Thank you for your thoughts! I will attempt to take the plant inside. (I say "attempt" because the pot is a bit heavy, but I have some friends willing to help, so we'll try.) My windows don't get a lot of sun but I do have some grow lights inside for starting plants indoors, so I'll try to arrange them around it and figure out a way to support some plastic around (but not touching) it.

It's about 12" tall and 24" wide. If pruning it might help it recover then I'll trim it back some more. Would you say I should be careful not to prune off parts where the stem is green inside, or worry less about that and more about making the plant smaller?

Prune the obvious dead branches first. 12 inches tall is a decent height and so need to shorten the branches further unless it is brown when you snip it.

How are your temperatures there (highs and lows)? If it does not go below say 55F you can build your mini enclosure outside too. If you make it right next to the house exterior then it will benefit from the warmth of the house. If you choose to do it outside then select a spot where it gets plenty of morning Sun but is somewhat protected from the afternoon Sun. Keep the plant hydrated.

Water well the first time and then check every few days to keep the soil evenly moist. Outdoors it may need water a little more frequently than indoors. No fertilizer now. When you see a few mature leaves you can start fertilizing lightly at first - say 1/4 strength.

The highs this week are 62-70 and lows are 48-56. Perhaps a bit too cold. Fortunately some friends helped and we were able to move the plant onto a rolling tray indoors. I've pushed it under a grow light programmed to run 11 hours during the day, and watered it well. I'll trim it back some more starting with the deadest branches, and mount some plastic around it tonight.

Thanks again!

Will post updates if I see any signs of life.

OK. Keep posted. You can stick some bamboo supports into the pot in a circle formation and cover it with a plastic. You will have to tie the bottom keeping a few openings to let some air in. Poke a few holes near the top too. If you see condensation inside the plastic then "burp" the enclosure. Meaning open it and let some fresh air and close it back again. You want the air inside humid but not saturated. Good luck.

BTW. I had to do the same with a Thai Lime plant that got dehydrated and lost all its leaves. I cut it back to a small size and enclosed it. It took about 3 weeks to produce new leaves and now it looks much better after about 6 weeks. Now I am slowly letting it get accustomed to being out of its enclosure. Doing good so far.

Thanks for the thoughts! I'm happy to hear your lime got better!

Here's the setup I have going now under a grow light:

(It's hard to see through the reflective plastic, but there are two sticks helping to support the plastic so it's not resting on the gardenia)

Here's the actual plant:

I cut off a lot of the side branches earlier but wasn't sure how short to make it - about how many inches above the soil should it reach?

Today I noticed a bit of fuzz on the tips of one of the branches:

Maybe too moist? I realized I forgot to cut holes in the top of the bag, currently there is only ventilation on bottom. Will fix that now.

Looking good. The fuzz is fungus - probably it stays a bit too humid inside the tent. A hole or two on the top of the tent should keep that in control. Do you have any fungicide? If not, sprinkle a bit of cinnamon powder (if you have). Any sign of any bud swelling?

I don't have any fungicide, but I have lots of cinnamon so I sprinkled it on the tips of each of the branches that looked a bit fuzzy. Also added some holes on top.

I don't think I see anything that looks like bud swelling - will keep an eye out and send an update if anything changes.

Good luck! I would try to water thoroughly and often.get a saucer to catch the water and 3 large stones to elevate the pot above the saucer. Well actually it probably doesn't even matter because seeing the height of the pots, the roots probably don't reach to the bottom so they won't have a risk of being submerged.

New problem: when I lift the plastic, things smell a bit musty in there. Since I added the additional holes to the plastic it hasn't been collecting much condensation, so it's not super super humid, but maybe the soil is too humid? I've been watering every 2-3 days, when it feels dry-ish on top.

As for drainage, the pot has a hole in the bottom and is held above a saucer by a raised platform with slats, it seems to drain pretty well.

If it is some sort of gritty mix your watering schedule is good. This will take months though. Maybe a couple months until you see new growth. In the meantime you could start an additional plant project to get your mind off this one. Like get a cool looking focus and repot it into gritty mix. Mine is thriving even behind a 50f cold window. It gets great light though and good watering and fertilizer.

Ah ok! I’ll focus on other projects and just keep watering. Thanks!

First and formost, DO NOT USE tap water when growing them in pots during the winter months and prefferrably as often as you can unless your mix is fast draining and very porous. The accumilated salts and chlorine are not good at all.That is the number killer of any gardenia. After several attempts I finally figured that out) Same goes for most any containerized plant. I use rain water collected over the warmer months or distilled water with fertilizer until I can stick them back outside again.

I'm using Al's gritty mix (a version with turface, pine bark, and pumice). I might have learned about gritty mix from you (meyermike) in someone else's post I was following about saving a gardenia! Good to welcome you to my thread! You mention fertilizer - since the plant is in a bad state should I not fertilize yet, or do recommend I do fertilize if I start using distilled water? Or would you say I should stick with tap since the plant is in gritty mix?

Linda, thank you)

I hardly use tap water on those sensitive plants like that, never on my orchids unless I rinse all the roots off with rain water or distilled. I am not sure of your water but in my area my tap water is pretty bad and that combined with fertilizer stinks. You should see the top of my fish tank if I don't clean it for a month or the sides of my clay pots. horrible. Even with using the 5.1.1 mix which I find works better for my gardenia's than any 1.1.1 mix other than the one Al uses to the T. The Granite Grit for me always worked better than substitutes to keep the mix evenly moist from top to botttom. The bigger the particles you use, the more in tune you should be with the drying out process especially at the root zone.

