Howdy..Kookshball,

There are many reasons leaves yellow..from chlorosis, to lack of Nitrogen, insects, over and under-watering.

I have a couple questions..I've researched Chuck Hayes Gardenias..They are hardy to z7..are you in z7, A or B? And what size were the Gardenias when you planted them?

First, I think you'd have been better off waiting to plant in spring, especially if your winter has been exceptionally cold..Is it?

Why are you spraying so much stuff? LOL..You said you sparyed w/insectcide..did you see insects on the Gardenias before spraying? You mentioned whitefly. Does the insecticide rid whitefly?
Yellow Sticky Traps work fantastic..they're non-chemical, non-toxic, the best whitefly killer around..There poison/chemical free, and will trap hundreds of whitefly per day.

Discoloration can be caused by fertilizer burn or if temps are freezing, frost bite.

I wish you posted pictures.

I use Iron and ES's on my Garenias by applying 'iron' 2-3 times a year, to prevent chlorosis and 'ES' every other month..I think you panicked..is it possible?
How much iron, which type, and what amount of ES's did you apply?
When a plant has Chlorosis, 'lack of iron' leaf veins are dark green, more prounounced than usual, and inner leaves are usually light green/pale or yellow.
Applying iron and ES's shouldn't have hurt your plants, but I'm unsure about the insecticide. Especially if you're overspraying. Did you apply any insecticide to the soil?

The pH has decreased, but I'd aim for lower numbers. Did you add Peat when you amended soil? Peat is acidic.
Whatever, don't fertilizer. Not yet..once your Gardenias look better, hopefully within in a few months, use an acidic type..I use Rhododendron/Azalea fertilizer.

In the meantime, check for whitefly or any other bugs. Mites, mealy, scale. Read the insecticide container...see if it kills whitefly, the correct dossage and times to use. Google 'fertilizer burn' to see if your leaves look similar.

BTW, if you see whitefly, please try Yellow STicky Traps.

Good luck..Toni

The thing that concerns me is the insecticide.

Your trying to grow gardenias in clay soil.
To make matters worse, you just amended the soil with compost, what kind of compost? Manure?
You need peat moss, coarse builders sand OR vercumilte that you can buy at any Home Depot.
Clay holds water. Gardenias can't live in clay soil unless you loosen it up with the above ingredients.
Peat moss, Coarse builders sand or vercumilte, will provide acid and drainage.
Manure will make drainage worse in clay.
Then mulch on top of it all.
Remember, 90 percent of all gardening is what you are
planting the plant in.
Look up online put in a search box Gardenia in clay soil.
Good Luck.

Toni,

I am in 7b and the gardenias were around 18" when first planted. The strange thing about this situation is that I planted 4 gardenias in the same area and only 3 are behaving poorly.

The compost that I used was "certified compost" from my mulch supplier which evidently means food scraps, leaves and saw dust. I checked for drainage and it is good and my moisture meter is showing that it is not excessively wet. The bed is in front of my house and is sloped away so there is no influx of water that would add to the moisture there.

I put 2-tablespoons of ES in water and applied it to each plant, the ironite was applied as a foliar spray.

My corporative extension confirmed that I do have white-flies and I will be putting a soil drench out soon to help kill them.

The insecticide was was one containing Beta-cyfluthrin: 0.0015%; Imidacloprid: 0.0120% (Bayer rose and flower spray) which should be OK to use with gardenias.

I hope this additional info helps, if there are other questions please let me know.

BTW, this forum category won't let me post PICs if there is another way let me know

Kooshball,

You can post here..Just join a free hosting site like "photo bucket", and then post a link from the drop down bar form under the picture you want, the third one down,into the message portion, then do a preview message, and you will see your pic.

As for advice on your denias, no one can explain it better than the ones above that already have. They are doing a great job...It was because of their knowledge and kindness, especially the questions asked of me in the past, that made it possible. It shows that they really care and want to help. Be as accurate as possible, and you will do just fine with the advice you are getting..

It may just be that you are doing to much to them, and by luck, one is still not responding poorly..They say that the heart of any plant, is the soil it is planted into..

Mike..:-)

Mike, thanks for the photo tip; here are my photos.

Here is a link that might be useful:

photo of the bark

Here is a link that might be useful:

one more photo

Here is a link that might be useful:

rhizo_1, thank you for your reply and the information.

Just to be accurate and up to date I check the pH and moisture just now and all 4-plants are right at a pH of 7 and slightly moist (not soggy and not dry). For reference by lawn is at a pH of 7.5 and wet (which I know to be true) as indicated on the same instrument.

We did have a long cold winter here although the minimum temperatures were in line with zone 7 (but the averages were very low). There was a 2-week period when it went into the single digits at night and the highs were only in the teens to twenties. In fact our soil temps right now are still in the mid to upper 30's where they would normally be in the 40's to near 50.

Regarding white flies, I didn't post those photos but a sample leaf to the cooperative extension did come back positive.

Thanks for the advice on the vermiculite; the people at my garden center said the same thing and suggested the bark-type soil conditioner.

Looks like I will sit tight for a few weeks to see what happens when spring finally arrives.

BTW, besides Iron chelate what do you recommend that I use to lower the pH?

Again, thank you for the advice.

I have a Chuck Hayes gardenia in our small back yard that was planted back in 2004. I live in Philly. Only a small plant, quart or gallon size container, I don't remember.
I don't give this plant anything special not even mulch & it is beautiful! It is taking over our yard. It is covered with flowers & smells heavenly.
The only thing I do is sometimes some used coffee grinds, sometimes egg shels thrown in the soil under the plant. I heard they like milk???? So when the gallon milk carton is empty I fill with water & give Chuck a drink. Guess he likes it?! He does look sad in the winter, with the snow storms, brown leaves etc. I go out & try & get the heavy snow off of him so the branches do not break off! Other than that I give him no special treatment & he seems to like that?!