Gardenia won't bloom

15 years ago

I purchased a nice Gardenia plant from Home Depot a couple of months ago and planted it in full sun. At first I had a couple of flowers, but then, the flowers fell off and the plant never bloomed again. The plant looks very healthy and green, but no flowers. I water all the plants in my garden every few days, and I use Miracle Grow once a week. Any advice?

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excuria

15 years ago

Hi Guys! I'm from the daylily forum and was just getting some ideas for some other fragrant plants from those of you in the know when I stumbled across this thread. I, too, had a gardenia in my back yard that would not bloom (for about 5 years) - an "August Beauty" to be exact. And since I've had several gardenias from cuttings that my grandmother brought from Cuba in 1917 that always bloom profusely, I knew that I was not the cause of it's bad behavior. One day, when I was fertilizing my daylilies, I had some of extra magic formula left over and I tossed it on the bad boy and within a week it had hundreds of buds on it! I've poured some of it on the gardenia every spring since then and again in late July - and I swear, that plant blooms through September.

Here's the formula: 1/3 cup epsom salt; 1/3 cup liquid iron; 1/3 cup fish emulsion (hold your nose on this one); 1/3 cup of any balanced water soluable general garden fertiziler and 5 gallons of water. No incantations necessary. It won't keep so you have to use it up right away. My tomatoes love it too, daylilies jump out of the ground and the gardenias will bloom like never before. I put about a cup on every plant and maybe 2 or 3 cups on the gardenia.

Let me know if this helps anyone.

Renee

p.s. By the way, this year, the buds on it are so heavy, the whole bush is bent over

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Comments (12)

puglvr1
15 years ago
Cute member name by the way...

I have only had my gardenias since December, so an expert I am NOT. Mine gets morning sun and afternoon shade, I live in Florida, so our afternoon sun is pretty intense. I know a lot of people grow them just fine in full sun. For me, it is a little easier on my plant and I don't have to water as often. Mine seems to prefer to stay on the "moist" (not wet) side this time of year. I do fertilize with miracid every two weeks. Your plant may just be adjusting to its new home. Your pretty lucky, mine didn't get buds till 3 months after I planted it. Is your Miracle grow, Miracid?

Others that have had more experience can give you more advise. I'm pretty new to them myself. I do LOVE them, though...

I'm sure your plant will keep its blooms real soon, just keep doing what you've been doing. Especially since you said it is very green and healthy, couple of months really isn't that long.

Post some pics, I would love to see your plant.

Good Luck!
mersiepoo
15 years ago
Your gardenia dropped its buds on PURPOSE! They do that to drive us humans INSANE! They KNOW we want to see and smell those lovely velvety flowers..so that is why they taunt us with those nice green buds...and then make them yellow and fall off!

I banished mine to the back porch, if I forget to water it, OH WELL! IT WANTS TO DIE! Ha ha ha ha ha.....

And for Gods sake, please help me because I am thinking of getting another one. WAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
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So much good information here. I am in SW Florida and the nighttime temps get into the 40’s enough during January and February that I think they get enough cool temps. I know there iis a hotel in Naples that has them as a mass planting and they bloom. My first year here Iost my best biggest Clivia to crown rot. Now I use a fungicide regularly. I have repotted all into an orchid mix of Leica, bark, charcoal for better drainage. I have discovered with care the plant can come back from crown rot because the roots are still healthy and a new crown is formed. It has actually taken two years so might not be worth it. They have tried to bloom but the stalks don’t grow above the crown and they start to rot so I have had to remove the blooms, and spray with fungicide to save the plant. I think I haven’t been fertilizing enough so I’ll do better and see what happens next year. They need so much more care here than they did in WA, but, after having them for forty years, I have to keep trying.
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Nonbryan, There is nothing a gardenia hates more than being stuck in a pot. You live in a warm zone, so you must put it back in the garden. Before you do, find a nice spot for it around a tree, so it will get some afternoon shade, for the really hot months. If the shade is around 2pm til dusk, it would be perfect. Then, add some soil conditioner and some composted manure (or a little peat moss if you can't find soil conditioner) to the native soil and mix in it real good. Take the plant, rinse the roots off and plant it in the hole with your ammended soil. If you have red clay soil, plant the gardenia up on a little mound of your ammended soil so the plant sits higher up for good drainage. Don't feed it for one month. You just stressed it out. Mulch, mulch, mulch it good, but don't let the mulch touch the stem of the plant itself. Water it good after transplanting. Then don't water it again for a week. You'll kill it by overwatering it very easily. DOn't spray the water directly on the plant ever. Water in morning only once a week, spraying water on the bottom of the plant. In one month, which will be beginning of May, fertilize with Miracle Grow azela and Rhodo fertilizer. Half strength. A little goes a long way. It will get yellow leaves after you transplant it, that is normal. DOn't panic, it reacts to stress that way. Stop fertilizing in September, so that will be it's last meal. If you need more mulch by then, add some more for the winter. Placing a water feature like a little fountain nearby the gardenia will help provide humidity, unless it is humid where you live. Gardenias aren't hard to grow in the ground at all. Good luck to you, and I hope your wife is happy this summer with it. (by the way, you can get what you need for the soil and food at HD)
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mersiepoo
15 years ago
it's hilarious! And you won't feel so bad about you buds dropping. Heck, I had a ton of buds on mine, then they started dropping off, because I bragged to my mom on the phone that it had buds and it HEARD ME!

