help with my gardenias

I have this gardenia in a pot. In May in this picture you can see how lush, green and full of blooms it was. The next picture I will post, is the same gardenia now, in June.

This is the same gardenia today June 25th.
What could be causing it to shrivel up and die. I may be overwatering it so have stopped until it dries out a bit, and also it is getting a bit more sun as it heats up here in Southern California. Any ideas?
Thank you. I love gardenias so much but cannot seem to get any better at growing them. Last week I had another one just shrivel up practically overnight and it is now brown and dead.

Oh man! Gardenia plants everywhere must be having a jolly-ho time giggling because they got another victim! :)
Only a miracle will save it now... Got two of them myself and yes, one's dead and the other one's barely breathing but still laughin at me for being a sucker at the garden center :)...
Did my research on the net and tried and tried and tried to follow all known remedies... No such luck...

Alas, it is not your fault that your plant looks like that... Gardenias are VERY, how should I put it, ANNOYING. Yes, they are wonderful, fragrant, classic, elegant, etc.... UNTIL you take them home... They are superb-looking at the garden center, all smiling at you, enticing you to buy them... But as soon as they get you to take them home, their built-in suicide clock kicks in and so starts their slow spiral to their inevitable death... NO matter what you or I do, they just seem to want to die- slowly (Oh don't worry, it's one of their happiest moments watching you lose your hair and sanity wondering what you did or did not do enough and blaming/doubting yourself for having a black thumb versus the green one)...

While some folks are lucky enough to enjoy a "healthy gardenia/green gardenia" (a freak-of-nature I pressume) (statistics say that one out of a 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 gardenia plants survive:), the rest of us just have to be content with praying over our potted dead twigs to please come back to life or stop dying already...

[Anyhoo, I hear it loves humidity but not too much. Do not overwater it. Not too much sun and not too much shade. Too much fertilizer might do it in, but it needs fertilizin- go figure]! Sorry couldn't be much help, just wanted to "vent"! :) -Chez

I'm in the same boat--I've always had trouble with gardenias. I think they really do better in a more humid environment than we have in California. The only time I ever had luck with them was in a north facing courtyard at my old house--it got a pinch of morning sun but then nothing in the afternoon, plus since it was on the north side of the house in the shade of a big tree it stayed cooler than anywhere else in the yard (I also tried them on a south facing covered patio which got the same amount of sun but was warmer and they didn't like it there). If you decide to try again with another one, you might try keeping it in a cooler, shadier area and see if that helps.

I do think they love humidity. There was one here when we moved in 28 years ago.It is now over 12 ft. tall and about as big around.I have never fed it or trimmed it,actually I've really ignored it. It blooms profusely twice a year. Now all I can figure is,it's planted over one of our septic tanks. It has me baffled.I'll take a picture tomorrow.It has about stopped blooming for this go-round.Our summers are very humid.
wishing you luck-Lynda

By chance are the white blobs in the photo living squishable creatures? If they are you have mealy bug, a common gardenia foe. Easy to defeat if you are persistent. Maybe I am seeing things though. Gardenia care is easily found online but as mentioned by others, sometimes no matter how much you love your plant it just doesn't seem to love you back...sniff...

mia: You should be able to grow decent gardenias where you are if you adhere to a few basic things.

One "kiss of death" for Gardenias is letting them dry out between waterings. Once this happens, it pretty much ruins the plant. I had a potted one that looked just like yours in the 2nd photo. I went away for 2 days, forgot to water it and it croaked.

Gardenias do best if they are planted so the top of the rootball is an inch or so above the soil level. Use an acid type soil mix with plenty of organic matter added to it that remains moist at all times, but not saturated.

They definitely require heat and humidity to bloom well, so if your pot has a saucer, add some gravel or pebbles and allow some water to remain in the saucer to create humidity, but don't let the pot sit in the water.

Northern or Eastern exposure is best for them. On the coast, they can take more sun, but inland give them afternoon shade especially in the summer.

