Powdery mold/mildew on houseplant fix?

My large jasmine has powdery mold/mildew on leaves. I cut it back last year and all was well but now back again.

Anyone ever had this and found a cure? Tried looking but most ideas are put it in a large room (it's in a huge room) more light (it gets plenty, when the sun decides to come out) Other suggestions are baking soda and water or milk and water spray... think milk would be stinky.

Not sure there is a fix, guessing it might be the lack of sun in Chicago lately that caused it but plant looks really bad.

 

Found this if it helps, Cat. Good luck.

http://hortchat.com/info/powdery-mildew

 

Going to give the baking soda/detergent spray a try... thank you for looking for me, they seem to know what they're doing there.

 

You're more than welcome. If that don't work, have you considered joining a horticultural forum? I'm sure their geeks know more about plants than our geeks.

 

*thinks a minute* nah, our geeks know all. I maybe a tiny bit bias but seriously a lot of geeks here have large houseplants and thriving gardens, so I'm sure someone ran into this at one time and fixed it.

 

Cat, I was talking to a friend this morning (she loves her house plants) and she says as powdery mildew is a fungal disease, it prefers a warm, humid environment. The best way to control this problem (after treatment) is ventilation. She suggests after treating your plant invest in a small fan to circulate the air around the plant (if you ain't already). She's not had powdery mildew.....yet. They do say prevention is better than cure (her words) and she sends good luck wishes and a speedy end to your problem.

 

That's what's irking me about it; I like cool and don't like humidity, even have a monitor for it and the plant is 2' from a window that is open a crack in a huge room that is not cluttered, does not make any sense to me.

It looks a little better today, maybe the baking soda spray is helping it, if it continues to have problems I will ask someone to lug it to the nursery for me and let an expert look at it.

I'm stymied :confused

 

Well, at least you are doing something. I know people (the wife used to be one) who would rather give up on a poorly plant and launch it in the bin. The point of having plants is to nurse them and look after them. Fixing them when they are poorly is part and parcel of having them. Just like kids or pets. And we don't jettison them when they are unwell.
Hope your problem is sorted.

 

I'm not a horticulturist but I learned a lot working for the city as a hort. landscap assnt. and one thing I did learn is that if you have a white fungus on your plants and cut them back as you said you did and it came back that's because your soil is probably contaminated.If the fungus does not go away with the baking soda solution then I would suggest re potting it with fresh soil.Also if you're watering it too much you could cause root rot. As long as the humidity is +50%, and it gets some light with temperatures above 55 degrees it should do fine.
@ JOEY- I agree 100% . I have tons of plants some in the ground and some still begging to be put in the ground(pot full of roots:-o) and they will be as soon as I can get to them, but at least they are still a live and growing.

 

I can't garden anymore. I ain't got a garden :cry We're hoping to move in the near future to a house with a garden like a farmer's field. Am hoping to start a small vegetable plot soon using containers in the meantime.
Please keep us updated on the progress of your jasmine, Cat. It'd be nice to hear of a positive outcome.

 

Plant looks a little better but think bigtrucks is right, most likely the soil from the nursery was infected when I got the plant since conditions are not right for mold to grow and no other plant is sick. I like the plant and it's warmer now, can take it into the yard and wash down the soil to the roots before I re-pot it.

 

I hope that's the cure. Fingers crossed

 

Ever tried a window box garden? I did once but my problem then was I was putting too much in one planter and the wrong plants. That was when I was a green horn and not a green thumb.
@ cat
Let me know if the jas pulls through. It should. I have section of my yard where a pool use to be with fence around it, Jasmin all along the one fence. Man does it get strong.But like my father I love the fragrance but my sinus gives me a fit at times. Sinus pills work wonders.LOL

 

Not really. The wife chooses and plants her annuals for the coming season, changing the scheme every year to give a variety of colours and texture. She is very good at it. I wish I had pics of some of the layouts she's created, but alas, none. She needs more than a window box. Nice thought, though. Could try it for herbs.
I prefer to grow veg but I used to grow far too much to sustain just us. I ended up giving away about 50% of the produce, but I couldn't not give it away.

I love the fragrance of evening stock in the summer. Got to get back into it!!!

 

Any joy with your jasmine, Cat?

 

Hi Joey,

Plant looks better, has a lot of new buds on it... don't think it's a good time to re-pot when it's going to bloom, just keeping a closer eye on it and spraying it with the baking soda mixture for now, has killed the mold if anyone ever has this problem.

