Wilting Jasmine

I have Jasmine Sambac Grand Duke, Grand Duke Supreme and Maid of Oleans in my room. I have them under a grow light. The Grand Duke Supreme and Maid of Orleans have put out some long branches. Today I find the new leaves on the Supreme and Maid of Orleans are wilted looking and one of them sort of looks like the top of a waffle. What am I doing wrong? I haven't overwatered them I'm pretty sure. Maybe they are getting TOO MUCH grow light? Help! Thanks.

The Grand Dukes (regular) are new and have dropped a LOTof leaves. Maybe the shipping damaged them or something, but they got curley and sort of dry looking first.

Kaye C.

It sounds like it could be spider mites. They will suck the life out of a plant quickly and can really be a problem on house plants. Do you notice a fine "web" on the dried up leaves or are there tiny red spots on the underside if the leaves?

I had a bad case of aphids a while back and put Bakers Rose Spray on them which took care of the problem. Now, I think I'll go lool for spider mites too. Thanks for your suggestion,

kaye c

I looked for spider mite signs - none. The leaves are beautifull green but seem to be just wilting and the new ones are losing all their leaves - probably due to trauma of shipping as they are putting out tiny little green sprouts,

Kaye C

I can't always see the spider mites but I would just watch the new growth and if it dries up you might try spraying for mites. Good luck

If you received them recently I think they're probably just adjusting to your environment. I don't know what sort of conditions the place you got them from was growing them in, but I'd guess it was probably a greenhouse where the humidity is considerably higher than it is indoors during the wintertime, and that difference in humidity could cause the symptoms you're describing. You might try putting a pebble tray with some water in it in the area where you have the plants to help increase the humidity a bit, and also make sure you don't have a heat vent blowing directly on them or a cold draft from the window or anything like that since that could make things worse.

ecrane: What about the older ones that have new branches whose leaves are "waffle-ly" land wilty looking? I can't figure it out. Maybe too much grow light? Thanks.

Kaye C

Is your grow light a type that gives off a bunch of heat? If not then I doubt it's the light, jasmines will grow in full sun and even the best grow lights aren't nearly as intense as full sun. It still could be a humidity issue, indoor humidity is very low in the winter and I would think tender new growth would be the most susceptible to damage from too little humidity. I'd also still check on air vents/drafts since those would cause problems for many plants. And there's always watering of course and insects...might help if you could post a picture of some of the leaves to help narrow things down a bit more.

ecrane: I'm going to try to take a photo of the leaves, etc. However, I have forgotten how to copy it to the forum. I did it once, but it's been a while and now I can't remember.

This morning I looked at the Grand Dukes that had dropped all the leaves and there are green sprouts coming out now, so I guess they're not dead.

I'm going to put a dish with pebbles and water in the middle of the 5 plants. Maybe they dont like where I put them, but I didn't find any air currents from the vents blowing over them. I'll take a photo. Thanks, as usual.

Kaye C

ecrane: It's me again. Today the leaves look like they have "bubbles" on them and are curling. The new leaves are all bumpy with little bumps. I even took a magnifying glass to see if I could see any critters but I couldn't.

I will try to take a photo. The plants are putting out new leaves like crazy though.


Kaye C

ecrane3: I'm going to try to attach the photos I took. I don't take very good photos though. This is the Grand Duke Supreme


Kaye C

ecrane3: Here's another - the Maid of Orleans.

Kaye C

ecrane3: Oh Oh, I dont take very good photos. Actually, you can see the Maid of Orleans leaves better on the first picture of the Grand Duke which is right behind it.

Thans again

Kaye C

Sorry, can't really tell anything on the plant that's in the foreground in the first picture, but on the one in the back right part of that picture I think I see a stippled pattern which is typical of spider mites. And if that one has spider mites, chances are all the other ones around it do too. I'm not sure whether they could also be causing the wrinkling leaves that you're seeing or if that means there's something else going on too.

ecrane: How do I get rid of spider mites? The stippling is on both new ones. I used Bakers Rose Spray - is there another spray I should use? Thank you so much for your help. As I said, I'm a terrible photo taker, but the stippling is on the Maid of Orleans and the others.

Thanks again.

Kaye C.

The first thing I usually do is give the plants a good shower or hosing off, making sure to focus on the undersides of the leaves since that's where the mites live. Then use your insecticide of choice but again make sure to get the undersides of the leaves. I am not familiar with that particular spray, but check the label and if it mentions spider mites then it should be fine. Do the same shower/spray routine on any plants that were in that general area even if you don't see signs of mites yet--they spread very easily between plants but it sometimes takes a while for the symptoms to show up. In my experience, I've had much better luck proactively treating all plants in the vicinity--if you sit around and wait for the symptoms to show up they just keep spreading and spreading and you are always following them but never getting ahead. And you'll need to repeat the treatment a few times to really be sure you got rid of all of them, I don't think I've ever gotten rid of them completely in one treatment. They also don't like humidity particularly, so you might try placing a tray of water in the area where you're keeping the plants to try and get the humidity up a bit (this isn't a substitute for showering & spraying, but can help keep them from coming back)

I have a spray that I use on my houseplants when they get spider mites. It's callled FUNGICIDE 3 by GARDEN SAFE. It comes in a green pump spray and you can get it at walmart, maybe even your grocery store. It treats fungus, insects, and mites.
Lisa

Lisa: I got the new Bayer's 3 in 1 spray that covers spider mites, fungus, etc. The other one I had wasn't good for spider mites. Thank you for your help.

Kaye C

Please, let me know if it works. I just had an infestation on my indoor/outdoor tomato plants. Spider mites can destroy really quickly. Good Luck!