My sister in Agoura Hills has a huge one in a redwood tub under a patio overhang that faces North. There is a very small fountain there (one of those table-top things ) that appears to provide the humidity it needs. It was previously in a clay pot, but we transplanted it into a redwood tub and it improved immensely ,,,probably because the wooden tub doesn't suck the water from the soil like clay does. She is not a gardener, but only waters it once a week, and twice during the summer...and you know how HOT Agoura can get.

Unfortunately, I think the one in your photo is probably a goner.

Yes, I would also agree that it looks like it dried out, and maybe too much direct sun? However being the plant sap I am I would say if there were any chance you could save it, move it to a shady spot, maybe just bring it indoors, water it well and see what happens. If it lives great, if it dies, lesson learned. Don't give up though! If you really want a gardenia go purchase another and give it try. Maybe a different variety that's a bit easier? From what I understand not all are as picky as the one you have but the last time I had a gardenia it was in my yard in HI. A bit easier! Don't know about growing one in AK, even indoors. But I have been drooling on the ones at the store! ;)

Thank you everyone.

The white blobs are actually epsom salts that i sprinkled on as a last ditch attempt to save them.

I do have one gardenia in my front yard East side of the street that has been alive for a few years but never bloomed, it gets afternoon sun and i have been meaning to move it for awhile.

I think i will buy one more and put it in a shaded, perhaps filtered sun spot and see what happens. After that I am done! I just love the smell so much though.

Sadly, we are never "done" with gardenias... no matter how infuriating they are :) We will keep on bringing home "that" gardenia that "could be the one" :) ...

I wish you success for all of us! Show em who's boss! Maybe they'll give in and just surrender to living and blooming!

(update: my other gardenia has croaked... I found it all brown and bud-less this morning :(....)

LOL! I love the side mention that your other gardenia has croaked Chezca. Ah, gardenias...

Okie Dokie , soo Glad to see that it is not just me.... and
Chezca talk about there" built in suicide clocks"... that is the best way to describe what happens as soon as i bring it home....Thanks for the laugh ,and your honesty....I couldnt of put it any better myself

I live in Bakersfield, California, and I have a rather large Gardenia shrub growing in my front courtyard. It has been there for many years, in full sun (and the sun here sits just above our rooftops in the Summer, it seems), and has produced beautiful blooms the whole time. It is going quite strong right now. It sits at the edge of my courtyard "watering zone", so it never gets drenched, but it is able to get moisture from the nearby soil. I'll post a photo tomorrow, so you can see the vigor of it. I've been dead-heading the thing for the past 3 weeks.

So what's your secret? LOL If you can grow them in full sun in Bakersfield then there must be a way for the rest of us to have better success than we've had!

My secret is, apparently, "just leave it alone". LOL! Other than the semi-regular dead-heading (not even sure if that's necessary) I don't do anything to it. No fertilizer, no pruning, no insecticides. Nada. The garden frogs (!!!) take care of the low-lying bugs, and the birds take care of the rest.

Here's my Gardenia in So-Cal. You may not be able to see them in this photo, but there is a profusion of new buds. They should be opening in a few days. By the way...it's 105F outside right now!!

This message was edited Jun 28, 2009 10:30 AM

Switch to Kate Jasmine, the plant of the deep south. Looks and smells like a gardenia and apparently a lot heartier.

Do you mean Cape jasmine? That is one of the common names for gardenia. Do you have a picture of the plant you're talking about? Since it's the common name for gardenia and you said it looks and smells like gardenia I suspect it probably is a gardenia. I know of plenty of people in the south who grow gardenias with no problem, it's in less humid areas that it seems many people have more trouble.

Blackwill, THAT just ain't right!! :) That might not evem be a gardenia, have you thought of that?!? :) It can't be, it's alive! (and thriving!) You have shaken the NORMAL order of things, my freyn! Your gardenia is either a freakofnature or an old juniper bush trying to look like a gardenia! Or maybe you sold your soul in exchange for a healthy gardenia, huh? :) Seriously, that plant is uhmazing! Howdja do it?!?

You're one of the very rare few living with such a rare species, a living gardenia... (fyi: you might have something there with the "leave it alone" deal because a lot of people say that a "neglected" gardenia has a better chance of surviving. Somehow it doesn't like attention so you better not let it catch you looking at it! The buds on mine started dying AFTER I looked and marveled at them! Serious! And no smelling the flowers too! (You smell the flowers, then the WHOLE plant goes kablooey!) You have to admire them secretly from afar! Pretend like you don't care if it lives or dies- that way it will feel like IT has to "show you"! Shhhh! don't let it know that I said that! Shhh!

