My poor gardenia!!
Zoe Duddy
stay on the plant are looking deformed when they open. Can anybody give
me any help as to what is wrong. The plant looks generally healthy and
new shoots are forming. I have looked for bugs but cannot see any but
sprayed anyway. There are some things binding some leaves together
which look like white webbing or fairy floss?!!!! I am in Sydney,
Australia. The
plant is in a terrecotta pot on a balcony and it gets about 4 hours of
afternoon sun a day.
TIA
Zoė
RHumphr870
I am probably not the best qualified person to respond, but here is my two
cent's worth:
Gardenias like high humidity. To this end, keeping the soil moist, but not
soggy, and misting the foliage helps. Also, some people like to "double-pot"
their gardenias with moist peat moss packed between the two pots so as to
provide additional moisture; or adding an inch or so of water to the outer pot,
and elevating the plant container above the water-line.
Because you are using a terracotta pot, you will need to monitor your water
situation more closely as the pot will absorb water from the soil.
Gardenias also like cooler temperatures for bud set, temperatures in the 65-75
deg. F.
As to the white webbing you refer to, it sounds like your plant might have
mealybugs.
With what did you spray the plant? Did you notice deformations before or after
you sprayed?
Flower (and foliar) deformations could have any number of causes including
cultural, insect, reaction to chemicals.
Hope this has been of some help.
Good luck,
Rob (in Baltimore, MD)
James Owens
I don't know if this is what is wrong, but every time I buy a gardenia plant
that is in bud, the same thing happens. I was told it was because gardenias
are extremely susceptible to a variety of problems, including moving it from
where it was originally growing, a different light exposure to what it was
raised in, drafts, etc. You should call a local nursery or extension
service, if you have one.
Merry
B & J
they do die. They sucker in the uninformed with dreams of a beutiful, sweet
smelling flower. My wife purchased one that was in bud at a grocery store about
a month ago and brought it home and told me to make it bloom. I followed few of
the recommendations on the accompanying tag, but I did put it in our sun room
(50 - 75 degrees) and kept it sitting in a dish that always contained water. It
has lost a couple of leaves, but all the buds are still intact although none
have shown a semblance of turning into a flower. My suspicion is that it is an
acclimation problem . Hot, dry houses with low light do not gardenia blossoms
make. BTW, I'm not making any bets on this one blooming either.
John
Zoe Duddy
recommendations and I'll let you know just as soon as I get even one flower!!!
Thanks
Zoë
the...@hotmail.com
I can sympathize with you. My gardenia is in its last death throes. I bought
it at a local grocery store where I usually have pretty good luck with
finding hardy plants at cheap prices. But, from everything I've read over the
past 11 months I've owned the plant, they are much too picky to buy on the
cheap.
After I got it, it grew well and did have two or three blooms in addition to
the flower that was open in the store. But I think the recent cold snap here
in Chicago has done it in (in order for it to get enough light, it needs to
be near the window, which is too cold... it's a vicious circle.)
I too have mine in a clay pot but I think that is a mistake, it loses
moisture too quickly. I don't know if they have this in Aus. but I used
MirAcid, an Azalea fertilizer, (just following the directions) during the
summer and the plant doubled in size.
I also had the white, flakey (almost like plastic wrap) film and I think it's
just from the plant forming new leaves. (At least that's the only time and
place I would see it.)
The only thing I can think of is that yours is just getting used to its new
home. Do check for bugs in the soil and/or root rot, but if you're getting
new branches/leaves your plant is probably ok.
Just keep it away from extremes of temperature and dryness and maybe next
year, after it's used to its locale, it will explode with blooms. Good luck,
I think the blooms (and aroma) are definitely worth the effort!
