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Advice to save my poor ailing star jasmine

Last post 13-04-2012 7:36 AM by willco. 2 replies.

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  • 10/04/2012 05:00 PM
    • willco
    • SE london
    • 05 Mar 2009
    • 30
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    Hi I'm desperate for some advice to save my evergreen star jasmine. It's in a large pot growing up a trellis along side my porch, it's reasonably protected from wind and has flourished for the last five years. Each spring I remove most of the compost, taking care of the roots and refresh with multi purpose peat free compost. I also wash the aphid soot from the leaves using a mild soapy water ( just using small amount of Ecover). I've never had any problem with this approach, I do lose a few leaves but nothing to be concerned about. This year I am losing a noticeable amount of leaves - they are yellowing and dropping off at a rapid speed!!! This year I did add a small amount of mycorrhizal fungi / root grow to the roots when I was replacing the compost. At the first sign of yellowing leaves I started to give it weekly seaweed feeds but I've not seen any improvement. I would really welcome your advice and expertise, thanks.

    God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done
  • 12/04/2012 10:34 PM
    In reply to
    • Annelise
    • Yorkshire
    • 20 Feb 2009
    • 46
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    Hi Willco, Sorry to hear about your poor star jasmine - I lost one a couple of years back in similar circumstances after watching it thrive for several years, so I sympathise! Mine had grown really well in a large container against a south-facing wall to the point where I'd almost forgotten it was semi-tender, and then harsh weather suddenly saw it off. They do seem vulnerable and quite fickle in that respect; is it possible the plant's just succumbed to frost? If so, the advice I was given by a professional grower was to cut it right back to let it put all its efforts into recuperating; I was told this would give it the best chance of surviving. If the problem's not down to cold, and assuming your trachelospermum's well fed and watered, have you thought about a pest like vine weevil? They often strike at containerised plants - the larvae munch on the roots early in the growing season - so worth investigating. They're horrid, fat white grubs - if you dig down and find any, you might have to invest in a proprietary vine weevil killer. Other than that - is the container still big enough? If your plant's becoming potbound it will "suffocate", losing its leaves in the process.... Hope that may be helpful in some way.

  • 13/04/2012 07:36 AM
    In reply to
    • willco
    • SE london
    • 05 Mar 2009
    • 30
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    Thanks Annelise. Its awful seeing the plant in such distress! I had another good look at it last night and in its showing signs of new growth which would suggest the roots are ok. Good suggestion on the vine weevil - I'm going to take another look in the pot and double check the roots are rotting anywhere. Its not pot bound yet as the pot is absolutely huge and its so far only taking up about half the space it could use.

     I just its on the up now its showing signs of new growth Tongue Tied

    God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done