:):):)

-Chez

Funny you mention it....I had actually considered uprooting the thing earlier this year, to make room for a more exotic plant. Maybe it caught wind of that somewhere, and decided to perk up a bit. Today it's 107F (and it's not even noon yet) and the thing only seems to be getting stronger. It's quite an old plant, and hasn't really grown much taller than it is right now over the last few years. But, it puts out a profusion of sweet scented flowers right by my patio gate, which is where I spend the vast majority of my time, so I'm glad to have it around. Couple that with the two jasmine vines on my courtyard wall, and it makes for a very aromatic (and bee-filled) Springtime.

Which is good, because the trash bin doesn't smell quite so nice in this heat.....

I wonder if this is one of those cases where the old heirloom type of plants that have been around forever are actually a lot tougher than the fancy-schmancy new cultivars that are all you can typically find at garden centers. You'll have to try an experiment for us Blackwill and get a couple of the newer varieties and see if they survive there too or if you've just got some super tough variety!

You can't see me but I'm drooling or should I say "going green" with envy! (get it?!? going green?!? gardenia?!? ah yes, it does drive one crazy...)
Maybe your gardenia and my twig- I mean gardenia should meet and have your gardenia talk some sense to mine? Sorta like, "hey, you have a better choice: live!"? :) I hope you don't ever uproot that miracle! Because, bygollygeewiz, your success (and without barely even trying!) just beautifully magnifies our failure when it comes to these dang plants! :) But we shall keep on trying... Maybe we should start a support group- Gardenias Anonymous.

-Chez

This is my gardenia bush I was talking about on the last thread. This is also one that has never had any attention or fertilizer etc. I don't even prune it,but like I said before, I thought it was because it sits over the septic tank. lol. These bushes are a strange breed. They do seem to like being left alone.

Hi. My name is Sheri. I have had a Gardenia habit for about 20 years now. For the first few years I had them in pot that I kept outside except when deep friezed were warned to cover outdoor plants, I would cover most, but the Gardenia always came into the garage or basement as an added precaution . 14 years ago when I bought my home, a place near the front door for the Gardenia was a "choice" issue.
Well I have a lovely mature Gardenia right in front of my picture window and very near the front door. She greets me daily for about 1 month each year during July, with that wondrous fragrance that only she can wear whenever the door is opened or someone walks near her. Ahh, her scent is intoxicating!
Last year , though, just before blooming, I realized that the shiny green leafy shrub in front of the picture window had grown so that it grossly blocked the birds that I so enjoy watch feeding each day. I went outside and trimmed the shrub here and there opening up space so that I could watch the birds and still have a goo bit of tips left to enjoy whatever was going to bloom in the next month or so.
When my Garenia began its most prolific bloom ever I cried and cried again yesterday when I realized the blooms that would never be..
Yes I believe I am poserless over my addiction but that there is one greater than me who can restore me to sanity.
Therefore, daily I turn my life and my WILL over to the power of GOD as I understand Him.

Sheri


edited to change 13 to 14 years

This message was edited Jun 30, 2009 3:30 AM

Wow, Lynda!! That thing is an OAK!! What an inspiring specimen. Kind of makes me wish we weren't hooked up to the Municipal Sewer System here....

I have two gardenias, in two different locations, at two different homes. Both get lots of heat. One blooms continuously and one (more than ten years old) has never bloomed. I'm working on it this year. :) You'll probably be interested in the first. It grows in dappled light/part sun. It's NEVER been fertilized or had special mulch applied but, what I think is key, is that it is near a downspout to a roof gutter and in a protected corner. In other words, it gets a good amount of water and never scorching sun.
Laurel

Cape or Kate? I don't know? We always called it Kate. Never heard of Cape. It is probably in the gardenia family. The Kate's blooms are smaller but look and smell the same.

