Xtremehorticulture

Star Jasmine Needs Sun and Watered Like a Shrub

Q. I am hoping you can tell me what is wrong with my “star jasmine”. These plants are approximately twenty years old. The wall they are growing on is north facing. I have pulled the rock mulch away from the base. I mix in compost to each plant every spring when I fertilize. Could it be the irrigation is too close to the trunk? Star jasmine is from the area of Japan. The great deserts of Japan…not!!! It is not a xeric plant and so it can get yellow, iron chlorosis, in rock. Plant it with compost in the soil and build up the organic content. A. Without looking at the pictures I was expecting them to be yellow. That’s usually what happens to star jasmine in rock landscapes. Your addition of compost to the soil is keeping them green and healthy. Bare wooden stems can sometimes happen when it is in poor health or covered with shady growth on top. Perhaps Watering too Often Bare stems on older growth can be a natural occurrence. I don’t think it is in your case. It is possible if the water applied is too close to the stems AND it is being applied too often then you can end up with bare stems. It is best if the water is applied at 12 to 18 inches from the trunk (stems, base) of the vine. Water, when it hits the soil, spreads out. In soils that are very sandy then this distance might be 12 inches from where it is applied. If the soil has a small amount of clay in it then the spread is about 18 inches from where it is applied. In soil with lots of clay (most of the soils in Las Vegas do not have that much clay) then water can spread out from where it was applied from 4 to 6 feet. A happy medium is 12 to 18 inches from the stems or trunk. Be careful of applying water too often. It can keep the soil wet too long. This can result in leaf drop followed by bare stems. It is always best on plants that have deeper roots (like your jasmine vine) to apply water less often. Vines like star jasmine are deeper-rooted, like medium sized shrubs. Water should wet the soil 12 to 18 inches deep each time is applied. Water your vines like they are medium sized shrubs. What to Do? What can you do with bare stems? Cut them back no closer than three or four inches and they will send out “suckers” and those suckers will fill in open spaces if the vine is alive. You may have to cut alot of stems back and start over if it is bad.

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Desert Problems with Star Jasmine

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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What Cause Whitish Spots on the Leaves of Star Jasmine?

Q. My star jasmine leaves are covered with a whitish plaque. The leaves are turning yellow and falling off. I have noticed the green leaves are only at the end of a branch and bare to the main stem. The plant is approximately two years old and facing east on the side of a patio. What can be done? Star jasmine with whitish spots on the leaves. A. I took a look at the picture and I saw the white spots on the leaves but I could not determine what it was from the picture and your description. I can only tell you about some general problems with star jasmine.             First of all, star jasmine will do very poorly in desert soils if the soil was not amended with compost or a good soil amendment at the time of planting. Their roots will not tolerate soils that drain water poorly as well. They do like soils covered with organic mulch.             They tend to get root rot diseases in these types of soils and they will develop yellow leaves along with leaf drop just like you are describing.             However, the white spots are a bit of a mystery. Star jasmine has milky sap in it stems and if the stems are cut they will drip a milky sap on the leaves so watch for that. If they were pruned recently they might have the milky sap dripping on leaves.             This would probably be unrelated to the yellow leaves and leaf drop you are mentioning. Bottom line, don’t plant star jasmine in our desert soils without amending the soil a lot with compost or other suitable soil amendment. Consider organic mulches on the soil surface.

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