I have found that mine required high light especially in winter and a moving fan. Not so much humidity although they do love it. I also treat for spider mites whether I see them or not. Trust me, they are a lot of work to keep inside and happy in or out in a pot, but once they do like your attention, they will thrive.

Tropic never dissappoints in advice and I woud do as suggestet. The humidity will help it recover better than without it and giving it more air to prevent disease and less condesation is a help. Val also said it would take time and that is not an understatement. Once the roots are dead, it can take a very long time to recover. As long as you can scratch green on those branches your gardenia should be ok.

Are you certain you know how to water in the gritty mix? Because I have over watered many plants and under watered too. At any time you can not afford to let the roots of a gardenia go very dry while the roots start to occupy the fresh mix. I would use a wooden dowel and push it into the root zone and check for moisture. I never trusted my watering in it. Make sure you are keeping the top roots moist before they fill in that pot.

As we know it's almost impossible to over water or fertilize in a 1.1.1 mix. If it were my gardenia I would give it a weak solutin of fertilizer with a capful of vinegar every time I water if it's getting that much light and warmth. That would help any of mine to recover faster.

Too,as you can tell there is so much involved with growing a gardenia in a pot, that's why many bypass those, and it can be very frustrating along with nerve racking. Almost like ocd ing on it,lol. It's not easy loosing any plant you like. But do what you think is right with the support of all the good people here, sit back and relax, give your tree time and I am sure it will come back. Any more help needed, we are always here)

Thanks for the detailed post!

Truly, I’m not certain how to water. After reading your post I Amazon prime’d some dowels ($2! Not bad) and they should arrive tomorrow. About how far down should I check? The root ball was probably about 12” in diameter.

For a weak solution of fertilizer - I have some acid-loving plant fertilizer I can use, would 1/4 of the recommended strength be about right for a weak mixture?

It’s funny you mention vinegar - I mentioned on another forum weeks ago that I was thinking of adding some, and the response was incredulity. I think they had just never heard of doing this. It’s been a relief to receive advice without snark here — thanks everyone! I will start adding vinegar when I water, and added distilled water to the grocery list.

Linda, are you kidding? Why would they be like that? It's obvious they are missing out on the many benefits or vinegar! Would you like to hear an very interesting story and result? I will tell you anyways.lol

I went to a barbcue lasy summer and saw a huge gardenia sitting on this lady's [porch that was as yellow as could be. Very faded green with small buds. She said it was like that for years and it was always struggling. She lived about a mile away from me. She said was fertilizing it with Miracle Grow and I asked if she ever used vinegar to acidify the solution while she watered? She said she would of never thought of that. So I went home and made a gallon of solution for her and watered that same day because she only lived a couple miles from me. I revisited almost a week later. Her gardenia and yellowing jasmine 'Grand Duke' to be specific, had turned several shades of darker green. In fact, by the end of the summer was a green as would be flowered out. It was so beautiful. She bought her own vinegar and used a bottle capful every time she watered.. There are many older threads here explaing the benefits of vinegar and I wish I had the time to show you. But I use it religously on my citrus and tropical plants such as gardenia and jasmines or they would die. The nutrients that they need to survive are held up in the mix after watering with an akaline solution every time, especially my tap water.

Yes, and acid loving plant fertilizer will do wonders too) During the very slow growing months I use a very weak amount. 1/4 teaspoon per gallon and up it further in spring and then more in summer. Mine get plenty ot light and warmth.

Great price for wooden dowels. I use a pencil sparpener and sharpen the ends and then push into the root zone with newly planted ones and past the root zone into ones growing in the pot for a while. works wonders, until you get use to when to water. I love the griity mix, but always had an issue to water at the right time. With the 5.1.1, it's so much easier)

Linda,even if your gardenia might not make it, this is great info to save for the future health of any others you may decide to try. No one can tell how far gone the roots are, and usually a gardenia with roots that have died off can be difficult to recover, especially in a place like where I live. You might have better success living where you live with longer days of warmth and sunshine)

I love this story! Thanks for sharing!

Good idea with a sharpener - I'm sick today and stumbling around so forgot to do that, but I did push a blunt dowel into the middle/lower part of the root zone tonight and the bottom two inches came out a little moist. Does that mean it's time to water, or wait till the dowel comes out completely dry? Pardon the million questions!

Even if it dies in the end, I'm grateful for all the knowledge!

If it were my plant I would water it before it ever went completely dry. I never allow my gardenias get to the point of wilt. Also knowing the roots are occupying the upper part region of the pot in a gritty mix I would never allow them to dry completely. You see. The dowel method will help you understand when to water so that in time you may not need to use one.
You’ll get it. )

Linda , I meant to ask. Do you have any way of storing rain water ? Can you collect it into a barrel or something? Not sure how much rain you get. But if use a gutter and let all the rain fall right into one.

I don’t have anything big as a barrel, but I do have a few buckets I can put out next time it rains. Unfortunately rain is pretty rare here, so actual rainwater will be a rare treat.