Hello! Sorry to hear you've been having problems with your jasmines. :( Here are some tips to help you- 1. Jasminum sambac (Sambac jasmines) like a moist but fast draining mix. They don't like soggy soils. I make my own potting mix called 5:1:1 which you can find by searching on this site. If you can't make your own then I suggest a professional potting mix like Fafard or if you can't find that then Miracle-Gro with added perlite for drainage. 2. Depending on where you live Sambacs thrive in full sun but if you live in a really hot place you might want to only give them morning sun, afternoon shade and evening sun or dappled sun throughout the day. 3. Let the potting mix become slightly dry between watering. The easiest way to determine if you need to water is using a moisture meter. That takes the guesswork out of it! 4. Fertilizer. I like to use all purpose Dynamite slow release fertilizer in my mix and every two weeks or so Dyna Gro Foliage Pro liquid fertilizer when I water. They should be fine outside in the warmer months. Just bring them in before it gets cold. These are just the basics. I'm sure others will have lots of good tips for you and I wish you success with jasmines since I too love their scent! :) -Robert Here is a link that might be useful: Some jasmine tips This post was edited by robert1971 on Thu, Jun 26, 14 at 15:50

Good to hear Mike! Makes sense, neem can burn up leaves. I've noticed the leaves on my maxillaria turn brown if they get too much sun. Is yours getting a lot of sun lately? I don't water it too much because it's in pure peat moss and it retains a lot of water. I notice the bulbs shrivel if I don't water enough so that's how I gauge its water needs. But with orchids the more water the better. Some of my orchids seem to need double the water and fertilizer of the others. What medium is your maxillaria planted in? And maybe some leaves just tend to turn brown naturally. Some of my orchids will get ugly spots, probably from sunburn or humidity, on the leaves while others are virtually spotless. Maybe fungicide and less sun and no water resting on the leaves can prevent spotting and browning. I don't really know!

This post was edited by DMForcier on Mon, Jul 14, 14 at 19:18

Hi All - First posting here. I stumbled in here, after searching for info on ground cover that grows rapidly and vertically. I live in the Metro Atlanta area, specifically about 30 minutes SW of the airport in Newnan. Our lot slopes up from the street, and our back yard has always been nearly non-existent. It went back maybe 10-15 feet, was uneven, and full of rocks. I had someone come in and do some grading to get a fairly flat surface, and 15-20 feet from the back of the house, so we could actually use part of the back yard. One spot was used to put a cheap pool (You can see it's still filling in the pic). Grading is a lot cheaper than building retaining walls, so that's not in my plan, at least not for a year or two. What I want to do is find something that I can plant at the base of this vertical slope (the loose dirt will be removed), and have it grow up the slope vertically, and hopefully root into it as it grows, to aid in holding it in place. Ultimately, I'd like it to continue to the upper part which has always been weeds, and cover that, choking out the unattractive weeds, and making it more maintenance free. It sounds like Confederate Jasmine may be what I'm looking for. As you can see in the picture, I am surrounded by hard, compacted clay, and to make it more fun, it's probably the rockiest soil I've seen here, and I've been in this area most of my life. How long do you think it would take Confederate Jasmine to grow to the top of the bare area (maybe 7' at the corner peak)? This area is in full Sun from maybe 11AM till just about dusk each day. Would it grow straight up, or would it fan out and grow up and out at the same pace? Should I plant it just at the base? How far apart should I plant it, and how is Confederate Jasmine sold? Thanks in advance!