I have three different Rangoon creepers in my garden. People often call this plant Chinese Honeysuckle. The one with yellow leaves, you are seeing at the top is from cutting propagation ( I have propagated myself ) and the rest of the two vines are brought from a nursery. In this article, I will discuss the reasons behind Rangoon creeper yellow leaves and how to cure it.
I know what I have done differently with the yellow leaves Rangoon creeper vine and not with the other two.
If you read my complete caring guide for Rangoon creeper, you already know that sunlight is very important for this flowering vine to bloom.
Note: In winter, I have noticed a semi-dormancy phase of the Rangoon creeper where most of the leaves will turn yellow and this is absolutely normal.
I intentionally kept one of my Rangoon creepers under shade, and this is what happened:
Note: These are not yellow leaves. The healthy green color of the leaves is fading. (Due to less sunlight exposure) Fungus loves to grow in shady place.
Reasons
The major reasons are:
- Less water and Full sun (approx 6-8 hours a day)
- Overwatering and less direct sunlight exposure.
Sunlight is really important and it helps the flowering vines to bloom nicely. But once I started ignoring the regular watering schedule, I got this:
The sunburn and less water both hit my Rangoon creeper.
Use sandy soil and water thrice a week if possible. Once you witness dry soil, water it thoroughly.
You might be wondering in most cases, we see yellow leaves due to overwatering, but why am I emphasizing underwatering?
How can you identify if the yellowing leaves are for underwatering or overwatering?
Shake the leaves on the plant with your finger. If you see those falling off easily, your Rangoon creeper is going through overwatering and you need to check the soil water draining system and give it less water.
If the yellow leaves are not falling off easily and there are some brown spots as well, your Rangoon creeper is going through an underwatering issue.
Yellow leaves due to pests
Check the bottom side of the leaves.
In shades or high humid areas, fungus and aphids attack the most.
Aphids suck the juice of the sap and the leaves might turn yellowish and eventually curly as well. Just like the below picture:
Treatment: use insecticides to get rid of those.
There is a quick solution to get rid of yellow leaves. I do not recommend this usually unless the case is too serious:
Foliar spray: A spray that contains iron, magnesium, and zinc can fix leaves' yellowing or discoloration.
