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| Problems with star jasmine. Most of these are caused by poor soil conditions and winter cold. Perhaps it might be not watered with enough water. |
A.
The easiest is to not plant it. Hard to say exactly but generally I would call
the problems in general, stress. The stress could have come from freezing
temperatures, lack of water, poor soil or poor soil amendments such as high
salts and lack of organic matter.
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| Great place to put a star jasmine for aroma and welcome greetings to visitors. |
The plant is some eastern and
southern China and which means it is not from a desert and not really a desert
plant. We have to adjust everything around it for that reason. It is not going
to like desert soils or rock mulch for that reason.
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| Star jasmine used as groundcover in rock mulch. I guarantee that plant HATES it there. Developed iron chlorosis due to rock mulch and poor soils. |
Soils must have lots of rich soil
amendment (compost) and it will really appreciate wood mulches. It does well as
a groundcover but I think it is best as a north or east-facing trellised vine. Particularly
near a window that can be opened in the Spring.
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| When star jasmine is growing well and in good health the leaves should be a vibrant green. |
The flowers are very fragrant so it
should be planted in locations where the fragrance can be appreciated. It is an
old-fashioned plant. Southerners might know it by the name “Confederate jasmine”.
It handles the cold winters well if
it is not in rock mulch. At real low temperatures the leaves may get that
bronzy, yellowish color that plant leaves can get when it is cold but will
handle temperatures to 10F pretty easily. Citrus leaves will bronze in winter
the same way.
Flood the soil with water to remove
possible salts and let it drain. Add compost to the soil surface around it and
water it in. Replace rock mulch with wood mulch but keep the mulch away from
the stems to prevent collar rot.
Fertilize in the spring with a good
quality fertilizer for flowering plants like roses. Shear off the old growth
and let it regrow in good health. One time I had to cut a star jasmine used as a vine way back to get it to flower for me in a north exposure.
One of my star jasmine is in bad stress. It looks like it is dying and I am so sad. I have had it for 30 years and its twin is doing just fine. The leaves are looking like it is lacking water, but I know that isn't the case and it has a lot of dead vines. I would like to know if cutting it back after its flowering season would help the plant to regenerate. These two plants have the most wonderful fragrance and have been the best vines for our front yard. I will be very disappointed if I lose it . Any suggestions
ReplyDeleteKathy. I would think about doing some renewal pruning on the vine. There are two approaches to pruning older shrubs and it also applies to vines as well with a little modification. Here is a link from Penn State University that goes into detail on the process with shrubs. With your vines it is similar and the timing you mentioned...just after flowering season is over...is perfect. At this time you would select the oldest wood from the base of the vine and eliminate cut one or two of the oldest to within a few inches of the ground. Unlike shrubs the problem with cutting vines like this is finding the severed shoots from the tangled vine mess. Just let the foliage on the severed shoot wilt. As soon as that happens you can pull it free from the rest of the vine. The other approach is more radical.... rejuvination pruning. Rejuvination pruning is cutting all the shoots back to near the ground and letting them all regrow. More radical but easier. Both will work but with a different visual impact.
DeleteI forgot to post the link.
Deletehttp://extension.psu.edu/plants/green-industry/news/2012/hacking-whacking-dealing-with-overgrown-shrubs
My Jasmine was a 5 gal size plant which I put into the ground last February. It has grown well but the white flower is turning brown. Can you help me with this?
ReplyDeleteI am assuming you are in a desert climate. This is a very young plant still getting used to its new "home". You dont mention if it is Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)or traditional Jasmome (Jasminum officinale) but in a totally different plant family. That doesnt address your question but it makes a big difference how i respond to your question. Both of these plants grow better in soils that are amended with compost when planted and the soil covered with something organic like woodchips. Neither do well surrounded by rock on the soil surface like we see in many desert landscapes. Secondly is exposure aka microclimate. Neither plant should be in hot landscape locations but do need a fair amount (6 or more hours) of full sunlight every day in the spring and fall months. Probably they can get by with less than this in the summer because it is so damn hot and they wont flower well in that heat. This means in the desert probably eastern side of a building so the plant gets shade in the afternoon is best. Third is wind. They dont like wind. Constructing a windbreak will help. Lastly, pest problems like thrips can cause this but I don't think its thrips because the plant has not been planted long enough.Personally, going on the information you sent me, I think its probably planted in the wrong spot.
DeleteI got a star jasmine plant in spring of 2020. I planted it in a large container with organic potting soil. It has not grown at all since I brought it home. It’s the same size as when I bought it. I fertilized it a couple times since then. I live in western WA and the soil can get really moist but the container has good drainage. It’s in a spot that gets 6+ hours sunlight daily. My neighbor has a beautiful establishments star jasmine that is doing beautifully. What could I be doing wrong?
ReplyDeleteWestern Washington stays pretty cold? The air temperatures need to be an average of about 65F and the soil temperature at least 50F to see much growth and it will be slow then. If it is still green then take it inside or anyplace that is warmer and see if it starts pushing new growth. If it does, then it is a temperature issues. But if it is green, you fertilized it and used a commercial potting soil (which may or may not be low in plant nutrients) then I am guessing it is a temperature issue and you will see new growth when temperatures warm.
DeleteI just purchased a star jasmine plant. Just about all of the leaves are a dark red color. Should I be concerned?
ReplyDeleteThe dark red color is its natural color without the green chlorophyll masking it. All you can do is wait and see if it survives. The plant may drop thise discolored leaves and the plant may die or it could survive and put on new growth. Make sure it is not watered daily and you are not suffocating the roots with water, make sure it is/was not planted too deep.
DeleteCare after winter freeze
ReplyDeletePlanted star jasmine last summer and was very healthy until the cold. It is brown and brittle. Not sure it will come back this spring. What can I di?
ReplyDeleteWhere are you?
DeleteI’m in Richmond Virginia with the same
DeleteProblem
If you are in Richmond, Virginia, cut it back to within two inches of the soil and let it grow back if it looks bad and has frozen back. If the stems still bend and spring back after about two weeks, then wait for new leaves to form from healthy buds. Water it deeply, add fertilizer about 18 inches from the plant like 16-16-16 and water it in. Later when the daily temperatures start to warm, cover the soil around it about six feet wide with woodchips two inches deep.
DeleteThis the 2nd spring for our star Jasmine. We have 12 plants planted 6 ft apart along a long row that we hope becomes ground cover. They have survived a winter here in the piedmont foothills of SC and are flowering again. Yea!
ReplyDeleteMy question: to help survive winters here could I add Madison star jasmine to the mix every other plant or is that ill advised?
I don’t know the variety of star jasmine called ‘Madison’. I am guessing it is the same as common star jasmine which is cold hardy in our climate. Common star jasmine is cold tolerant and will survive the winters of Las Vegas. The soil is a different problem.
DeleteStar jasmine develops iron chlorosis in unfertilized desert soil. About every couple of years put down a layer of compost or anything that will rot. Then fertilize it. Both should be done if the soil has rock as mulch. Fertilizer alone is all that is needed if the soil has woodchips on top as a mulch. Bark mulch is not the same as woodchips. Bark mulch will float and blow in the wind. Woodchips do not. Woodchips rot and provide the “organics” needed in the soil. Turn that soil’s color from “light tan” to “coffee (with milk) colored” or darker.
If you want to keep the rock mulch, then add iron at the right time. Once a year add iron to the soil in February or March. Either add the fertilizer at the same time or add it to the soil separately but again in February or March. Water it like any other landscape plant that is not desert adapted. Star jasmine has a latex comes from any pruning cut. It is irritating to some.