Asked on Aug 17, 2017

What is this on Star Jasmine?

Jill Stevens
by Jill Stevens
Is this a reaction to the high temps, scarring, accumulated 'nectar' or caused by some sort of pest on the vines of my Star Jasmine? This is an outdoor potted plant on my patio in Southern California. I've checked the leaves and do not see any pests, holes or discoloration. I don't overwater ... possibly underwater if anything. I appeciate anyone's insight!
  36 answers
    • Lisa Crawford Lisa Crawford on Aug 21, 2017

      it is definitely scale. You can use rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. Gently scrub the scale off. You'll see the scale on the cotton. Then you could rinse the plant well. Also check the undersides of the leaves. They like to gather on the veins. I hope this helps. They can also be persistent, so check them often.

  • Delicia Ambrosino Delicia Ambrosino on Aug 17, 2017

    I'd say either pest or disease. Perhaps a nursery can tell you.

  • Issy Issy on Aug 17, 2017

    I think it is called scale.and you might have to throw the plants stems and leaves. or cut the affected stem or pick it off or a cotton ball with some alcohol dab the area.

    • See 1 previous
    • G G on Aug 17, 2017

      Trolling for fun and entertainment?

  • Jill Stevens Jill Stevens on Aug 17, 2017

    I only see it on 2 of the stems .. if I cut just those two down and spray with Neem oil, does it stand a chance?

    • See 1 previous
    • Kimberley Reid Mitchell Kimberley Reid Mitchell on Jul 26, 2020

      I have the same problem and took a few pieces to my local plant specialist. I was assured that it was a growth to help the plant attach to something.

  • Issy Issy on Aug 17, 2017

    I read up and it says to cut the affected limb and you can pick the bugs off or use a cotton ball with alcohol and dab it on the bugs last resort would be throw it away

  • Ruth Ruth on Aug 17, 2017

    Try that first, the 'infection' may not be systemic. If it has not hit the root system it will not show up in other areas.

  • Vik Vik on Aug 17, 2017

    Its aphids.

  • Gayle Tucker Gayle Tucker on Aug 17, 2017

    aphids, spray with a mild soap solution for about a week.

  • Nekko8 Nekko8 on Aug 17, 2017

    Aphids have antennae.

  • Joeast Joeast on Aug 17, 2017

    Can't tell from pic. Take a piece to your local county Extension agent to identify or to their Master Gardeners.

  • Emily Rohrer Flesher Emily Rohrer Flesher on Aug 17, 2017

    Aphids! You can use an organic pest spray which will kill them and not harm your plants. Just used one on my milkweeds and it worked like a gem. Trying to blast them off with water from the hose didn't work.

  • Gary Gordon Gary Gordon on Aug 17, 2017

    It's not aphids! It's scale. Aphids pile and are not like this and they will leave a white web like cottony effect.

  • Jeanette Jeanette on Aug 17, 2017

    A lady told me today to use spearmint rubbing alcohol one third to 2 /3 water and spray . they hate the smell! Wont harm plants.. use in house too for spiders and other plants for bugs.

  • Yofrendonna Yofrendonna on Aug 17, 2017

    Ew it’s nasty. Ask your local garden center.

  • Chris OE Chris OE on Aug 17, 2017

    Organic Fix for Scale Insects

    Honest, if it is scale you can remove scale insects yourself. They secrete a waxy coating which is what makes it tough to get at them w sprays, but I prefer scraping them. Make a bucket of soapy water - dish soap is fine, it dissolves the waxy coating & drowns them. Get a hobby knife or exacto (if using your fingernail seems gross) and just scrape or pick them off and drop them in the soapy water to drown. (This is obviously a solution for a plant you love, if you don't love it, pull it up, put it inside a trash bag and tie it shut. I don't compost diseased plants & noxious weeds.) Come back & clean it again every couple days - you will miss a couple little ones & eggs will hatch, but because you didn't use sprays the scale's natural predators will also still be around helping catch stragglers. If you do a thorough job the first day subsequent days will be easy touch ups) Slow moving scales have no defense against soapy water & persistence. This is one battle you can win.


  • Karen Tessman Karen Tessman on Aug 17, 2017

    bug eggs


  • Jill Stevens Jill Stevens on Aug 17, 2017

    If it is scale, can they bite or harm my cats? Do they only use plants as hosts? Will they stay outside on the plants or is it possible to infest my house?

  • Jan Clark Jan Clark on Aug 17, 2017

    I'm no entomologist, but this looks like a clump of insect eggs. If there's no damage, and nothing elsewhere, I'd rub them off and not worry. Alcohol will probably kill them.

  • Linda Duval Linda Duval on Aug 18, 2017

    Looks like bunch of aphid eggs. Yellow and waxy. Wipe them off with a paper towel and add pray the whole plant with Dawn dishsoap water in a spray bottle.


  • Linda Duval Linda Duval on Aug 18, 2017

    Spray the soil too.

  • Shawn VanDoren Shawn VanDoren on Aug 18, 2017

    If not aphids it might be scale. Check out this University of California link. http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7408.html

  • Patti Patti on Aug 19, 2017

    Jasmine is a climbing plant and I think these are the way the plant attaches itself to an object for support.

