Orange jasmine question

[smweaver]

Does anyone else on this site grow Orange Jasmine (Murraya paniculata)? I love this plant when it's out on the deck in the summer and covered with fragrant white blooms. But now it's inside for the winter and it's, well, doing something odd. The tops of the leaves are developing a shiny sticky residue, which is also dripping onto the floor of the sunroom. The plant still appears to be very healthy (it's not dropping leaves) and it's in a south-facing window. I am letting it go dry between waterings so that I don't drown its root system now that it's fairly dormant (no new growths or leaves). But I have no idea what the sticky material is that it's producing. And it's only producing it on the upper surface of the leaves. I tasted it and it's not sweet (like the sugary deposits that the orchids produce on their new growths and buds). Does anyone know whether or not this is normal (the sticky stuff on the leaves, not me tasting it)? I want to move it into the house proper (instead of the sunroom) since I have a huge south-facing window it could go into. But the mess it's making on the tiled floor in the sunroom has me hesitating to move it into the living area of my house. Thanks!

Steve

[ronaldhanko]

Licking your plants is NOT normal! Don't know about the deposits.

[smweaver]

Thank you, Ron. But in my humble defense, I only licked one (okay, maybe a few) of the leaves. And then I stopped and looked around just to make sure that no one had been staring in at me with their mouth open and eyes wide in a look of pity (or fear). :-)

[ronaldhanko]

Originally Posted by smweaver

Thank you, Ron. But in my humble defense, I only licked one (okay, maybe a few) of the leaves. And then I stopped and looked around just to make sure that no one had been staring in at me with their mouth open and eyes wide in a look of pity (or fear). :-)

And then you went and admitted what you'd done here on the Orchid Board!!!! Bad. Seriously, though, I'd guess that the liquid is just a sign of a healthy plant. Many of our plant do it, especially those with thinner leaves. I've never tasted the droplets to see if they're sweet (if I do I won't announce it here), but they are almost always on healthy plants.