GT - the insecticidal soap won't be effective against scale, though it would kill any juveniles in the crawler stage. You'll need a perfect oil (also called summer oil, light hort oil, all season hort oil), neem oil, or most effective, a systemic insecticide. I was going to contact you off forum to offer a suggestion, but you don't have an email link. If you're interested in how I treat scale, just drop a note. Al

Hi Padmaja. It's too bad you didn't catch the mealy before plants got so infested. A cotton ball dipped in Rubbing Alcohol kills mealy, but since your plants have so many bugs, it'd take a lot of cotton balls and rubbing alcohol to do the job. Any plants without mealy should be moved from those that do. Mealy are very contageous. If they were my plants, (if it's possible) take outdoors, remove plants from pots..discard old soil, scrub pots thoroughly. Hose roots, leaves and branches, using dish soap and warm water. Pot up in fresh soil, to cleaned pots. Keep plants outdoors (weather permitting) in a semi-shady spot. Since insecticidal soap killed some, perhaps a second or even third application may be needed. Read instructions on container for application and dossages. I spray with Fish Emulsion in fall to keep bugs, mainly scale, at bay. It works incredibly well, but don't know if it'd kill mealy. There are mealy insecticides on the market, which may or may not work, but if cleaning doesn't work, I'd look into it. Toni

Curious to know what you found out in two years time! What is your zone? We are zone 8 and passion vine freezes down and comes back here.. I want to plant star jasmine as screen and just bought a 5 gallon pot already 10ft tall or more. Was hoping some Houzzer here would know about whether they can be planted successfully in fall in Central Texas. Considering the responses you got, I won't hold my breath.

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 when was the patio installed ... - this is a driveway that was covered with pavers 3 years ago and then the Jasmin were added to 18x8" openings on the edge of the pavers. There is CEMENT on the other side of the fence. how hot does the stonework get after mid day .. is the plant being cooked?? .. both above and below the stonework ... ---- gets very hot. Los Angeles heat, in the Valley. In the middle of the day, I can't go out without a hat. what else may have changed.. since planting.. in terms of plant culture variables??? ----- Nothing. Watering I've changed back and forth being confused about watering too much and too little. Watering is by drip irrigation. Currently 10 mins a day at night. The sick Jasmin I water by hand too, in the morning. Soak it well. give us a big city location.. rather than minimum winter temp [which is all zone is] ... especially since i doubt this had anything to do with winter ... ----- In the middle of San Fernando Valley. The hottest part of the Valley. Hope that is what you mean about location. your plant looks very stressed.. fert is NEVER a response to stress ... did you buy it from your alleged .. and i use the term loosely.. horticulturist??? ----- Didn't buy from him. I was just stressed watching the Jasmin get worse and worse so I emailed him and he responded. He also said plant is stressed and needs water. I am glad I didn't overdo with 3 in 1 Rose Food. So just keep watering a lot? Anything else I can do? With all this concrete and stone, yes, the poor thing is under a lot of heat. BUT there are other Jasmin along this driveway, also growing in tiny openings, that are doing pretty well. The one next to this one, though, died last year, going down slowly, like this one. My theory for the small openings was that once they get established, they go deep and the small opening becomes mute. But another person in another thread said the roots could run shallow UNDER the pavers and over time they get cooked from the heat. ken