You can't use the Bayer 3-in-1 on edibles, it's a systemic so it gets into the plant tissues and stays there for a while, so because of that it's not approved for use on anything you're planning to eat. I'd try the showering/hosing off approach I mentioned above and then try something with neem as the active for your pesticide.

I ordered some ladybugs. They did great last year with my pests. I'll wash off the jasmine and put them on when they arrive. They are cheap, but the shipping is expensive.

Kaye C.

Are you planning on eating the jasmine? If not I don't see the issue with the bayer 3 and 1. The Garden Safe Fungicide 3 is approved for fruits, veggies and everything else.

Lisa: No, I don't intend to make tea with the jasmine or eat them. I just liked my ladybugs so much last year and I happened to think of them yesterday and decided to order some. I will be able to use them on my Mandevilla's outside this summer as they get full of aphids. They did a good job last year. Just thought I might try them with the spider mites and then maybe I wouldn't have to keep washing and spraying because as long as there are little pests around, the ladybugs will stay and eat them; otherwise, they will fly away out of my bedroom/porch doors when I open them during the spring/summer, and disperse into the neighborhod bug spots. My neighbors liked them last year too as they showed up on some of their plants and ate mostly aphids. Of course, last year I ordered 20 times more than I needed so I had to release some.

Kaye c.

Lisa--my issue with the 3-in-1 was a response to your post where it sounded to me that you might be thinking of using it on your tomatoes if it worked well. For the jasmine it's fine.

ecrane-the 3 and 1 that I have says it is OK for veggies. I only use it as a last resort though. I actually lost some tomato plants because I didn't realize that they were infested until it was too late. Now it doesn't matter because I'm not getting tomatoes from then anyway. Hey, I just put my reading glasses on and the only active ingredient is extract of neem oil. It's a whole new world when I can see.

OK, your 3-in-1 isn't the same as the Bayer 3-in-1 that Kaye mentioned then, the Bayer one has imidacloprid which is a systemic and shouldn't be used on edibles.

The stuff I have really works. I've been using it for years. I just never put my reading glasses on to see the reallly small print. I've also been buying Neem Oil, I didn't realize I already had it. I fill really silly now, oh well live and learn. Does anybody know if ladybugs eat mites? I'm just wondering.

No, as far as I know they don't control spider mites, just aphids. Biological controls like that tend to be much more specific than pesticide sprays in terms of what bugs they will control.

Liz: I could have sworn that the printed info I got with my ladybugs last year said they ate spider mites. I think I'll go on line and see what their preferences are. I do know they're deadly on aphids.

Kaye c

That would definitely be nice if they did take care of spider mites, but I'd honestly be a little surprised--SM's are such a huge problem that if lady bugs would take care of them I would think that would be common knowledge like them eating aphids. I was curious though so I also just checked the UC Davis integrated pest management website which is my "bible" of pest control and they don't mention anything about lady bugs eating spider mites. There is a type of lady beetle which will eat spider mites, but it's not in the same genus as the aphid-eating lady bugs and looks very different (and they say on their website that it's not commercially available).

Liz: Will it kill the ladybugs if I put them on there for the aphids and then spray with the Bayerss 3 in 1? Probably, but I'm just trying to think of an easy solution. Thanks.

Kaye C

Off topic: By the way my Bougies I put in my little "greenhouse" are blooming like crazy and have suffered no damage frorm the 24 degree weather we've had for the last 2 weeks. They are doing really well in that little place.

If the ladybugs are there when you spray then it will definitely not be good for them. Since they're not eating the plant they might be OK there afterwards, but if they're eating aphids or other insects that have eaten the poisoned leaves then that will probably kill them. So I'd recommend making a choice, either you use pesticides or you use beneficials, you can't really mix the two.

Glad to hear your bougies are doing well!

if you want to confirm spider mites take plant to sunny area and use a spray bottle on fine mist and spray you will then see the webs in the sunlight if so then let it dry and spray
with insectasital soap every week for 3 to 4 weeks

scicciarella: I'm pretty sure there are spider mites in addition to the aphids. I fnally was able the other day to find tiny, tiny tan little things on the bottom of some of the leaves. I "think" they are the spider mites. I used my 3 in 1 spray about a week ago. I was able to see the mites, ir whatever they are, about 3 days after I sprayed them. Thanks for the tip though. I think I'll do that and see.

Kaye C

Even if you don't see webs you still could have the mites--I typically don't see the webs unless the problem has gotten really bad before I catch it. If you're seeing little tiny things on the underside of the leaves I definitely think you've got spider mites...of course dead ones and live ones probably look an awful lot the same so the 3-in-1 might have killed them already...or maybe not. That's one of the other reasons I always hose off the undersides of the leaves first, that way I get rid of the majority of them so I know when I look later if I'm seeing them again then I didn't do a good job getting rid of them.

I sure didn't know the little devils were that hard to get rid of. I'll keep up my washing, etc.


kaye c

yup and spray every weeks for 3 or 4 weeks I usually do the 4 weeks thing it will take care of it

Kayec-it looks like you have leaf miners from what I can see. There's a somewhat new bush leaf miner that makes serpentine 'tunnels' which are shiny, & silvery. Gets citrus, grapefruit, gardenias, hibiscus and many other shrubs and some vines.
Systemic should take care of it.

leaf minor also loves columbine

Leaf miners. I never thought of that. We had a warning from the Ag Agent for them on citrus and I had some on my citrus in the back yard. Now that I think back, the leaves were shiny and started to curl (even though they remained green) from the leaf miners. I looked this morning and several of th jasmine leaves are starting to curl. I did put the 3 in 1 on them and it specifically said it kills leaf miners (several types), so I guess I'll jut have to wait and see. Thanks.

kaye