scorch – Xtremehorticulture

Desert Problems with Star Jasmine

Leave a Comment / chlorotic, leaf burn, leaves yellow, scorch, Star Jasmine / xtremehorticulture

Q. I have a Jasmine plant and it was flowering but not it’s not and not looking good. What is your call on it? A. Most times when people say they have a “Jasmine” plant they mean star jasmine. Star jasmine is not a true Jasmine, but the fragrance can be delectable which is true of most in that plant family. Star Jasmine, a vine or groundcover from warm areas of China, may develop iron chlorosis when grown in a rock mulch. Star jasmine comes originally from China so it will like improved soils and dislike rock mulch. Whenever a plant comes from a non-desert area then try to plant it on the East side of your landscape. This area receives shade in the afternoon and is more hospitable to plants that are not from the desert. It can be grown as a groundcover or as a vine, but it must be tied to a trellis to get it to perform as a vine. Star jasmine grown near a door or window will provide a great fragrance to a home. Star jasmine needs an organic soil with woodchips covering it to look its best. Most star jasmine in poor health are surrounded with rock mulch. If your star jasmine is in poor health, then surround it with wood chip mulch rather than rock mulch. When it’s planted, make sure the soil is amended with compost. Dig the hole three times wider than the container or its root system and add the amended soil to this planting hole. If it’s a 5 gallon or larger plant, then stake it. The wood stake that comes with many local nursery plants is adequate for smaller plants as long as it is pounded into the solid soil beneath it and retied with nursery tape. Most plants require only one season of staking and then it’s removed. The only way to re-green yellow leaves is by spraying it with an iron solution. Early next spring, apply any iron chelate to the soil. For difficult yellow plants to “green-up”, use the EDDHA iron chelate applied to the soil in early spring.

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Watch Out for Deadly Fireblight on European Pear, Asian Pear and Quince

1 Comment / black disease, dieback, fire, fruit trees, scorch / xtremehorticulture

Frequently I see this problem pop up on fruit trees in May or June. Readers pear tree Q. I have a pear tree which is about 10 years old. Up until this year, it has been pretty healthy. This spring it got a disease. I am hoping you can identify it for me from these pictures and tell me what I can do to treat it so that it won’t be a problem in the future. I thought at first it might be fireblight but it is not with the new growth. It seems to have attacked all the places where there would have been fruit. I have inserted pictures for you and hope that these are helpful. It is not receiving any overhead spray. It is watered with a drip system. A. This is fire blight. This is a bacterial disease which is more rare than fungal diseases on plants. One way it is spread is through the flowers either by blowing wind during rainy weather or by pollinators such as honey bees. Flowers of apple and pear come from spurs which are short shoots on older wood. If the disease enters through the flower then it will spread through the older growth and into the new growth if it is present. It does not necessarily have to attack new growth. Fireblight in pear It can be seen on older growth as well. On new growth if it is present it will show the textbook picture of shepherds hook which I posted on my blog. If new growth was not present then it will simply die back and demonstrate a blackened, scorched, fire appearance. This disease is extremely virulent and must remove as soon as possible from the tree and the growing area. Cut out the infected limb to 12 inches below the visible infection. Sterilize pruning instruments with a dilution of bleach and water both before and after the cut has been made. Put the cut limb into a plastic bag, tie the bag and immediately put it into the trash. Do not try to mulch or compost this infected limb. Oil your pruning tools after you disinfect them with bleach so they don’t rust. Classic fireblight shepardshook and black scorched fire symptoms Wash your hands after you have finished pruning. This disease is fairly rare here due to our isolation from orchards and low humidity. It attacks European pears like Bartlett, all Asian pears and Quince but does not damage Keifer pear. I hope this helps.

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