Might be underwatered. They are drought-tolerant but only to a point in an enclosed planter. If it is putting out new growth and flowers it isn't too bad.

The scale might be weakening it, or they might be taking advantage of it being weak. Look up scale insects and see if it is those. If so, there are plenty of treatments.

Hi OllieBlue,

If you look back on some of the old threads you will see my post re this plant. I had the same problem, I bought 3 and had to put them in pots as the ground beneath the fence they were going to be covering was very hard and impossible to dig into. Anyway that was at the end of January and can you believe it i forgot to water them for about a month. The plants went limp and the leaves turned yellow and red and fell off.

I managed to save them by watering them every other day and every day since its been hot. In mid May lots of new leaf buds had appeared but then i went on holiday for a week on June 4th - June 11th and when i got back because they hadnt been watered all the larger older and some of the smaller newer leaves were starting to fall off and turn yellow and mottled brown again. Ive been watering them twice a day in this hot weather we are having in south east london and they look fine again now. So i think its defo they need more water.

Mine havent started to flower yet though , do you know when they are supposed to flower?

Lou xx

Thank you for your replies. I guess like anything, flowering depends on the weather! My flowers are still in their green, unfurled state. I expect that if this sun continues, we'll see them come out in a couple of weeks.

I've read a bit more on those revolting scaly things. Seems like I've got my weekend cut out for me. I need to remove the dying leaves, scrape as much off as possible from the other leaves, and then douse in some sort of insecticide - I forget the name. Also I need to pre-wash them in a weak solution of soapy water. I should probaly get the insecticide done before the flowers open so that it doesn't hurt the bees.

Apologies for stealing your thread Ollieblue, but I was just going to start one about my Trachelospermum Jasminoides and saw yours.

I planted this in a ten gallon pot against a south facing wall. Used JI no 3 mixed with some perlite and sand to aid drainage. It has made very little growth in 3 months though there are some flowers. Any ideas please.

Patience. They are slow to establish. In my experience they do very little the first year except grow roots.

Hi all,

Shrubs and Bulbs, thanks I'll remember that as Iv had nightmares with mine and i think the garden centre suggested pots that were too small aswell. When would be the best time to put them in new pots, around feb/march next year? Also how much would i need to water them if any in the winter time.

Goldcroft, Your lucky i dont have any flowers on mine yet.

Ollieblue, you have got your work cut out!
Lou xx

Well, I did the job and cleaned the plant. I shook it to get rid of as many dead and dying leaves as possible, picked off heavilly infested leaves that remained and doused it in Provado. This gets taken up by the plant so that the pests literally feed on poison and die (please excuse me if I am teaching you all to suck eggs!.

Today I have checked it to find that tiny green shoots are begining to appear alongside the closed flowers. It honestly does seem that the pesticide is already working in reducing (or eliminating) the sapping power of these pests and is allowing the plant to grow again.

As to the flowers, I went to a garden centre yesterday and their plant was already in flower, albeit just a few blooms. So I guess any day now.

One thing that this has taught me is to check on the plants more frequently. I noticed these scale insects last year but did nothing about it as the plant was in good health with an abandance of leaves and flowers. Now I will check the undersides of even healthy looking plants and take action as soon as I see any signs of trouble. They seem to hold out for a long while, but when they finally give up the fight, boy do they get sick!

Wow...I can't believe people are still using pesticides that will kill bees. Bees are responsible for 1 of every 3 bites of food consumed by humans. Bee colonies are disappearing rapidly, and when the bees are gone it will only be a matter of time and humans will be gone from the face of the earth as well. Be responsible. Stop using pesticides!!! Use organic rosemary oil soap. It smells good, and won't hurt the beneficial insects. It will take care of fungus, many pests, and disease. Check it out, before humans get checked out with the bees.....think about it!

if you read back on the thread you will see that insecticide was used long before the plants came into flower and so no bees were harmed in the making of this garden. The bees are just as likely to die out because there are no flowers from which to take pollen.

I have just purchased a Trachelospermum jasminoides and was interested in all of your comments, my plant is four feet tall (4') with the pot.
So what pot would you recommend I plant it in for it's permanent position ? and any advice would be welcome.I live in Warwickshire.