Looks like it's going to live, not loosing leaves anymore, so there's hope for it.

*smiles*

Cat

 

Nice one. Glad to hear it. A bit of TLC works wonders with plants. Happy it's working out for Jas.

 

That's great news. As you said keep an eye open. Mine bloomed out better than I thought this year and the fragrance was strong. Surprisingly no headaches this time. I was able to really enjoy them.
Found this site thought u might benefit from it. Seems you guys are neighbors(state wise). This "Will Creed" person even has an e-mail that you can ask him questions on a one-on-one basis. Hopefully it helps.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/House-Plants-721/Jasmine-flower.htm

 

Great site Bigtrucks, bookmarked it, lot a good info there. It looks like Jas is making a good comeback.

*smiles*

 

It's always nice to hear of a recovery. I love it when a plant comes together. :-D Hope you watched the A-Team, otherwise you won't get that. rolleyes

 

Great news! I lurked in this thread without saying anything, since I never had a mold problem I didn't think I'd be able to be much help. I'm glad your plant is recovering. Yay! :celebrate

If Jas needs help growing stronger, I have found a surprisingly effective way to help a plant recover is to feed it old coffee grounds. Yep. Grandma swore by it but I never believed her.

You let the used coffee grounds cool so they don't burn the plant roots, and then get them into the soil where the plant can get all the yummy nutrients. The easiest way I have found to do this is to mix them with enough water that you can just water the plant with it. The grounds go into the soil, and the plant gets its plant-candy. It's amazingly effective, I recently managed to review what I thought was a lost cause with coffee grounds and affection.

 

You're quite right Mimsy. My mother and father told this to me as well, I was using it and cigarette buts (the tobacco part only)to keep pesky pest from destroying my plants in the small garden I had at my old apt. With the tabacco you would boil water then add tabacco, let cool and put it in a spray bottle then spray your plants. Worked wonders with my small garden.

 

Never even crossed my mind to do that, caffeine on the crysanths. Used coffee grounds are unbelievably full of nutrition. Used them in home-made compost for years. Got McDonald's cast offs by the hundredweight. Used grounds can also be incorporated straight into the soil, although I've never tried them on indoor plants. Neutral ph in the grounds is a bonus for acid hating plants.
Great tip, Mimsy.

 

Thank you, my Grandma did the same and I forgot all about it, will do now.

Will have to remember this too, my Grandma did this too to get rid of pests and her plants thrived.

There was also something she did with eggshells but don't remember why, wish I would have paid more attn.

 

Boiled them for a really long time, then used the water to water her plants?

That's what my grandma did.

 

Forgot to ask how much coffee grounds to add, it's a large floor plant... guessing about 10 lbs of soil.

 

I'm not really sure about proportions to be honest, I never measure. What I do is on weekends, when I have time in the mornings, I take what gets left at the bottom of my French Press, fill the press up with cold water to cool the grounds, and then I use that to water the plants. They seem to like that. I've never tried putting them in the soil directly, but I will next time I repot something.

 

Will try 2tsp w/water and see how that goes.

 

About 1 in 4 grounds to soil seems to work well. For outside plants, anyway.

 

Thanks Aaroni, I like Jas but it's been a problem plant since the day I bought it... spider mites, then this mold, should have taken it right back to the hothouse. It was doing better and now seems to be having issues again, not sure what the problem is now; mold gone and no sign of mites. Jas's own personal fan is not in my decor options but is has a window within a foot thats open. I will take a closer look at it this weekend. Lost a lot of blooms and leaves the last couple of days, could be killed with over spaying it for the mold... If it does not start to perk up I will give it to my sis-in-law, she's great with plants and will bring it back.

 

Update, Jas has made a full recovery and all bushy and blooming with tons of flowers. No sign of mildew or mites this time. Thank you all for your suggestions and encouragement, it worked.

 

Take a squirt bottle, mix a solution of anti-bacterial soap and water together and spray the plant down.

Powdery mold is common on plants like squash. Mine get it just about every year. That soapy water mixture will make the leaves look nice and shiny after a few days. I will spray my plants down, wait a little while, then wash off with a water hose. Wait a couple of days and do it again.

Make sure you spray the plant down right when you see the Powdery mold. If you wait too long the leaf and the plant may die.

 

Final resolution to the problem: Went to hothouse the lady told me to use Infuse by Bonide, its a pesticide, put a tablespoon in a quart of water and water plant with it, meldew finally gone for good. Be very careful with the poision, not the way I like to do things but only thing that finally worked.