Jasmine Jane Doe

[Neo19]

Hello people,

This is a jasmine that I picked up few years ago. It produces pinkish white flowers.

It's become woody and no flowering buds have formed this year. 

How many years do they normally live?

Is there anything I could do to help this plant to thrive? 

Thanks

 

 

 

[BradN · Accepted solution]

Hi Neo,

I don't know what that plant is. "Jasmine" is a common name applied to many very different kinds of fragrant flowering plants. Somebody else here might be able to identify it for you. 

But those yellow leaves are saying that it's hungry. It really needs nutrients. It has outgrown that pot and needs to be repotted and fertilised.

If it has been in that pot for a few years it will have consumed almost all of the nutrients in the potting mix. When you take it out of that pot you will see that it's almost all roots and no potting mix (or "soil"). 

Don't worry about getting an expensive pot to put it in. Just measure the width of the top of that pot and buy a cheap black plastic pot that's 10-15cm wider.

Repot it using some fresh, high-quality potting mix and water it thoroughly so the water comes running out of the holes in the bottom of the pot.

Then, if you want to give it a kick-start, you can dilute some Seasol in a watering can and give it a drink of that. Seasol isn't a fertiliser but it is a tonic that stimulates root growth. 

To fertilise it, I would recommend Power Feed, which is a gentle organic fertiliser that you also dilute in a watering can. This will green it up nicely. Once it's nice and green again you can dilute some liquid potash in your watering can and give it a hit of that to encourage flowering.

Your pot seems to have a lip at the top, so you might not be able to pull the plant out easily. If you're having trouble you can take an old steak knife or kitchen knife and cut around the inside of the pot to make the root ball of the plant small enough to pull out.

Now is the best time of year to be repotting, so once your plant has a bigger pot, some fresh potting mix, a bit of Power Feed and plenty of water I'm sure it will start looking great again.

Please do keep us posted with pics of the improvements!

Cheers,

Brad

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Neo19,

I agree entirely with what @BradN has suggested. It appears very much like a plant that has outgrown the pot and is starved for nutrients.

I'd follow their instructions and update us in a month with any progress.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Neo19]

Thank you very much @BradN & @MitchellMc . 

I'll repot it today or tomorrow. 

Is it better to wait a week or two after repotting to prune or should I go ahead and prune and then repot? I wonder if, pruning and repotting at the same time would be stressful for a plant!

[MitchellMc]

@Neo19,

@BradN might like to give you their opinion as they're very knowledgeable. In my experience, you should limit your stressful actions to only one at a time. The plant is already stressed, so re-potting (another stressful action) would be enough to cope with right now. Pruning is an aesthetical choice that is more about what is pleasing to you. I'd recommend leaving the pruning until the plant has shown positive regrowth signs after you've transplanted it.

Mitchell

[Neo19]

Thank you @MitchellMc 

[BradN]

@Neo19 @MitchellMc 

Hi guys. I'm not sure quite how knowledgeable I am! But like Mitchell said, I would only perform one stressful action at a time. Last week I repotted a potbound Hibiscus. It really needs pruning, but I'm going to give it several weeks to get its roots growing again before I prune it.

Leaves are a plant's solar panels. They capture the solar energy it needs to to grow. When you repot a plant it is going to want to grow new roots, so it's best to leave the leaves on for a while.

Leaves are also vital for the process of transpiration, by which a plant sucks water and nutrients out of the soil or potting mix. I would wait until those yellow leaves have turned green and the plant is making new leaves before I would prune it.

I'm sure it will look great. Please keep us updated!

Cheers,

Brad

[robchin]

Hi all.

Sorry I've come to this late - I think the advice given on how to help this plant along is good advice. It is a hungry plant and needs to be potted into a bigger pot - no more than 2 sizes up though. Don't prune it just yet. Use good quality potting mix - Premium standard includes the fertiliser and the wetting agent. 

BUT - I don't think it's a Jasmine - at least not the White, Winter, Scented or sweet Jasmine, Jasminum polytanthum - that you think it is. The foliage isn't right. I also don't think it's a Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) or a Potato Vine - Solanum jasminoides.  If you want to send a photo of the flower I may be able to help you identify it. 

Regardless - give it some love and it will come back. 

[Neo19]

thank you @BradN and @robchin. 

Have re-potted the same and now the waiting game!

@robchin Sorry, I don't have any images of the flower. A google search tells me that the flowers and the leaves looked very similar to Arabian Jasmine, except the flowers had a pinkish white colour. 

They had very pleasant fragrance too!

Hopefully they will survive and flower so I can post some pics here

Thank you everyone