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/calif/2004035908004767.html

Here is a link that might be useful: suicidal gardenia
jimshy
15 years ago
Gardenias often drop their buds when moved to a new pot, location, change in weather conditions, moon phases, or biorhythyms, when they're angry with their neighbors, feeling anxiety about the future, or just having a "bad leaf day." I'm sure we can all sympathize.

Go easy on the fertilizing, especially the first few months after planting, and like Puglvr sez, use a fertilizer for acid-loving plants. If the plant seems healthy but the leaves look a little yellowish, a half cup of epsom salts in the watering can may help.

Some have had success with gardenias by tying antlers to their heads and dancing clockwise around the plant at midnight during a full moon while waving an incense stick and chanting, "GROW!, GROW!, GROW!"

Others find that the smoke from the incense leads to, you guessed it, dropped buds . . .

Jim
jeff_al
15 years ago
they respond the best to either patchouli or sandalwood scented sticks. never use vanilla or any fruity fragrance.
oh, and you should be travelling (slowly) in a counter clockwise direction while listening to gregorian chants.
hope this helps :-)
mersiepoo
15 years ago
Ha, you guys are funny!! I think maybe we scared him off tho...

;D
puglvr1
15 years ago
Hi excuria,

Welcome! Thanks for the homemade fertilizer brew recipe, it sure sounds easy enough to make. I actually use all those ingredients that you mention, just never all at the same time. Although I am fortunate to have had my gardenias bloom for me, I am willing to try something that will bring me extra blooms. I am going to try it and see what happens, Thanks again!
mersiepoo
15 years ago
I'll have to try that formula, although cut it down a bit for my indoor (now outdoor) stick that used to be a 'denia.

Hey, I LOVE to make offerings to my gardenia, and it's really cool building a shrine to it. It's an angry Gardenia, that is why it punishes me so.....

Your plant sounds great!! Gives all of us hope....
dancinpoms43
13 years ago
After years of trying to get my gardenia to bloom again, I have finally found the solution! First of all, I kept it inside in bright light all winter, no misting or anything, and kept the soil evenly moist. I fertilized it very sparingly with acid -loving plant fertilizer.In May it set about 10 huge beautiful buds, but they were not opening.After a couple of weeks,in desperation, I peeled off one small strip or section of green bud covering from each bud. Then on a warm,humid day, I put the plant outside in the shade. Every one of the fat beautiful buds opened within a few days!!!!!!Be brave, try it and good luck!
meyermike_1micha
13 years ago
Merciepoo!!!!!!!

Where was I when you posted????Shoot..

Hello. I have missed you..Welcome back..:-) :-) :-)

Hi Pug!!!!:-)
OmaDiane
11 years ago
Hey Excuria, just wondering how your formula would work on Hibicus and Hydrangias. What do you think? I can be emailed from my page. Thanks for the help.

Gardenia won't bloom

excuria

Comments (12)

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