  • User User on Aug 19, 2017

    Hi, Jill! I also have the same problem with my Jasmine and I can't figure out what it is. I have asked my friend who is a biologist specialised in plant protection and works at the Botanical Garden, but neither she nor her colleagues knew what this was. Yours was the only photo online I could find with this problem. To me, it first looks like a scarring on the branch, but later on the branch cracks and something like plant tissue comes out. It's definitely not scale or aphids. If there is anyone who had the same problem and knows what this is, I would appreciate any advice.

    • See 1 previous
    • User User on Aug 20, 2017

      I am also more and more inclined to think that these might be structures for attachment as it grows. It does look like that in the beginning, but then it explodes into this white scary stuff which made me hugely concerned that this was some destructive pest and that all of my plants would be infected. I also trimmed mine completely. Do let me know if you find out what this really is.

  • Pat Pat on Aug 19, 2017

    Looks like it could be scale and if it is, the plant will start dropping it's leaves. First I would get some systemic insect killer for house plants that you water into the soil. I get mine at Earl May's or a hardware has it also. All of my houseplants that are outside during the summer, get a dose of this before bringing them in. Then I would scrape this ugly looking stuff off and spray the plant with soapy water....especially on the spots you have scraped. If it is bugs, the systemic killer will take care of them since the systemic goes up into the plant from the roots and takes care of the bugs. If it is scale, the soapy water should take care of it. If you have a plant place or an extension office close, I would take the plant and ask the master gardener.

  • Jill Stevens Jill Stevens on Aug 19, 2017

    lTrimmed all the stems down that had this, sprayed with insecticidal soap and got my fingers crossed!

  • Joy Brady Joy Brady on Aug 21, 2017

    If your insecticidal soap doesn't work, try mixing, in a spray bottle, water with some oil (any type, baby, olive, etc). About a quart of water with a teaspoon of oil. It worked for me on several occasions when store bought insecticides wouldn't and I didn't cut any of the effected areas from plant.

  • Tanya Morton Davis Tanya Morton Davis on Aug 22, 2017

    I believe that this is an area where it will grow roots or attachments for it to climb.

  • Pri33767726 Pri33767726 on Jul 09, 2018

    I'm seeing the same thing on both my star Jasmine plants. I too thought it was some fungus of sorts, but I'm thinking it could actually be climbing structures that have hardened. They start out white and look like roots and then turn brown and hard overtime.

    • See 3 previous
    • Pamela Vizuete Pamela Vizuete on Sep 08, 2020

      I have this as well. Scale is uniform and bug-like. This is not. My vine is thriving and growing like wildfire. The leaves are beautiful and shinny and so green. No leaf loss whatsoever. The place where I thought the "problem" was the most pronounced involves the areas that are growing the fastest. They have attached themselves to the stone on my house and have grown 10 feet since I planted them only 2 months ago. They started from an 8" pot. I am a novice gardener but I'm not messing with such an otherwise gorgeous plant.

  • Einat Cohen Einat Cohen on Jun 22, 2020

    I would love to know if there is any new insights about this, because I have the same problem with my home jasmine

  • Joanna Joanna on Jul 10, 2020

    Same issue here. I did read that when it grows on the ground instead of climbing, it forms roots where the runners touch the ground. This does seem to form on my Star Jasmine where the stem is touching my wall. So, I’m hopeful that’s all it is - roots that don’t do anything while climbing. 🤷🏻‍♀️

  • Malika Galleron Malika Galleron on Jul 12, 2020

    Same issue here 😔

  • Patricia Lynn Patricia Lynn on Sep 03, 2020

    This is the only picture on the internet that I could find! I have mine indoors and it freaked me out! So it’s either scale, aphids or a growth to help it attach?!

  • Pamela Vizuete Pamela Vizuete on Sep 08, 2020

    https://www.chronicleonline.com/news/real_estate/a-look-at-confederate-jasmine/article_9c0a6c88-1b95-11e9-af65-17539250db1a.html

    This is information explaining that the problem is actually a natural occurance in star/confederate jasmine rooting system. This enables the plant's attachment to a wall as it grows. I hope others with this "problem" do not destoy their star jasmine plants. IT IS NOT A PEST OR A DISEASE.

  • Pamela Vizuete Pamela Vizuete on Sep 08, 2020

    "Stems can but rarely do develop “hold fast” rootlets to cling to vertical walls and tree trunks. The real feeding roots of terrestrial plants are underground, cylindrical and have growth tips that should not be severed or damaged."


    I should have just copied this info from the article for you.

  • Toria Toria on Nov 26, 2020

    WARNING! NOT PEST OR HARMFUL TO YOUR PLANT! DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID AND START REMOVING IT FROM THE STEMS! IT CAUSES HORRIBLE SCARRING AND DAMAGED MAJORITY OF MY PLANT THAT I HAD GROWING BEAUTIFULLY ON MY PATIO UNTIL I WENT INTERNET CRAZY AND THOUGHT THEY WERE A DANGER TO THE PLANT. NOT SURE WHY IM YELLING AT ALL OF YOU STILL I JUST HOPE I GET MY POINT ACROSS LOL. THE WHITE/BROWN STUFF THAT GROWS OFF STEM AND RESEMBLES SOMETHING OUT OF A HORROR MOVIE IS ACTUALLY PROOF YOUR PLANT IS WORKING. MINE WONT EVEN GROW FLOWERS ANYMORE AFTER I STARTED HACKING AWAY AT IT!!! It used to cover that entire wooded area

  • Michelle Logan Michelle Logan on Aug 26, 2021

    Yeah I read it was rootlets, too. I'm gonna leave it alone