Last week I bought a small Jasmine plant at Trader Joe's in NYC. The thought of smelling Jasmine in the winter was alluring. The first blossoms opened beautifully. The plant is on my kitchen table. The entire apt. is dark as a dungeon, but I put a grow light on the table, about 2-3ft. away from the plant.

The first buds opened nicely within a few days. But very soon all the smaller buds were turning brown before opening. The old blossoms are also turning brown. See photos.

I would love to keep this plant alive until spring when I can have it up on my rooftop garden. ADVICE WELCOME.
Thanks,
Nancy in NYC

Hi Nancy!

It could be a number of things. How is the humidity in your home .. if the air is very dry then that could be a problem. How cold do you keep your home? Is it under, near or next to a heat register? Is it near a drafty window? Look very closely at the brown bits and see if you see any spider webs .. spider mites might be a problem and love dry environments. Is the soil really dry or very wet?

You might try cutting off the brown bits and misting a few times a day if your inside air is really dry .. If your bathroom gets really steamy when taking a shower, bring it in to the bathroom .. it will love the warmth and humidity. If it's under, near or next to a heat register it's probably reacting the hot dry air hitting it.

This is the time of year when things go dormant and/or slow down considerably. You should keep your soil more on the dry side than the wet side until spring. Put the grow light on a short day schedule as well.

Nancy, I'm glad you asked about Jasmine. I can offer what has been working so far for mine. I'm on my 2nd attempt with a plant from Trader Joe's I got last year about this time. I have a well lit room, well away from the dryness of the woodstove we use for heat, and it continued to bloom until all the buds were finished, and then grew new vines vigorously. I re potted in spring and grew it outside in semi shade, and it continued to grow vigorously. It is overwintering in my cool, unheated foyer, with southeastern exposure from a window and French doors. It has been growing all winter, but less vigorously, and the mature foliage looks healthy and hasn't shed much. I'm assuming it is approaching bloom time, so I've been giving it dilute bloom booster plant food. I'm curious how sensitive they are to artificial light at night? I keep a night light in the foyer- is that enough light to keep them from blooming? I am seeing new growth at the leaf axils from the mature vines, fingers crossed this will be blooms!

Several years ago I had a Jasmine that grew beautifully for 8 or 10 years, but never once bloomed. One winter I was overwhelmed with plants to bring in, and let it freeze since it hadn't bloomed. Hoping I can get it right this time.