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by Scooter
(Livonia, Michigan)

Hello – I’ve had a potted arabian Jasmine ‘Grand Duke of Tuscany’ for about 15 years.

I live in Michigan, so about October, I take the plant inside and keep it next to a window, then in April, I take it back outside.

Well, about 3 weeks ago, it dropped all its leaves, but I don’t recall any yellowing.

It may have something to do with moving it around the house several times.

As it started to warm up, I moved it outside, but still no leafing although few of the branches are still green. Is there any hope that the plant is still alive and will leaf? I hate to get rid of it prematurely.

As long as the stems are still green, there is hope. Don’t give up on it too soon.

One thing that you may want to check (if it has any leaves left) is for spider mite damage. This appears as pale raspy looking areas on the leaves, and if the infestation is heavy, you’ll see very fine webs, especially on the underside of the foliage.

Spray with plain water, and keep the humidity a little higher around the plant (trays of pebbles are an old method of keeping the air a little more moist).

Spider mites can trigger leaf drop, and especially when the plant is inside in possibly not ideal conditions; most plants do not like forced air heating, so if it was in a draft from this, it could show it’s distress in this way.

If your heat is propane or natural gas, get the system checked for leaks, as Mercaptans, the chemical used to indicate a leak is deadly for plants.

I would just put the Jasmine on ‘ignore’ and see if it recovers; you could be surprised!

Best of luck with your vine,
Jacki