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Star Jasmine leaves dying... but only on one area of one specific plant
anthonyhanna84484
Posts: 1
I live in Sydney/Aus. and have two long-established Star Jasmine plants in planters outside my front terrace. I don't know the exact variety but they had a big white bloom a few months ago at the end of Spring here.
A month back one of the plants started getting brown leaves in a very small centralised area... at first I almost thought a branch must have been accidently cut so just trimmed off the dying leaves.
A few weeks later, its continuing to spread.
Both plants are given the same nutrients and are on a 24-hour water timer for the past year and have been doing well on that... which makes me think it shouldn't be a watering issue because only one plant is having issues. As a precaution I'm now trying to ease down on the watering to see if it makes a difference.
I thought maybe it could be a nutrient issue (and I had been slack fertilising after Spring) so tried some powerfeed last week but it still seems to be getting worse.
I noticed some aphids tonight but didnt think the number of them looked too concerning.
Welcome any suggestions or ideas at all... this is really frustrating me!
First photo from a couple weeks back - other photos some closer shots from tonight...
A month back one of the plants started getting brown leaves in a very small centralised area... at first I almost thought a branch must have been accidently cut so just trimmed off the dying leaves.
A few weeks later, its continuing to spread.
Both plants are given the same nutrients and are on a 24-hour water timer for the past year and have been doing well on that... which makes me think it shouldn't be a watering issue because only one plant is having issues. As a precaution I'm now trying to ease down on the watering to see if it makes a difference.
I thought maybe it could be a nutrient issue (and I had been slack fertilising after Spring) so tried some powerfeed last week but it still seems to be getting worse.
I noticed some aphids tonight but didnt think the number of them looked too concerning.
Welcome any suggestions or ideas at all... this is really frustrating me!
First photo from a couple weeks back - other photos some closer shots from tonight...
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Posts
I've had a few Trachelospermum jasminoides over the years and not really had any problems with them.
I can see what looks like a planthopper in the 2nd pic, but I doubt that's causing the problem unless it's transmitted a virus of some sort whilst feeding, which is not something I've heard of in the UK.
The only pests I've ever had on mine were scale insects, and there's no sign of them on your plant, and the only reason mine got infected was because they dried out during hot summer weather. But they soon recovered without treatment.
How big are the planters?
Bear in mind that a single plant can grow to upto 40ft x 30ft so each plant needs a LOT of rootspace.
I'd put a 4" mulch of rotted manure or compost around them in March and fed them about once a month with a tomato fertilizer until they finished flowering and they thrived on that as long as I remembered to water them in hot weather.
If your irrigation system is just wetting the top of the compost, it may be that it appears to be wet, but lower down it may be bone dry, especially with the sort of hot temperatures you get in your part of the world at this time of year.
Best to give the planter a really good soaking then wait until the top 3" is dry before giving more.
The only other things I can think of is they're running out of root-room, or the poorly one has dried out at the roots during hot weather.
Best not to feed a poorly plant with anything but water until it recovers.
If the poorly one doesn't recover, maybe just remove it and let the other one fill the space.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Where the plant is barest behind it we can see four black posts which look like railing supports.
Just in front of the second from the left is what looks like a grey stem, from which it appears a few stems are coming from so I think it is part of your plant.
That is not quite the right colour for old stems to be, even for this plant although the do get greyer, it looks the wrong shade of grey.
I think if you examine it closely you may find that is the one that has died.
A close image of that piece may help identify more surely.
To make sure of the piece I mean, there is a pale oval or circle on the path behind the railing further back.