- Rob
In article <36973686...@kiniki.com.au>,
Zoe Duddy <z...@kiniki.com.au> wrote:
> The buds on my 2 week old gardenia are falling off and any buds that do
> stay on the plant are looking deformed when they open. Can anybody give
>
> me any help as to what is wrong. The plant looks generally healthy and
> new shoots are forming. I have looked for bugs but cannot see any but
> sprayed anyway. There are some things binding some leaves together
> which look like white webbing or fairy floss?!!!! I am in Sydney,
> Australia. The
> plant is in a terrecotta pot on a balcony and it gets about 4 hours of
> afternoon sun a day.
>
> TIA
>
> Zoė
>
>
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Zhanataya
full and fat to the ground. He uses "miracid for roses" on it. That's all he uses.
And he says he never has aphid problems either. Maybe he's putting me on 'cuz mine
doesn't look half so good.
Zhanataya
B & J wrote:
> Actually, I think those damned plants are raised and sold by growers because
> they do die. They sucker in the uninformed with dreams of a beutiful, sweet
> smelling flower. My wife purchased one that was in bud at a grocery store about
> a month ago and brought it home and told me to make it bloom. I followed few of
> the recommendations on the accompanying tag, but I did put it in our sun room
> (50 - 75 degrees) and kept it sitting in a dish that always contained water. It
> has lost a couple of leaves, but all the buds are still intact although none
> have shown a semblance of turning into a flower. My suspicion is that it is an
> acclimation problem . Hot, dry houses with low light do not gardenia blossoms
> make. BTW, I'm not making any bets on this one blooming either.
>
> John
>
> James Owens wrote:
>
> > Zoe,
> > I don't know if this is what is wrong, but every time I buy a gardenia plant
> > that is in bud, the same thing happens. I was told it was because gardenias
> > are extremely susceptible to a variety of problems, including moving it from
> > where it was originally growing, a different light exposure to what it was
> > raised in, drafts, etc. You should call a local nursery or extension
> > service, if you have one.
> >
> > Merry
> >
joel_in...@my-dejanews.com
My dad has kept a plant that my mom received as a gift for about 4 years now,
and it's doing extremely well. He keeps it in a west facing bay window (with
the curtains closed it's quite a bit cooler than room temp, and more humid
since it's filled with plants). The clay pot containing mostly peat moss
with some perlite sits upon a large tray filled with pebbles. Either
rainwater or melted snow is added every day, never tap water, and the tray is
kept filled just under the level of the pot. If the leaves start to yellow,
very dilute miracid is applied.
It blooms fairly prolifically for maybe 4-6 weeks from late March into early
May, and then sits outdoors in partial shade until frost. Even one day with
dry soil seems to affect it severly; I had a small plant from it that died
over Thanksgiving weekend when I missed three days of watering. This
particular variety is frost sensitive as well, any frost burns the leaves.
I've seen gardenias growing outdoors in the South where I know it can get
into the 20's such as Charleston, possibly this is a different type than the
florist variety.
I hope this helps...
Joel
David E. Ross
>
> The buds on my 2 week old gardenia are falling off and any buds that do
> stay on the plant are looking deformed when they open. Can anybody give
>
> me any help as to what is wrong. The plant looks generally healthy and
> new shoots are forming. I have looked for bugs but cannot see any but
> sprayed anyway. There are some things binding some leaves together
> which look like white webbing or fairy floss?!!!! I am in Sydney,
> Australia. The
> plant is in a terrecotta pot on a balcony and it gets about 4 hours of
> afternoon sun a day.
I had a similar problem and was advised to add zinc to the soil. Since
yours is in a container, be careful to avoid overfeeding. Add about a
level teaspoon of zinc sulfate (which is generally available near me
because of all the citrus that also need zinc). If you can't find zinc
sulfate, try a commercial citrus food (about a half-handful).
I generally find that leaves are tied together by spiders to create a
safe place to lay their eggs.
Gardenias do not need direct sun, but they definitely do need heat
(either reflected or from direct sun).
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence
Gardening pages at <http://www.vcnet.com/~rossde/garden.html>