Jasminium sambac with yellowing leaves

[innercitygarden]

Hi!
Choosing which forum is kind of tricky. I grow everything in containers. A search on Jasminium sambac only gave two returns, neither one addressing my problem. It's a flower but often gets used as an herb...
I got this plant via mail for my anniversary in April. It was in a tiny container and the leggy growth indicated it had been in the dark for a while. There are about 4 plants. I put them in a 10" terra cotta container and have read several conflicting advice articles on this tropical plant. I keep it out- it gets 4-5 hours of sun a day. The soil was a rather heavy one, enriched with compost, but with a sandy feel in the hand. I tried to ease it into the sunlight, keeping it indoors at night, giving it two, then more hours of sun a day. I pruned back some of the long, leggy growth. The new growth is yellow, and that's starting to spread into the older growth. This is probably bad news. My suspicion is that I need a soil ammendment- perlite (I know- nonrenewable), vermiculite or even peat. The problem is that I live in SF on a "fixed income" which means broke. Even a bag of peat costs too much- prices on everything here have been going up, up, up. I keep the shards of terra cotta from broken pots for use as drainage material- works great though you have to place the shards over the hole with some care. I was wondering about using very small shards (I do have a hammer ) as an amnendment. Terra cotta absorbs water but also gives it up very quickly. What do y'all think? I really want this plant. Anniversary present. Plus I let it be known that I wanted one for about 1.5 years. Getting another one is not a very good option. It's a mild San Fran summer this year- we are in a severe drought. Help? Anyone else grow these?

[applestar]

I have "Maid of Orleans".

It is sensitive to overwatering -- wet feet -- so heavy soil would be an issue. Also it likes a fair amount of light -- I have slowly moved mine from 1/2 day sun at the beginning of the season when it first went outside to nearly full sun with the tomatoes now, and one of them is blooming.

It doesn't like to dry out either, and it's sensitive to cold (under 60°F) In any of the three situations, the leaves can turn yellow.

Why are you bringing it inside during the night? I suspect that this might keep it from adapting to the environment.

Post a picture of the plant and the soil. Unless the soil it's in is seriously wrong for the plant, repotting will just stress it more.

[imafan26]

I have jasmine sambac (we call it pikake here). What apple said is true, it does not like wet feet. It can grow in partial sun or full sun and likes well drained soil. I only water it occasionally. It is a rangy shrub, it puts out longer stems and it is often trained on a trellis like a vine.

It is a slow grower.

If it is yellow, I suspect it has been over watered. Let it dry out a bit. It can be tricky to transplant, but if you can get it stable, then transplant it to a drier mix and try to keep it outside as much as possible. if you can get healthy growth, it can be propagated by cuttings. It gets has gets down to the low 50's here in January and it even got down to 49. As long as it does not freeze it will be happier outside. If you want the plant to be bigger eventually it should be potted up and trelised because the stems will go up 8 or 10 feet but it takes years to do that. When pikake is cut back it takes years to get past three feet.

jasmine sambac comes in single, double, and rose forms. I have the double rose form. The buds from the single form is used for leis, but the double rose is very pretty.

I live in Hawaii, so it never has gotten colder than the low 50's, once it got down to 49 degrees but that was it, and I was freezing.
This is a commercial site, but it has pictures of the single, double, and double rose pikake. It also has growing tips, but I have to say, I have never seen flowers more than 3/4 inch in diameter. Although, pikake are pretty much one of those plants that get neglected in the landscape around here unless people sell the flowers, but even then, they are not more than an inch in diameter.

https://toptropicals.com/html/toptropica ... sambac.htm
https://www.floridata.com/ref/j/jasm_sam.cfm

[innercitygarden]

Hi!
Thank you both for your helpful replies. I'm sorry for being unclear- I am no longer bringing it indoors at all. I did when I first got it - for 2 or 3 weeks because it looked like it had been indoors and in low light or even dark for a bit- lots if leggy growth on top which I pruned off.
So, I tried to ease it into SF outdoor weather. Leaving it outdoors longer each day and now that's where it lives all the time. In April it was still a bit windy cold at night.
We are in a severe drought so we are getting more sunny days and less fog than usual. That said I am in a hyper urban environment and my sun gets blocked by buildings around me- the sun it gets is the best I can do. In the winter it can get to the low 40s, but pretty rarely. Usually it's about 45F at night. Now it's no less than 50F, usually warmer. If we are getting the usual fog and rain it feels like 35F when it's 45F. The wind can be chill as well.
I found a pot this morning with a soil mix in it that appears very fresh which is much lighter than the one in my "Maid of Orleans" ( as advertized) is in now. Usually I dump soil and scrub found on the street pots well and use a 10% household bleach solution on them, but I'm sorely tempted to risk using a bit of this lighter soil with more very small wood bits in it. I don't want to give you the wrong idea- this is not orchid mix! Is there any way to kind of clean dirt?? I'm thinking about putting it in a tray and leaving it in the sun for a day. I know it's a risk. Since neither of you mentioned my terra cotta chip idea I guess it's not very good. I have about $80 until 1 Sept, so I'm not exaggerating about the budget. A bag of peat costs about $7.50.
I have been letting it dry out more between waterings, and when I do it's not enough to wet the tray underneath. If there is water there (once) I dump it into another plant promptly. The leaves coming in at the bottom are green- that's the good news.
So- should I prune away the yellowed leaves? Even the brand new ones? My inclination is to leave it be for a while, except working in some lighter soil. I also have some bought "Black Rose" soil which has much more peat in it, but it's not as light as the stuff I just found.
I'm hoping this is the single- I prefer simple flowers and I'm mostly interested in scent for tea, rice, jasmine water-etc. anyway. I guess I won't know for sure until I get some blooms.
I know- lot's of questions which are odd. Such is life in the big city...
Thanks!

[innercitygarden]

PS- no pics right now. I'm technologically impaired...hehe.

[imafan26]

If the new growth is green that is good.

Soil can be sterilized in the oven, but I tell you, it stinks. You need a slow oven about 200 degrees for 4 hours. Put the soil on a tray. It should be slightly damp since you want to steam it.

Instead of bark, I would get some cinder or pea gravel and work that into the soil mix. Bark will break down and sour the mix, cinder and pea gravel will be around for years.

[applestar]

Are there Home Depot or Lowes in the city? You should be able to get a 40 or 50 Lb bag of all purpose sand for around $4 -- that will last you a long while.

If it's sunny enough, or if you can find a spot that is all day baking sun, put the soil/pot in either doubled clear plastic bag or a translucent storage tote with tight fitting lid, and leave it out. That should be equivalent to solarizing. I did this with a container I grew cucumbers in -- just left it out for a week with the lid on, then amended with some compost and nutrients and planted a tomato -- It's doing great.