Hi everyone! I'm back! I had a little trouble escaping from the asylum, but I finally snuck out. They don't have internet access, darn it! They were afraid I'd go and order another gardenia I guess..and I did! HA! I also ordered (for my mom, must get her into the cult as well) an african 'gardenia'...it doesn't smell like a gardenia, but I love the fragrance..and it's blooming already! HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA... Anyway, I got a "Belmont". The #@$# FED EX driver tried to kill him in transit..I just know he did! Gary told me that he did. But, he's still alive. Oh yeah. Almost forgot. The plant told me that his name is "Gary" and that if I do certain "things" for him, do them without question, that he will actually bloom for me. Oh and give me good lottery numbers. I don't know...he sounds like he's just leading me on. I REALLY want to trust him...but I just don't know. He seems to be rather evasive. He's also got a horrible chain smoking habit. He's already cost me 40 bucks for a carton of Virginia Slims, and he refuses the generic smokes. Here are some pictures..he wanted me to get his 'good' side, but I didn't know which one that was. So has anyone else killed their loves lately? I included a pic of my maid of orleans (it's actually living, don't ask me why) as well. I missed you guys! You can only enjoy shots of Throrazine for a few weeks before they get old. Here's my MO I also bought some liquid iron with other trace minerals..seems to be loved by my citrus plants and the jasmine too. So we shall see! :D here's the african gardenia, not sure if she is married to gary or if they are 'just friends'. She sure is a show off though, eh? PS: Oh yeah..almost forgot to add this. Remember my first gardenia? Well, it kept teasing me. I was ready to throw it out, it had lost all of its leaves, despite my locating it in the nicest sunniest spot on the back deck, plenty of humidity. Then, when I was going to evict it from it's home, I noticed a GREEN thing starting to come out of the dirt! I couldn't believe it. So, since the soil was dry as a bone...I watered it. I started to hope! Then, I noticed the next day the leaf started turning black. I threw the plant over the deck...it was already dead so it didn't scream. I think I did. After that I woke up strapped to a bed in a hospital. I must have blacked out from my 'grief' or something.

Butterfly4you ALWAYS gives great advice..She has helped me a lot.. So without having the time to read her post, I hope I am on the same page.. Please get it out of that mix asap! I call it garbage for gardenias..lol It also sound like it is being attacked by more than one pest, especially spider mites..They suck the color and life right out of your leaves.. Treat it with Neem, asap>.Yes...I always have, and have never had a problem..In fact I treated my brothers a my friends with Neem after a long attack of mites and scale all winter for them. They looked exactly as you described..They are rich and green now.. I will post pictures when I get home.. Do not spray in the sun, and use very little per quart. I capful in warm water with a few drops of soap.. Stop feeding it immediately..If there is something wrong with your plant and it is sick, stressed out, and the roots will not take up the nutrients. It will only hasten it's demise. Keep cornmeal and and other additive out of the container. use a soilless mix since you live way up there that has great drainage, dries rapidly, is porous, and does not allow salt build up from fertilizers..Gardenias need very good, in fact excellent drainage and roots need to breathe! I would make sure, unless you know how to water these very well and properly, to keep it in pots just a couple inches bigger than your roots so your chances of root rot is greatly supressed..also I would use clay pots to allow air to penetrate through the walls, or plastic, so you can judge easier when lifting it when to water again. I would use wooden dowels to check for moisture, since I found that I killed a many of plant with false readings on moisture meters.. I would also leave it out of the sun at least for a few days if not weeks, until you see the leaves firm up again, knowing they are hydrating properly.... After the transpalnt into the new mix a main priority, and the spray of Neem, watch the difference in your plant. Then come back and we can direct you from there.. Once your plant is is a great mix, the pests are killed, and it comes back to restored health, then we can talk about fertilizers... Please don't expect a quick recovery if the roots are badly damaged..If not, then once the bugs are gone and the roots breathm watch it come back faster than you think.. We'll see.. Mike Good luck Mike

You'll need to locate the critters that are causing the sooty mold, I'm afraid. This simple black mold grows on the sugary, sticky substance excreted by a number of sucking insect pests. The usual culprits on gardenia are whitefly, at least in the US. However, scale insects, aphids, and mealybugs could also be creating the problem. Whitefly can be identified easily as pure white insects resembling moths that flitter out from under the foliage when disturbed. If you turn over the leaves, you'll find the whole family in all of the life stages. Anyway, whitefly or others....if you don't gain control over the pest, you cannot get rid of the black sooty mold. It will simply keep coming back unless you do so.

Hi ken_adrian. I have not taken the gardenia outdoors because I have been cautioned that doing so could expose the plant to insects/diseases and could result in infecting the other indoor plants once I bring it back in. In the summer I keep the thermostat set at 82, primarily to stave off the oppressive humidity that's typical for my region (Washington DC.) I'm sure there are important facts that I am leaving out, only because I don't realize they are important factors. The bay window where the the plant is situated gets only an hour or so of direct sunlight, while, as I understand, the gardenia needs about 8 hours of full exposure. However, the plant has been doing well there for years, until these recent issues. Also, when I re-potted it a few months ago, I added a tablespoon of Osmocoat Plus fertilizer to the soil. The plant is in a two gallon container. Since the browning generally starts at the tips of the leaves, and I did add fertilizer, perhaps the browning is a result of a 'chemical burn.' How do I confirm/eliminate that as the cause. (I'm actually hoping that is the problem, because I am rather paranoid that the plant is being affected by insects or disease, and I risk infecting the other plants in it's vicinity. I've inspected for insects, but see no trace of any. Though I rather leave it indoors, I am tempted to take it outside just to minimize that risk. But if it is due to a nutrient uptake problem (e.g. too high/improper balance of nutrient or the pH level wrong), I'd address that and leave it in the bay window. I'll post also to the indoor plant forum - thanks for the suggestion. Neil