Jasmine

natprice88

Hi, I have a Jasmine Japonica on a west facing roof terrace in west London.  It is in a pot with a small daisy plant - which is doing well.

The leaves on the Jasmine have all gone red / brown over the winter - its been growing well for three years now and usually green leaves and white flowers.

Factors could be it has been a very wet winter (sorry for stating the obvious) and there may be ants around but I'm not sure if that would impact it.

Does anybody have any advice at all as to what I could do to bring it back to life?  I've attached a photo.



Thanks very much

Nat Price

Pete.8

Hi Nat and welcome to the forum
Your plant looks very much like a star jasmine (trachleospermum jasminoides)
The leaves do sometimes go red in winter due to cold, but there are usually green leaves too.
Could it be root bound? Do you feed it at all?
To see if it's still alive, try bending some stems and see if they bend or snap.
If they snap and the wood looks dead, at least part of the plant is not alive. If you find the stems bend, the plant is probably still ok.
You can also scrape off a little bit of the surface of a stem and see if there's any sign of green underneath - if there is it's still alive.

natprice88

Thanks Pete, really kind for you to get back to me.

There seems to be green within the stem and some new growth at the ends of the stems too (see pic attached).

I think last time we fed was last year (maybe June or July) with miracle gro - do you think try a re-feed in the first instance?

I am also wondering if there is an ant nest in the pot which might be affecting things - though not sure how best to deal with that.

Thanks again

Nat


Nat

Borderline

Container growing can be challenging. Make sure the watering is deep so that all the compost has full contact with water and roots. Ants are a sign of lack of water. The soil should be a loam-based compost. John Innes No2 or 3 with added grit to aid drainage. 

Leaves are either aged leaves ready to drop. So long as new growth appears, your plant will spring back.

Pete.8

That look OK Nat.
It's just a bit late waking up.
If it's been happy for the last few years, just keep doing what ever you've been doing.
It could probably use miracle grow (or Tomorite for more flowers) about once a month during the growing season (april-Sept).
Do check it's not rootbound though as that's a sure way to loose it, and don't let it dry out in the summer as scale insects often appear.

Ants wont harm the plant as such, but their activities do create pockets of air in the compost which can then damage roots.
If it's quite big you may want to do something about it, if there's just a few I'd not worry - so long as they don't find their way to your kitchen

natprice88

Dear Pete and Borderline - thanks very much the ideas and feedback.  Those are really useful.  I will get to work and report back - hopefully with success!

Nat