The Carolina jessamine does indeed bloom early, as do the wild blueberries, Vaccinum eliotti, which are blooming now, even making a little new growth despite the recent cold snap. The serviceberry in front of my house is blooming, too! In another month I should be receiving plants in the mail and either potting them up or planting them out - can't wait! Sherry

Hi All - First posting here. I stumbled in here, after searching for info on ground cover that grows rapidly and vertically. I live in the Metro Atlanta area, specifically about 30 minutes SW of the airport in Newnan. Our lot slopes up from the street, and our back yard has always been nearly non-existent. It went back maybe 10-15 feet, was uneven, and full of rocks. I had someone come in and do some grading to get a fairly flat surface, and 15-20 feet from the back of the house, so we could actually use part of the back yard. One spot was used to put a cheap pool (You can see it's still filling in the pic). Grading is a lot cheaper than building retaining walls, so that's not in my plan, at least not for a year or two. What I want to do is find something that I can plant at the base of this vertical slope (the loose dirt will be removed), and have it grow up the slope vertically, and hopefully root into it as it grows, to aid in holding it in place. Ultimately, I'd like it to continue to the upper part which has always been weeds, and cover that, choking out the unattractive weeds, and making it more maintenance free. It sounds like Confederate Jasmine may be what I'm looking for. As you can see in the picture, I am surrounded by hard, compacted clay, and to make it more fun, it's probably the rockiest soil I've seen here, and I've been in this area most of my life. How long do you think it would take Confederate Jasmine to grow to the top of the bare area (maybe 7' at the corner peak)? This area is in full Sun from maybe 11AM till just about dusk each day. Would it grow straight up, or would it fan out and grow up and out at the same pace? Should I plant it just at the base? How far apart should I plant it, and how is Confederate Jasmine sold? Thanks in advance!

Perhaps these plants have been over fertilized. Your statements: 'loads of new growth', and 'I feed it several times a year' sort of hint at that. Excessive fertilization can lead to what is termed stimulated growth. Plants forced to grow vegetatively might do so at the sacrifice of flowering.

Many plants won't bloom their first year after planting - if that vine looks huge to you now, you may be underestimating its potential size, that isn't huge for Gelsemium sempervirens. If you are fertilizing, consider a low-nitrogen fertilizer for best flowering - water as needed to keep the soil barely moist all through spring. Lime won't help the plant to flower, this vine should be fine in acidic to neutral soil and isn't dependent on alkaline ph.