How do I keep my madagasar jasmine plant alive?

I got my madagasar jasmine plant a long while ago and it flowered and smelt gorgeous! But recently my lovely plant has been beginning to die. The leaves are going brown and it is looking a little sorry for itself, is there any way I can put the spark back into it and keep it alive and flower again. Please please help me I love this plant.

Can you post a picture and tell us a little more about the conditions you're keeping it in? Anytime plants are suffering and there's no picture I always recommend checking on your watering and make sure it's getting enough but not too much. Also check and see if it maybe is rootbound and needs to be repotted--if you've had it for a long time and you haven't changed anything else in its conditions, it's possible it's just outgrowing its pot.

ok well my jasmine plant is in my front room which is north facing. Its pretty much infront of the window and is watered enough i think. Ive always watered it the same so i cant see that its to do with the watering. Heres a pic of it but yes it may need repotting im really not sure.

From your photo, it looks like it's either damage from too much water, too much direct sun, or both. Have you had the plant close to a window where possibly the glare from the sun has burned the foliage? I think you should remove it from it's pot and check the roots to be sure they are healthy and have no rot. If there are any mushy roots, trim them off and repot the plant in fresh soil. Water sparingly, you can test the soil for moisture by sticking your finger an inch or two down into the medium. If it feels dry, you can give a little water, letting it drain out the bottom. Make sure no water sits in the tray, which will keep the root system too wet and cause rot.

Here is the listing in Plant Files for your plant: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53785/
Here is more information for growing Stephanotis: http://www.plant-care.com/stephanotis-trellis-plant.html
And also here: http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pda_de98-2.html

It also looks like you've got a pot within a pot there--does the outer pot have drainage holes? If it doesn't, are you watering the plant without removing it from the outer pot? If you are then the roots are probably sitting in water which is not good for them. Also, always watering the same is not necessarily the right thing to do--when a plant is actively growing it will need more water than when it's not. When the temperatures are warmer or it's getting more sun, it will need more water than when it's cooler. And as the roots grow and fill up more of the pot, that will also change the frequency that you need to water. I agree with Lin about taking it out of the pot and checking the roots, that should tell you for sure whether it's getting too much water and also whether it's getting rootbound.

Ok thanks for your help. Ill check to see if it needs repotting but im pretty sure its not anything to do with watering it as im always so so careful when watering and never water it to much, i only water my plants when they need it. But ill definately check the roots and see whats going on with them. Thanks guys i really appreciate it. But do you think i can still help this plant or do you think its beyond helping, honest answer please :)

How are you deciding when your plants need water? If you're just checking for the surface of the soil to look dry then you can still have problems because the surface can look dry when just underneath is still wet. Also, when you do water if you're just giving the plant little tiny drinks of water because you're trying not to overwater, that also could be your problem--when you do water, you need to water thoroughly. Potting mix tends to be a bit water-repellent if it gets too dry, so if you just water a little bit, a lot of it will run right through and most of your potting mix won't get thoroughly wet. Not watering thoroughly can become an even bigger problem as the plant's roots get bigger and there's less soil around to hold water.

As far as whether it'll recover or not, it's hard to say...you need to do a little checking and see what the problem is first and fix it. Plants are pretty tough, assuming that it doesn't have mostly rotted roots there's a chance it'll come back but it's impossible to be sure one way or the other.

Ok a little update......
Firstly I check if it needs watering by putting my finger in the soil like 3 inches down to see if the soil is wet/dry.
Secondly I checked the roots and they were a little damaged because I pulled them ever so slightly and they just broke away, but what could that mean becuase I am so so sure I dont over water! The roots were looking a bit big and cramped so I did repot my plant into a bigger pot and feed it so hopefully she will perk up a little.
One other question ecrane3 if you dont mind - a friend told me that the madagasar jasmine only ever flowers once then you are supposed to throw it out, is that true?? Mine flowered about a year ago and hasnt flowered since but how coulld I possibly throw it out when it was still alive.

Hopefully the pot was the issue then--when the roots get too big for the pot it becomes nearly impossible to get the plant enough water because there's no soil in there to hold it, so hopefully now that you've fixed that it'll put out some new growth.

As far as blooming--if you have the right conditions for it, it'll bloom every year. I had one planted outside at my old house and it bloomed every year. Indoors it may be a bit harder to get the right conditions for it to bloom so you may not see blooms every year, but the plant is certainly capable of blooming again. I've never grown it indoors so I don't know if your north facing window would be a good place or not--might not be enough light but I don't know for sure.

Thankyou so so so much for your help ecrane3. Fingers crossed it will survive its really quite pretty :) Thanks again

How do i solve this question? Sorry im new to the site :)

This message was edited Jun 9, 2009 1:45 PM

Yes your jasmine plant should reflower, whoever said that it needed to be chucked out is not right! Like ecrane said you do need the right conditions and it is harder but it can be done, I dont think the position you have it in is right as i think it needs more light then what it will get in a north facing window.