it during this critical resting phase or the plant will begin to deteriorate.

Here are steps you need to take to ensure your indoor plant survives and thrives:

• Even though the plant loves humidity, cease humidity efforts in winter and allow the vine’s atmosphere to become dry.
• The plant requires very little watering in the winter.
• Do not fertilize the plant in the winter.
• Stephanotis vines like cool, bright conditions in the winter. The plant prefers a cool greenhouse environment kept around 50°F. A heating element may be necessary to keep the temperature regulated.
• Do not prune the plant until late winter or early spring.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

Watch for spider mites and scale, which proliferate in greenhouses on stressed plants. Other common pests include the root-knot nematode, aphids, mealybugs, and thrips.

The most common disease to affect stephanotis is root rot as a result of overwatering. The plant may also get sooty mold, a fungal disease that occurs when insects leave behind “honeydew” secretions that attract fungi. Carefully monitor insect problems to control sooty mold.

How to Get Stephanotis to Bloom

Bloom Months

Whether you grow the vine in full sun or partial shade, blooms are most substantial in late spring to early summer. They may flower from October to November, as well.

How Long Does Stephanotis Bloom?

The flowers last longest when you leave them on the vine. Keep cut stephanotis flowers in a cool area with high humidity to prolong their beauty and delay browning.

What Do Stephanotis Flowers Look and Smell Like?

The stephanotis plant is known for its small, trumpet-shaped white waxy flowers with five petals totaling  inches across. The flowers resemble jasmine in appearance and scent.

The flowers have a rich perfume-like fragrance. Stephanotis flowers are also referred to as bridal veil, bridal wreath, and bridal bouquet for their popularity in wedding flower arrangements.

How to Encourage More Blooms

The plant will have more flowers when it is growing in temperatures that stay about 80°F to 85°F. Afternoon shade in the summer will help flowers from scorching.

Winter is usually a rest phase for this plant. But for an indoor stephanotis plant, you can try to help it to flower in the winter by offering four to six hours of light.

Caring for Stephanotis After It Blooms

Continue to deadhead spent flowers to encourage more blooms.

Common Problems With Stephanotis

This is a demanding and particular plant that may present many problems. Here are a few to watch for.

Dropping Flowers and Leaves

The plant may be stressed from extreme temperature changes or watering issues. Avoid moving stephanotis, especially when it’s flowering.

Patches on Leaves or Stems

Any odd patches on leaves or stems that look wooly or brown indicate a pest problem. Remove pests by hand when possible.

Yellow Leaves

You will need to fertilize the plant. Try a more frequent weekly feeding. Remove yellow leaves and see how the plant reacts to the new feeding schedule.

No Buds or Flowers

The plant will not produce buds if it is growing in low humidity, too cool temperatures, no fertilizer, or poor winterizing.