Hi everyone, I have a concern too with my new grapevine plant. It's a Crimson vine, and I just bought it early this year from a nursery without leaves. The nursery guy explained to me that it's in dormant period and it will eventually sprout new leaves, so I said: Oh, okay. So, I bought it and left it in the same container for a while-as the nursery guy told me to, until the vines would sprout new leaves, and yes it did! She was so happy and looked very healthy! and sprouting a lot of new vines too! So then, and planted it right under the Plum tree, with really good soil from the store. I water it everyday, besides the soaker tube water system around the existing Plum tree, which is scheduled for 3x a week for California mandatory due to our DROUGHT PROBLEM here. About 2 to 3 weeks after I planted it, it seems like it has stopped growing and looks like very sad. Leaves are about to turn yellow, and it is just looking very sickly! I used to live in Chandler, AZ for 10 years and had a green grapevine out there, which was growing really healthy and had lots of fruits in a sunny weather Arizona! Now, I live in San Diego, CA, and thought that grapes would grow well here, since it's a cooler place! But my grapevine is NOT doing well, and I don't know why! I hope you guys can give me some ideas and thank you so much in advance! God Bless you all, Annie

Hi John, Well, I don't know if petunias can really be classified as "acid loving" or not. However, I do know that they are very sensitive to a high pH, which will cause the leaves to turn yellow. Regarding using reduced fertilizer dosages for our seedlings, we often see suggestions that recommend one fourth strength. The problem is that any recommended percentage may be weak for one fertilizer and still very strong for another. And, of course, one fourth strength probably isn't going to be right for all plants. If you're using Miracle-Gro Miracid (30-10-10) you might try one fourth strength, at least at first to green up those leaves. I'd use it with every watering but not more than once a week. Later on you could go back to using your regular fertilizer or maybe use the Miracid once a month just to make sure the petunias are not too low on iron. Keep in mind that I'm no expert and this is simply what I would probably try. Good luck with the petunias, hope they turn out beautiful! Art

I'm wondering if you have over-done it with the fertilizers. The best cure of this is a good flush with clear water to dissipate the ferts. More is not better with ferts. Here's a link that may help. FWIW, my garlic is strong and hardy right now, I rarely water the beds this time of year. I have some tomato plants that are over-wintering well. I just throw in a handful of homemade compost from time to time, top with some soil or potting mix, depending if the plant is in the raised bed or in a container, then water it all in. Good luck, I hope they all pull through. Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Symptom Chart This post was edited by marymcp on Sun, Jan 12, 14 at 10:08

I believe there is a forum for Gardenias on GW. You might want to check with those folks. Lorna