Star Jasmine


  #1  
Old 05-13-06, 02:30 PM
W
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Cool Star Jasmine

Trachelospermum jasminoides pest

Hello,
New to gardening, new to forum. Hope netiquette is duly respected in this question and welcome any style corrections and or advice anyone can offer.

To cut to the chase:
A potted star jasmine, just purchased, is in flower but has got some kind of bug, possibly Pantomorus cervinus (Crotch). Can't tell what for sure. Flowers are, after only a 4 days, browning and dying before maturing. What, if anything, can be done? We'd like to keep the plant from year to year so really want to rid it of this pest and nurse it back to health.

We only have a terrace and live in Northern Europe, Brussels. Everyone in the house has fallen in love with this seductive flower because of its heavenly scent, delicate beauty and rich deep green foliage. Consensus is to flood the house out with many more jasmines... but we do not want to bring in any more bugs, but rather to contain what we seem to have caught and, especially we want to get our beautiful jasmine back to normal.

What pesticides should I use? (we are very organic in our household)
How can I rid myself of this horrid creature that is crawling around on the surface of the soil.
How can I protect the other plants in the house.

I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, jasmine is, reputedly, an ideal companion, for its scent, for its essential oils, herb tea can be made from its petals. All in all just what the doctor ordered.

The plant was repotted following internet advice.
Gravel was placed at the bottom and an expensive fumigated loamy soil was placed on top. The plant was not disturbed by the repotting as the earth and roots lifted clean from the old pot, and were simply bedded into the larger pot and given more soil. The plant is sprayed with water (net advice) and the earth is kept moist, not drenched. It is in a light position though not in direct sunlight. An organic plant fertilizer has been administerd in correct dose.

I would be deeply grateful to anyone for any help with my problem.
 

Last edited by Weeeed; 05-13-06 at 02:35 PM. Reason: Error in cutting and pasting manoeuvre
  #2  
Old 05-14-06, 04:37 AM
C
Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Taylors, SC
Posts: 9,261
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
This is a plant that is quite free from problems. We just plant it and feed it annually. It grows quite well. I use it to cover fences and for ground cover. I have never had any problems with the plant. It grows well here, even though my location is too far north for it to flourish. The pest you mention is usually trivial. I would just pick them off.

Here is an article on trapping and using nematodes on this pest.

"Since damage becomes extreme only when adults are present in large numbers, control is generally unnecessary unless the damage is intolerable or if it was high the previous season.

Monitoring the pest is important to determine the size of the population. This can be done by banding the trunks with burlap that has been folded several times and wrapped around the base of the plant. The adults hide in the burlap during the day and can be collected and disposed of. Persistent trapping may help to reduce the weevil population to tolerable levels.

If adequate control from trapping is not achieved, consider the use of parasitic nematodes to control the immature adults. Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (H. heliothidis) or Steinernema carpocapsae are commercially available species of nematodes applied to the soil in the spring (mid March to mid May) for control of the immature stage before the adults emerge. Follow the manufacturer's directions for proper application of nematodes, as the soil should be at least 60 F and kept moist for up to two weeks after application for effective control."

From http://************/ngvf5

Hope this helps.
 
  #3  
Old 05-15-06, 03:09 AM
W
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Bleach in dilution for pest control?

Chris,
Thanks so much for this full response. Though Nematodes sound intriguing, I don't know if it is possible to get them here in Brussels. As someone totally new to gardening the prospect sounds challenging. I'll look into it.

You don't say from what part of the globe you write. Here in Belguim I understand the plant can go into the earth but only from Spring to Autumn before any danger of frost. My Jasmine is, necessarily, in a pot, as we have no garden.

As I mentioned I don't know exactly what the pest is.

Yesterday at a Sunday flower market a vendor told me professionals use bleach for pest control. The dilution was one cup of bleach to ten gallons of water and this is administered to nursery plants once a month.

As the dilution seems very great perhaps the bleach will not harm the plant or environment unduly. Wondered if anyone has experience of this.

