Yes, they have a bad rep, they brought it on themselves. They are like children...you raise them, devote endless hours to them then they grow up and spit in your face...by dying for no reason at all. Just the way they are.

They have a habit of growing and thriving in most conditions which would kill many other plants until one day they just decide...for some unknown reason...not to anymore. More than likely nothing you can do will save the tree, once it starts downhill it's a gonner.

i just joined this group so i could ask a question regarding my Serissa Foetida. It got spider mites. I used spray. All the new foilage fell off. I thought it was gone, but it came back. and so did the mites. So, I got out the spray again - I used Shultz Houseplant and Garden spray. I called my nursery to ask if I needed to dilute it, as the last time I used it on the same plant all the shoots and leaves turned black and fell off. But, it recovered that time. I was told not to dilute it. So, no leaves grew back.All that is left is a once-beautiful twisty trunk with a few sticks growing out of it. It has prob. been about 3-4 weeks since the last treatment. How long do I leave it, before I admit defeat and throw it away. So... Not sure of why the bad reputation. Heck, I dont even know if mine is alive or dead??

The serissa is a great tree for Bonsai mine never leaves the house tho it would probably drop its leaves. And why use the same spray when it dident work the first time and caused your tree to drop its leaves if you do some reading on the internet there are sprays that you can use on serissas that wont be as stressful on the tree.