Question
QUESTION: I live in College Station, TX and have 4 Solanum jasminoides - Potato Vines. They are not growing and the leaves seem to be curled up. What can I use to put some life into them. They just sit there and don't do anything - live are die - Help please.

ANSWER: Hi Linda,
Thanx for your question.  Tell me a little bit about where the potato vines are growing.  Are they in pots or in the ground?  How much sunlight and water do they get?  What kind of plants are growing about them?  When were they planted or have they been in the same location for a while?  Please let me know so I can answer your question as best I can.
thx,
Tom

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QUESTION: Hi Tom,
The vines are growing in the ground along my back fence. There are no other plants around them. I have cypress much around the base. They get some morning light and mid day light. The fence blocks most of the evening sun off of them. They were planted this spring to grow up some trellis, but they aren't doing anything.

Answer
Hi Linda,
Thanx for your question.  The potato vine prefers full sun to partial shade with average water requirements.  If the leaves are curling up, look for pests such as whitefly, aphids and spider mites. Spider mites are very tiny and may be difficult to see but you will find sticky, webby substance on the leaves.  Use a miticide on these.  Aphids are pinhead sized and are green, yellow, white, black and red.  You can use an insecticidal soap on them or spray them off with the garden hose. Ants will "herd" aphids so they can harvest the "honeydew" that aphids excrete as a result of feeding on the juices of your plants' leaves.  Your local nursery should also have treatments for whiteflies but these are usually common to plants grown indoors or in a greenhouse.  Potato vine needs help climbing.  It is a sprawler and cannot climb up by itself.  I hope this helps.
Tom