How to Grow Gardenias and Get Them to Bloom

( Jacquie)

Question:

I have a gardenia in a pot-its leaves are turning yellow and falling off, but more importantly, it forms lots of buds, yellow, but before they can flower, they die.

I have cut it right back to almost nothing and it quickly grew again, but with the same problems.

The buds go brown and don't flower.

I live in Washington and the plant is under shelter on my patio and gets plenty of light, but not much sun.

Could you please help me with this problem?

Kind regards,

Jacquie

Answer

Jacquie,

So sorry you're having trouble with your gardenia. The fact is, gardenias can be a little finicky sometimes.

The trick to having healthy ones that will bloom is mainly two things: soil and temperature.

Soil: First lets talk about the soil.

Gardenias prefer an acid soil with a pH of 5 and 6. It's best to plant them in a soil used for rhododendrons, azaleas, and camellias.

Your local garden center should have potting soil or worm castings that you can use to re-pot your plant.

My first choice would be worm castings. We have read so much about the benefits of using it.

If you don't want to re-pot the whole thing, a top dressing of worm castings may be all you need.

By top dressing, I mean to sprinkle some on top as you would fertilizer.

Any of your other houseplants (or outside plants for that matter) will benefit.

Worm castings are a little expensive but make a rich soil amendment for plants that prefer acidic soils.

Watering Keep the soil moist, but not wet.

Temperature The next issue is that of growing temperatures which affect blooms.

The proper temperatures are essential to getting a gardenia to bloom.

The flower buds will not bloom if daytime temperatures are above 70 degrees. Also, they won't bloom if nighttime temperatures are over 65 degrees or below 60 degrees.

The perfect temperature range is between 65 to 70° during the day and 60° to 62° at night.

See what I mean about finicky? No wonder you're having a hard time!

As far as the amount of sun it should get, it sounds like that is perfect.

As a potted plant, it loves bright light but not direct, hot sun.

Pruning: Pruning should only be done when the plant is dormant so that the stems have a chance to heal before growth starts the next season.

When you do prune, leave some of the leaves so that the plant can still take-up sunlight for it to grow.

The following spring, use an acidic fertilizer with chealeted iron and high nitrogen, or the worm castings, so the plant can produce healthy leaves and buds.

Once you start to get healthy buds and blooms and you just need it to be bushier, just pinch out the tips while the plant is dormant. Pinching will usually promote a heavier bloom the following year.


If you can't find worm castings near you, it is available on Amazon.com

Like I said earlier, this would be my first choice. Worm castings, also known as vermicompost, is the new "black gold."

Also, worm castings don't smell, it's rich in nutrients and minerals, and t suppresses plant pest and disease attacks.

Pretty cool I think!

I hope that helps. Let us know how it goes or if you have any more questions.