We live just southeast of Phoenix, and have already wasted a lot of money on star jasmine plants for our trellis. The first pair of plants initially thrived and blossomed...until they were overrun with spider mites. We tried many different techniques to rid the plants of the mites but to no avail. We ordered two more star jasmine plants, this time younger plants, and purchased new large pots for them. However, we decided to hold off on re-potting them until they had a chance to grow a bit. We never got the chance to re-pot them, because, once again, a spider mite infestation killed them. We have other plants that remain untouched by spider mites. We have a beautiful wrought iron trellis that's standing empty right now, and we'd like a fragrant vine for it. We love wisteria, but it looks like it's not an option for us, since we don't want to waste money on more high-risk plants. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I've had a grape wisteria plant in the ground that has done beautifully on the railing of my deck for over 10 years. This year, it flowered nicely. Since then it has dropped every single one of its leaves and looks as though it might have died. I have cut it back so it doesn't have to support all the dead limbs. What I'm wondering is, with the horrendously wet summer the northeast has experienced (I'm in northern Connecticut), did the wet summer with next to no 80 degree days do the plant in? What would cause the vine to completely go dead by mid-July? It has always done well where I have it with direct late-day sun. No other plants have taken any kind of hit (it's planted near bleeding heart, iris and forsythia, where it's been since I planted it, so no new introduction has been made). In fact, the rest of the garden is doing very well, in spite of the wet summer. Should I give it until next year to see if it recovers, or is all lost?

Look around it and I am sure you will find some that are already rooted, but it is a bad time of year to be digging one. Carry a bucket of water along to put it in just in case you can't get it dug with a ball of soil. Cut it back to match the little root ball. Remember that it had a huge root system supporting it before.

Wisteria is deciduous, so it is normal for them to lose their leaves and look "dead" at this time of year. Mine look that way and so does my neighbor's huge wisteria. No worries yet!