My gardenia need lots , (did I say lots?) of water this time of year to continue blooming

Hello guys! Hopin everybody's having a fun-filled 4th of July :)
Here's a tidbit that I just heard from one of our "elders" in the family that for a successful potted gardenia, you have to have a saucer deep enough to add about an inch or so of rocks or pebbles with water and place your pot on it. That way it will stay humid around the plant's vicinity and just make sure the saucer does not dry out. This way the gardenia isn't "sitting in" water but "on" it (hence the pebbles/rocks). She says it works and it does sound logical... Hope this helps! (already got another gardenia and will try this out m'self!)

Now, I keep in mind I am knocking on wood the entire time I type this!

I am having my first gardenia last more than two weeks, this year.

Of course, since I am in Buffalo, I have to container grow them!

Purchased round mother's day (that annual flood of gardenia plants time).

I have found that if I do not transplant things into larger containers right aways, they just might not make it, so this one I transplanted immediately upon its arrival home. Blooms didn't rot, and all things seem great, so far!

Humidity IS key, as is watching for those pesky spider mites, etc.!

I did put it outside a bit early, and the leaves started to look slightly off, so I moved it back into the greenhouse, but now that the weather here is great, it is back to hanging outside.

She's even putting out new growth for me, which is a first!

I have a pretty large gardena bush (well, 4 bushes grown with 2-3' spacing) that is doing very well. When I bought the house over a year ago, the poor bush was ravaged by caterpillars and the leaves were all but eaten up. I chopped the plant down to the trunks leaving about a foot or two of height. Months later, in this South Florida climate, they were sprawling and are now stronger than before. Beautiful healthy foliage and flowers. I don't mess with it at all - no fertilizer, pruning, or watering (we get good enough rains here and it looks quite established). It stays tight and compact, standing 6' high and about 12' wide, with 3-4' depth against the NW side of my house. Once I figure out how to, I'll take a pic and put it up!

We bought our home in 1974. Set a gardenia or as I call it Kate Jasmine out in the side yard. Sorry soil, lot of shade, out of sight out of mind (so no attention), blown over by a storm (couldn't get it back straight) and the joker is as big or bigger than the one in the photo by Lynda_45. Crazy thing blooms from mid-spring until frost. I just figured they were all like this. Maybe I ought to clone this rascal and market it. It is bound to have some wierd gene that makes it that hearty.

Where do we place our orders??!??

Tell you what Willie, I'll try to root that rascal this winter and if I am successful I'll FedX it to you free of charge and pay the freight. That's to show all the reader that we hold no grudges for the war of nothern aggresion. Seriously, I didn't know they were hard to raise or it would probably have died. On second thought, my wife probably planted it and nothing she plants dies. Just makes me sick.

Here in Mississippi gardenias are one of the easiest plants to grow. It seems everyone and their grandma has at least one! Since you love them so much cut a few small branches off your next one and root them in water. At least you'll have a head start if moma plant dies. I always have a vase of them in my home because of the wonderful fragrance, and by the time the blooms fade and are ready for the trash, there are little roots begining to grow on the stems. Good luck!

I never knew they'd root in water. Oh goody!! ^_^

I never thought to try and root one, either!

Experiments are awesome! Count me in Jim41 .... I have heard that some plants have been so hybridized that they lose some hardiness. Will be interesting to compare with yours from the '70s

I had heard this is esp. true with Ming Aralias (and calatheas) .... The older plants are much more stable, and much less sensitive, than the newer cultivars.

Hybridizing has it's place, I guess. I wouldn't be able to raise tomatoes if it weren't for hybridizing them so they are resistent to the blight. Hybred roses are more beautiful than ever but they lost their good smell. All kinds of fruit and vegetable are hybredized to increase shelve life but you lose flavor. Kind of a Catch 22 situation. You gain some things but you lose some things as well.

Birdie, this is wayyy off topic, but how did you get that "smiley" to show up?

to make a ^_^
Press the shift then the ^ then the - then another ^ (holding the shift key for all 3 strokes)
you will see the 2 ears and dash, but when it prints a smiley will appear ^_^
so happy to share this fun trick, I asked someone in the middle of a thread just like you did!
^_^ ^_^ ^_^

This message was edited Jul 9, 2009 11:41 AM