It was love at first smell after passing a table full of these beautiful plants at Art Knapps around 2 years ago.I instantly bought mine,then roughly half the size,full and bushy with tons of little buds.I researched it when I got home,and put it on a plate of rocks,in the best lighting area,and waited happily for the buds to open.Which never happened.The buds fell off.From then on,its grown taller,and lanky.It always has buds on it,which always fall off.Sometimes they go brown before,sometimes not.I get a lot of leaf loss,going brown and crinkly or yellow and soft.I also already lost one piece of it,it was three,now its just the two seen there.Its still sticking around,which gives me hope,but I honestly have no idea how to make it bloom.I do have some new leaves on it that came out in the past 2 weeks.The only plant that stumped me worse was my poor hibiscus,which finally gave it up around a year ago.But at least I got some gorgeous flowers out of it,lovely orange and red blossoms the size of my hand. Anyways,any advice on how to make my poor plant happier would be greatly appreciated! Thanks ^_^
I recommend a micro-nutrient fertilizer with iron and use rain or distilled water to overcome any alkalinity in your tap water. High perched water table in the pot can also lead to chlorosis.
I do fertilize it,with Miracle-Gro All Purpose,but I just read the back and I can't see anywhere that it has iron in it.I also use water that I boil the day before I water on my plants,and sometimes water from my fish tanks,as I heard that was good for them? Could it be possible that any of that's hurting it?
Hardness minerals (Calcium)in the tap water can build up in potting soil over time. This can raise the pH and cause Iron/Manganese/Zinc Chlorosis. Evaporation in the fish tank can increase the mineral content. The fish droppings should be OK for the Gardenia. Check for stagnant water (stinky) in the soil if you keep a saucer under the pot.
Hmmm.Maybe I'll stop watering with the fish water.I do change the soil every spring,and wash the pots of calcium and salt build up.The pot is up off the plate with rocks,and I change the water under them frequently, if it doesn't dry up right away.I'll try getting a fertilizer with iron and see how that goes. Thanks for the help ^_^
This far north, as a houseplant, this one really needs high light; a full southern exposure right up in the window. Your bud drop could also be related to low humidity, especially in winter because of our heavy heating needs. Miracle Grow does have a Rhodie/Azalea/Camelia fertilizer that is lower in ph and higher in iron, like this one needs, but I've never used it.
I actually do have it sitting in front of a southern facing window.I have a huge picture window in my living room that faces south,and 80% of my plants are around it :) As for humidity, I have it sitting on a plate of rocks with water under it,around other plants with the same,but I'm not sure how to make it any better.I thought of sticking it in one of my bathrooms,but they're far too dark,both with small north facing windows. And thank you,I will make sure to check out that fertilizer ^^
Being from the deep south, gardenias are so common we took them for granted. They grow easily due to the humidity and heat. I tried growing one out here in Arizona and it died. It's got to be the warm humidity and that black rich soil. My mother had them all around her house and it seemed they did ok in areas that were partially shaded but very warm. They love hot, humid weather and grew into huge bushes and smelled oh so good. In the winter, she would cover them with plastic and they came right back in the spring. They would probably do well in a greenhouse with controlled humidity but not very well in low humidity, cooler temperature states. I also lived in Minnesota and that was another place they would not grow.
Here in Kelowna,British Columbia,we get hot dry summers (usually stays between 35-40 celsius) and fairly cold winters (averaged around -18c this year),though my house always stays well heated during the winter.I put it outside in the summer,in a spot that got the last hour or two of the sunset,and stayed in the shade during the day,but it made no difference :S The lack of humidity problem makes a lot of sense,being in a dryer climate.Of course the plant store I bought it from was nice and humid,so that would be why they were beautiful and full.
