Cold-hurt Gardenia-- is it really dead?
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10 years ago
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gigim
10 years agoUser
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Yellowing gardenias and a cold snap. When to fertilize?
Comments (6)Wreckitriz, I have some bad news. If your soil is very alkaline, and you want a beautiful growing flowering gardenia, if I were you, I would transfer it to a pot of potting soil as soon as the weather breaks and bury the pot in the soil if the water drains away fast enough when it's watered. I have found that clay soil sometimes doesn't drain fast enough for plants that need excellent drainage, I lost a plumeria in a pot due to that. It is SOOOO difficult to change soil from alkaline to acidic when it's planted in the ground. It can be done, but if your soil is that alkaline, I would go the pot route, you will be much happier with your bush. Gardenias can happily live in pots outside, you will just have to really protect it in the winter. Burlap will work too. I use Foliage Pro on my potted plants, I bought it online a couple years ago. It is the best potted plant food, IMHO, because it supplements all the minerals neccesary for a potted plant so it won't lack anything at all. You will have perfect soil for it. It is very concentrated also, so it lasts a long time. Super thrive is good too, but I love Foliage Pro. Good Luck with your gardenia, if you are really against a pot altogether, you could always dig it up when it gets warmer and dig out alot of the soil where it will be and replace all of the soil (ALOT of work), HD sells soil for rhododendrums and camellias GARDEN soil, and I would use at least one giant bag of it and mound it up for the gardenia for drainage. Then you should be alright, til it settles......then more work.....and it goes on and on....LOL! But we all love them and they are worth it!...See MoreCold-hurt Gardenia - to prune or not to prune?
Comments (5)I want to ad this response from my local ag extension agent in case anyone else comes across this post looking for answers: I hate to be the bearer of bad news but my guess is that you will lose this plant. I wouldn't pull it just yet, let is stay until mid April and see what if anything does emerge. I think the biggest problem is that this plant is hardy to zone 8 and we are a zone 7. this year we probably faired as a zone 6. (Mystery gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides âÂÂMysteryâÂÂ) thrives in a well-drained but moist, sandy location in partial to full sun. These gardenias grow well in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, as they are a subtropical shrub.)The second problem was probably a limited root system. Since it was only planted in the Fall it probably did not have time to get a deep, well established root system established and that could also have played a part in it's demise. I am so sorry. Karen Neill, Urban Horticulture Agent North Carolina cooperative Extension Guilford County...See Moregardenia-dead or still alive
Comments (2)It is probably too cold for your zone. If you really want to know, you can trim tip, and see whether the inner is moistly white. Somebodys trim upto 1/3 in the spring before new leaves grow; I don't do it every year, and not dart to trim that much, only tips, just to be safe....See MoreIs my gardenia dead
Comments (6)Hi Jen! From what little experience I've had with Gardenias, they can often be difficult to grow in many parts of Texas, especially in the DFW area where I am. Your being in Houston is good since they seem to do alright in the southern parts of the state from what I've read. I tried my hand at gardenias here (fail) and in Sugar Land where I lived for 6 years. The one in my backyard in SL had been planted by the previous owners and I didn't know what kind of gardenia it was. It got no care, food or fertilizer, as I wasn't learning about gardening at that time. Despite the neglect, it would come back each spring, would look pretty scrawny throughout the year, MAYBE give me two or three blooms, and then go dormant again in winter. So you may have some luck with yours. As a beginner gardener, I learned pretty quickly that gardenias were more maintenance than I was ready for. Acid fertilizer is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want your gardenia to thrive and bloom more profusely, you might need to incorporate more into your maintenance. They'll definitely need some shade. My recommendation would be to study up on what kinds of plants work well for your zone and soil type. Looking at native plants would be a good place to start. Or as others here have advised me, look at other yards in your neighborhood and see what is growing around you. That'll give you an idea of what works well in your area. But gardenias are gorgeous flowers and I tried with an August Beauty myself. If you're wanting to stick with the gardenias and get a maintenance routine down, here's a link to a thread we had on here recently that you might find useful-- Gardenias and Camellias in Central Texas...See Morecarol23_gw
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