Springlover, the thing about gardenias is that they are highly susceptible to root decay if "overwatered" ie watered too often, or if let to dry too much. This is very likely to happen in retail stores where plants are cared for by truly ignorant sales personnel. That is what I would suspect is happening to your new gardenia. Whenever you buy a new gardenia, it's possible it's already been subject to root decay. If the problem is root decay there's no amount of fussing over pH, fertilizer or anything else that will help it. Once root rot begins, the pot becomes too big for the smaller root mass and the medium stays wetter and wetter, causing more and more root -- a death cycle for the plant. For this reason, I would take it out of it's pot and check the roots. I always repot a new gardenia. This doesn't necessarily mean a bigger pot, but it does mean that I get to look over the roots and put it into a right-sized clay pot. This might be a *much smaller pot*. You want one that is maybe half an inch bigger than the roots. I personally think your worry about PH is misplaced. First things first: get it into the right environment for healthy roots. Put it in a pot just barely big enough for the roots. I use Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting mix. It is peat based and should give an adequate environment. Aphids also are very common on gardenias. The thing to remember about aphids is that they give birth to *live, pregnant* young. That means where one aphid is, there will be thousands in a few days. You have to spray every three days or so for maybe four times to get them all. I spray with one hand and use my other hand to wipe the aphids off so there won't be little ones surviving underneath the carcasses. And definitely you have to spray more than once. Take care of the roots and the plant will be okay.

Stop watering temporarily, then only water about once a week unless it's very hot and dry, or unless it rains, in which case you would NOT water. Your lilies can stay in the ground, provided they are 5-6 inches below the surface. If you want them to come back bigger each year, you have to feed them. I do this by leaving the dried stalks in place, then I dig around them in a circle about 12 inches out from the center. I dig a trench about 3-4 inches deep. I fill the trench with a mixture of blood meal, bone meal and a bit of epsom salts. Then I cover it up and water it. If you leave it dry, animals will smell the blood and bone meal and dig it up. You have to do this for each lily. Lots of gardeners don't use the bone meal, because they believe flowers call mainly for potassium, but bone meal contains a lot of phosphorous which helps build big bulbs and healthy roots. My Orientals and Orientpets are all over 7 feet tall and each one has had over a hundred blossoms this summer. So I say, something must be working right. Every gardener has her own system and there's no single right way. Someone else may have good advice too. Lainey

Thank you for looking up Kamloops! Though we are very far north, we are in an extremely arid region, with ancient, treeless mountains covered in sagebrush. The mountain ridge we live against even has its own native cactus, which bloomed this year for the first time in a decade. We have many coyotes, magpies, partridges, and owls. Kamloops is the 'sunshine capitol' of Canada, with 100+F days in the summer, and very cold, snowy days in the winter. So you may wish you didn't have that clay soil (which, BTW, roses absolutely adore!), but you surely wouldn't want to trade in for our stony, stony, stony non-soil. Even when I try to plant a small perennial I bought, it takes me a good fifteen minutes to dig out all the large rocks, and then the little stones. I have to augment absolutely every planting with compost, or it's game over. Thank you for your nice reply. Good luck with everything. Your state is very famous! Lance

Hi Verivert8. >> What size pot is it in? Same pot it came in, maybe 6"? >> Did you refresh the potting mix when you saw the new sprouts? No, I guess that makes me a mean plant mom! I mentioned it to my neighbor and she said she tried to plant one outside and it made it through the Summer but did not come back in the Spring. Maybe I should just give it a decent burial now? Or can I keep it as a house plant?