Question
Hello,

I bought a couple of stephanotis plants and they arrived a week ago.  The leaves have started to turn yellow.  I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong.

When they first arrived, I took them outside and watered them thoroughly then brought them in.  I haven't watered them since, though I have been misting them once a day.

The room they have been in has been darkish.  I keep forgetting to open the blinds to let more light in, but even with the blinds closed, it's easy enough to work without light.  I'm in an apartment, and all my windows are north facing, but it gets pretty bright in the rooms with the blinds open--during the day I never have any lights on.

I live in Texas, and we keep the apartment in the high 70's F, much cooler than the 90+ outside.

Thanks!

Answer
Hello Denet,

I'm afraid Stephanotis is not an orchid but is in the Jasmine family of plants.  With that said, I looked up staphanotis in one of my garden books and here is what they had to say about it.  

Stephanotis are vining plants that can grow to 15 to 30 feet, needs support otherwise it will spread out and grow into a large clump.  Keep the roots cool but allow the leaves to be exposed to bright light or filtered sun.  The yellowing of leaves could be due to the blinds being closed as it needs more light to be happy.  Also, back off on the misting especially in the afternoon or evening, if you want to mist it do it in the morning to allow the leaves to be dry by nightfall.  Wet leaves overnight can be a prime breeding environment for botrytis fungus which can cause premature leaf die-off.  

There in Texas, it should bloom from late spring through summer, flowers are fragrant during the warmth of the day.  Water and feed it liberally, never allowing it to become dry while in bloom.  Give it a dry rest period of a month or more in winter.  Be on the lookout for pests such as scale, spider mites and mealybugs, use an insecticide if any are found.  Temperature is the same as that in which you are comfortable, if you like the temperature it will like it too.  Some light air movement around it also will help.  

Hope this helped, sorry I couldn't be of more help.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.