First Star Jasmine

Purchased our first Star Jasmine today and will transfer 2-foot high plant to larger container today and put near a pony wall which people walk by going into front door. Any tips for successful planting, such as soil mixture to use? I normally use a mixture of 3/4 outdoor planting mix to 1/4 bark mulch for all of my outdoor containers. And any other tips or suggestions all you experienced folk have. We are on the central Oregon coast. Thanks.

They don't need anything special, if that mix works for your other plants it should work for this one too.

I have two star jasmines in pots with small trellises. I used a mix similar to yours except I used peat instead of bark. Either one should work well. Both of mine are beautiful and in full bloom right now (and gosh they smell so good!) Not sure about where you live but mine have been in their pots for two years now and have stayed evergreen. I push them up under the eaves of the house in a place where they will still get at least a half day of sun during the winter.

Good Morning,
I have a question about a india jasmin I have. It has not done well since I bought it and i'm not sure what it is that i'm doing wrong! It started out o.k. and then is started droping leaves. new growth started but was very slow to develope if it did at all. The leaves are more yellowish than green now. I have tried keeeping it watered at various intervals but have had no success. Could it be that it just needs fertilizer and a change of pots and soil? If so, what kind of fertilizer is the best to use?.
I have had the plant about (5) months and there hasn't been much new growth. It is about (2) feet tall and looking very sick! PLEASE HELP!.
Thank You,
Mickey

This message was edited May 8, 2007 9:08 AM

A picture would help. I'm also not sure what plant you really have, do you happen to know the Latin name? When I search on Google for Indian Jasmine, what comes up is a type of Plumeria which goes by the common name West Indian jasmine, and care for a plumeria is going to be different than most of the other things that go by the name jasmine. There's also Tabernaemontana, which goes by the common names Crepe Jasmine or India carnation--maybe somebody combined those common names to make Indian Jasmine? And there's Jasminum sambac which is often called Asian or Arabian jasmine, and there's a cultivar of it called 'Belle of India', maybe that's it?

Without seeing a picture I'll give you several suggestions, but if you have a pic then someone may be able to assess which one of these is actually what's happening.
1) Overwatering will cause the leaves to yellow and then eventually fall off. If this is the case, I would repot it right away, shake off as much of the old soil as you can and repot in fresh soil, it's also a good idea to put a pinch of hydrogen peroxide in the water when you water it, or water with chamomile tea, either of these will help kill off any fungus that may be growing. And after you repot, be careful about how much you water, stick your finger a few inches into the soil before you water to make sure it really needs it.
2) If it's the newer leaves that are yellow and they have green veins but the rest of the leaf looks yellow, it's called chlorosis and happens when the plant doesn't have enough iron. If you haven't fertilized at all in the time you've had it, probably giving it some fertilizer will help, if you have fertilized and it's still doing this then check your soil pH, if it's too high then the plant can't absorb iron.
3) Have you moved the plant at all recently? Changes in the environment can sometimes cause leaf drop. Or if you had it indoors all winter and moved it outside recently, it could be sunburn, even part shade outdoors is still way stronger light than whatever light it was getting indoors, so you need to work the plant up to that gradually.
4) Underwatering also causes many of the same symptoms as overwatering, but there are a lot more people out there who overwater so I think that one's more likely