pink jasmine advice

[darlacarla]

Hello all! I'm new to the board and I wanted to jump right in with a question. I live in Portland, Oregon and have some beautiful pink jasmine (jasminum polyanthum) growing up and along a trellis in my yard. After a slow start, the vine finally took off and had a profusion of beautiful, fragrant white flowers last season. Last month, my area experienced a pretty bad ice storm, resulting in the jasmine being coated with ice for days on end. I had thought that the jasmine was evergreen, but shortly after the thaw, the leaves fell off and the whole thing is looking pretty ragged. Does anyone have any experience with jasminum polyanthum? Will it come back? I am heartbroken at the thought of cutting it down. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your help!

[Newt]

Hi Darla,
Don't dispair just yet. Your jasmine is hardy to zone 8b (15* F) and it probably isn't dead. Sometimes a hard frost will kill part or all of the top growth, but the root system should still be alive. When a plant is stressed, it will shed it's leaves. When the weather warms and you start to see buds, trim it back to where you see new growth.

Good luck,
Newt