Thank you again for your kind and timely advice.
Bests,
Aurore
 
  #4  
Old 05-15-06, 01:52 PM
C
Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Taylors, SC
Posts: 9,261
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Brussels is in zone 8, so this should grow readily for you outdoors. It should do well indoors. I would be concerned that it receives enough light indoors. I am in zone 7 in South Carolina.

I would check with local gardeners for a multipurpose spray such as is used for house plants when they have been outdoors for the summer and are sprayed prior to being brought indoors. I would not expect sodium hypochlorite to kill insects in a concentration that would not injure the plants.

Here is a photograph of one. http://************/p6bq2 Mine grow thick on the fence along the street. Its being evergreen does a wonderful job of masking the chain link fence. The bouquet is quite overpowering about this time of the year.

Hope this helps.
 
  #5  
Old 05-15-06, 06:28 PM
T
Member
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: USA
Posts: 15,047
Upvotes: 0
Received 2 Upvotes on 2 Posts
If you just purchased the plant and it is infested, return it to the store where you bought it. Infestation was present at time of purchase. Pantomorus cervinus larvae feed on roots and adults feed on foliage.

Insecticidal soap is an organic control for plant pests and can be found at garden centers. Soil surface will have to be treated as well as all plant parts and leaf surfaces.
 
  #6  
Old 05-16-06, 04:50 PM
W
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Caveat Emptor!

Not a store, a market.

Insecticidal soap? Will procure some forthwith. Thank you for the tip.

Though I have already indicated to the vendor that his plant was infested two more have since been acquired from the same source (good money after bad?)

I am reassured that consumer absolutism is alive and well wherever you may be located, however, I can state with some assurance that it is not the case in my neck of the woods. And if other undisputed benefits to living here do exist, consumer rights are not among them. It all works on touch, feel and negotiate skills. I'm doubtful the "'ere take this rotten thing back!" approach would bring any results.

As an inexperienced gardener, in truth it did not occur to me to ask for a refund, besides which I had in the meantime repotted the goods and added more soil (expensive, fumigated and guaranteed variety) so there is no longer proof the bugs are the seller's not mine. Next time I will ask the stall-owner to go some way to make amends on the strength of your advice.

Lucidity has been impaired by the powerful influence the heady scent of this bewitching Jasmine seems to have exerted over us. Since owning it we have been all over Brussels in search of more but had no luck. Could returning to the original vendor be construed as an act of folly or of good faith, and hope that the first flawed acquisition was but an exception...? Perhaps by my largesse the supplier is primed for a gesture of good will now at least?

On a more constructive note, meantime I am eager to learn what is to be done to preserve the plant over winter (if it survives that long) at which time, apparently, the leaves turn at attractive copper colour and continue to be ornamental. The same plant flowers again next year, it would appear so it would be great to know ideal conditions; temperature, water, feed etc.

When blooms brown in bud prepaturely what in particular (apart from bugs) could this signal? What if anything is there to be done? Is this reputedly a difficult plant to cultivate I wonder?

Some of my other green house plants, with us over 25 years now, may be in danger of catching the little, as yet unidentified bug: what precautions in particular should be taken?

So far the sick Jasmine is sequestered in the bathroom and is being sprayed with an organic (ugly smelling) pest control product. The cat is banned from entry to avoid intoxication.

This gardening lark is turning out to be quite something and that's just with ONE flowering plant to deal with!

Apologies for the length of the message! The case of the eager beginner! Your advice is very much appreciated.

Aurore
 

Last edited by Weeeed; 05-16-06 at 05:03 PM. Reason: Reply attributed to wrong author
  #7  
Old 05-16-06, 04:59 PM
W
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks Chris.

Originally Posted by chfite
Brussels is in zone 8, so this should grow readily for you outdoors. It should do well indoors. I would be concerned that it receives enough light indoors. I am in zone 7 in South Carolina.

I would check with local gardeners for a multipurpose spray such as is used for house plants when they have been outdoors for the summer and are sprayed prior to being brought indoors. I would not expect sodium hypochlorite to kill insects in a concentration that would not injure the plants.

Here is a photograph of one. http://************/p6bq2 Mine grow thick on the fence along the street. Its being evergreen does a wonderful job of masking the chain link fence. The bouquet is quite overpowering about this time of the year.

Hope this helps.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: