Thanks for your input, Dave. When I first got the gardenia, it was extremely hard to water. I watered it and the water spilled straight out the hole at the bottom, yet the soil stayed dry. So I soaked it much like you suggest. That did help renew the absorption of the soil, but eventually, the same problem came back. So, I do think the soil it is in has something to do with the troubles my gardenia has been having. I should also mention that I had tiny black flies around it and some leaves had small holes. I started handpicking the flies, but it was impossible to get rid of them all, although I managed to keep the population down to just a few. Now that the plant is showing new growth, there are no flies around it anymore. This is a great mystery to me as I did not do anything to fix the fly issue except for handpicking them. I think the light level in that window is already optimal for a gardenia kept as a houseplant. It is quite close to full sun as the only sun that doesn't shine through it is the sinking evening sun. As for humidity, I believe we have a balanced atmosphere, not humid but not dry either (probably around 50%). Does the gardenia need more wet than that? And if so, do you think misting could fix it? I am training it now to live on only one watering per day. So far so good. I still give it as much water but in one big dose and not two small ones. But I think that the soil is wrong and the waterings will never really achieve their goal. The plant does have slight buildup/deficiency symptoms (two-tone leaves). I have been using tapwater that stayed on the counter for a day to let the chlorine evaporate, but it isn't enough as there is also fluoride in the water which doesn't evaporate. So your guess about salt buildup sounds very plausible to me. Do you know if there is anything I can do to correct this? Obviously, I would have to change the soil, but the new soil would also be prone to buildups after a while, right? I am thinking it may be a good idea to transplant it and sacrifice the half-dozen buds it has now. Better to go without flowers for a little while than lose the plant out of fear for the flowers... I have an eight-inch clay pot. Would that be large enough? Also, since this is a plant that likes humidity, wouldn't it be better off in plastic? Thanks again for your help. P.S.: I also have an orchid in the same window, the kind that likes to be root-bound. The leaves are pretty (no browning at the tips) and it is blooming twice as much as when I bought it. I believe orchids like more or less the same conditions as gardenias. So, if the orchid is doing great in that environment and the gardenia is not doing that great, my guess is that the problems it has been having are not related to heat, light and humidity, but rather to the soil, the water and/or the pot. Does that make sense?

I don't like using toxic chemicals especially on flowering bushes. Think of the good insects plus bees and birds who visit the flowers. I have found that a healthy plant develops natural resistance which helps keep bad bugs in check. Plus, spraying toxic chemicals kills the natural predators which keep control of the nasty bugs. I noticed my hybiscus covered in aphids. The flower buds were being destroyed. I gave it a hard spray from the hose knocking off the aphids. A few days later I noticed Lady-bugs walking around the stems. They love aphids! I use a homemade spray as Saldut does. I add some oil to the alcohol/Dawn and spray. I have used this mix for years on my orchids which are prone to brown scale. Works very well as long as you remember to do it a few weeks apart. Soap and water sprays are good. The secret to dealing with scale is setting up a strict schedule in the beginning. The oil will kill the adults but the eggs will continue to hatch and spraying once every 2 weeks works well. Alcohol works well on aphids and some mites. If using alcohol and oil, do not spray during the heat of the day. Wait until the sun begins to set and spray well. Sorry about the loss of your mother. Give the sprays a try and see if you can get your Gardenias bug-free. Jane

bossyvossy: I still do (hand-pick lawn weeds) -- it's something we kids all did as part of our chores AKA family contribution ADA do as your told. After 26 years at our current house, I really don't care (much) if the neighbors laugh. If the weather's nice, to me pulling weeds can actually be quite therapeutic -- don't ask my back, though, after a day of pulling! :) I started to read the old gardenia thread, and had to close it, lest I jinx myself. For whatever reason, I planted a gardenia in our yard ~ 20 years ago. I pretty much do nothing to it, and it has somehow thrived despite my neglect. The flush of blooms doesn't last long, between the thrips and the immediate heatwave that comes through right about bloom time. (It's ~ 3' x 4' and flocked with about 100 blooms -- with 20-30 buds waiting in the wings.) It's one of those bushes that I do contemplate pulling: blooms only once a year, then just sits there. :) Perhaps my butterfly garden expansion will push me to remove the gardenia (or at least move it somewhere else).

Is it in a pot since you posted this on balcony gardening? How large is the pot? How large is the plant? How much rain will your area get this summer? How hot will it be and for how long? What potting mix did you use? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to the watering question for this or any other plant. The answer is that it depends on all the things listed above and more. What you need to know is what your plant likes in terms of moisture levels and then you need to actually check the moisture levels in the soil around the plant and water it before it gets drier than it wants to be. Stick your fingers several inches down into the soil to feel how wet or dry it is. After a while you will likely develop a sense of when it needs watering in your particular situation. It is a tropical plant and you are at the very northern edge of its growing zone, so I would be surprised if it is not fine in sun, but I don’t have experience with gardenias in your zone. Have you planned what you will do with it in winter? I wouldn’t expect it to do well in zone 6 outdoors in a pot in winter.