Indoor Flowering Jasmine - Ask Extension
My daughter thinks this jasmine plant has spider mites. I looked under a magnifier, but it's hard for me to tell. The plant is about five years old an...
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Indoor Flowering Jasmine #810711
Asked September 14, 2022, 12:55 AM EDT
My daughter thinks this jasmine plant has spider mites. I looked under a magnifier, but it's hard for me to tell. The plant is about five years old and flowers beautifully, but the leaves are looking a little paler than they used to. I do give it some MiracleGro fertilizer, lightly, every couple of months.
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
It's not possible to tell for sure from your photos, but the dotty-looking leaves suggest mites which are tiny. Jasmine is prone to mites, particularly in our warm, dry homes in the winter, and over time can turn the leaves yellowish and the plant unthrifty. When populations are high you may see fine webbing among the stems and leaves.
One way to test for mites is to hold a sheet of plain white paper below a branch and tap it firmly. You may need a magnifier to see, but it's likely you'd see small white dots walking across the page.
This page from our website will tell you more about them and the best ways to manage them:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/spider-mites-indoor-plants
Christine
One way to test for mites is to hold a sheet of plain white paper below a branch and tap it firmly. You may need a magnifier to see, but it's likely you'd see small white dots walking across the page.
This page from our website will tell you more about them and the best ways to manage them:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/spider-mites-indoor-plants
Christine
