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Star Jasmine-Is this a fungal disease?

Hi,

I planted this Star Jasmine in a large pot to climb up an archway (it wasnt possible to put it in the ground due to location) It seems to be growing nicely and starting to flower but i noticed a red spot on a couple of the leaves a few weeks ago and now it seems like all the leaves are getting them. I read about a fungal leaf spot disease and wondered if this could be it and if anyones dealt with it before/can i treat it with something? I dont really want to carry on letting it grow up the arch if its going to keep getting worse then die off :( 

Thanks x

Posts

  • I don't know about the fungal disease. However, if you'll forgive me saying so, the pot looks very dry - it could be drought stress that is causing it. It probably needs watering every day at the moment? Even when it rains, the rain just doesn't reach to pots.

    Also - have you potted it using a loam-based medium (eg John Innes no 3)? Multi-purpose compost dries out very quickly, whereas if you have a mix of JI no3 and MPC, it retains water much better.

    Hope this helps.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I agree with @Pianoplayer. The spots are most likely due to stress and as said the pot does look dry, possibly not helped if you've just used multi-purpose compost.

    Star Jasmine is a very thirsty plant and needs to be kept moist especially if in a pot, during the growing season. Scale insects often appear too when the plant is under stress.
    They're also hungry plants. A feed of tomato fertilizer about once a month during the growing season will help as would an occasional feed of seaweed extract to keep it healthy.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • AFC8AFC8 Posts: 20
    @Pianoplayer @Pete.8 Hi no i dont mind you saying at all im really new to gardening/plants and appreciate any advice so thank you for pointing it out. I thought id been watering it enough but i really havent. It was planted in compost recommended by the garden centre but it wasnt John Innes i do think it was just multi purpose. Do you think its worth trying to replace some of the compost with John Innes no 3? Ill up the watering and do the tomato feed. Thanks for your help :)
  • Believe me - I've fallen in to the trap of not watering pots enough!

    My inclination is to say try and repot into a mix of JI3 if you can - it will be easier now before the plant gets too big!
  • AFC8AFC8 Posts: 20
    @Pianoplayer haha thank you glad its not just me. Yes i think that sounds like the best idea as i really want it to do well. Ill do it now while its still small. Thanks again :smiley:
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Yes, I agree JI3 would be good.
    JI3 is quite heavy though, so I'd mix in some of the compost you already have in the pot to lighten the JI3 which will give better drainage
    About 75% JI3 and 25% of the MPC you have already

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - a mix as @Pete.8 describes. 
    You may find the pot isn't big enough long term though. They want to get big, so you may need to rethink how you have it planted.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • AFC8AFC8 Posts: 20
    Thanks everyone for all your help :smiley:
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