One tip, Tiffany, which is pretty safe with ANY potted plant you keep outdoors during temperate weather and then bring indoors for the winter... NEVER, EVER, fertilize it or start watering it more or making other drastic changes to how you take care of it AFTER you bring it inside unless you ARE trying to kill it, lol. My best guess, just from what you said, is that your gardenia is just fine. As I said above, maybe 3 years ago, ALL "evergreens" still have to shed leaves, they just don't do it all at once like deciduous plants do. The first time I noticed MY gardenia was "FULL OF YELLOW LEAVES," at first I was a bit alarmed, too, but I figured there wasn't much I could do but watch and wait, so I did, and it just turned out to be leaf turnover. The fact that you're seeing new growth at the same time seems to indicate that's what this is. For future reference, I would DEFINITELY use "acidic" fertilizer for any gardenia, azalea, rhododendron camelia or similar plant that prefers an acidic soil environment (generally defined as a pH of 6.5 or lower). Scotts used to call their version of that "Miracid," but research showed folks were AFRAID of the "acid" word, so they changed it to Miracle-Gro Azalea-Camelia-Rhododendron Fertilizer (like ANYBODY say or remember THAT mouthful -- well ANYBODY but geeks like me, lol). I always buy store-brand versions if I can find them, since they usually have the same chemical makeup for about 2/3 the price. If the NEW GROWTH shows signs of yellowing, then it probably DOES need magnesium, and you WILL want to add a little epsom salt, which is Magnesium Sulfate. I'd just buy some at the pharmacy and dissolve a tablespoon or so in the water when you water until things look better... As for the "acidic" fertilizers, what it comes down to is that plants that "like" those conditions can't properly absorb Nitrogen if their soil pH is too high, so if you use a fertilizer that comes with a built-in acidic complement, then it takes care of that issue... Most of the acidic fertilizers have some sulfer in them for that purpose... The better ones will also have other micronutrients, in addition to Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium, such as Magnesium, Chelated Iron, Boron, Chlorine, Selenium and so forth... It REALLY pays to read labels when shopping for fertilizers and do a little research on the subject. As for light, that Gardenia, should get at least 4 hours of light a day -- preferably 6. The less light it gets, the less you'll want to water it, obviously. If it's getting 6 hours or more, and continues to grow during the indoor season, you MAY be safe to LIGHTLY fertilize it once or twice during the winter with one of the soluble fertilizers (such as the Miracid equivalent). If you decide to do that, feel free to email me for my thoughts on it. I'm far from an expert, but I'm a BIG gardenia fan, and I don't think I'd steer you wrong if you gave me all the info. Good luck! Jeff

well, soil retains water - so if you create a mix that contains soil (I think of that as the soil backing/or base) - then the other components ... the perlite, or bark, or rocks - well that's the extras. :) ... Now if you have a mix without soil - then peat would be the component to 'hold' the water... but if you have soil in there. Doesn't it do it already? why add peat too? I mean, you're talking in a pot - you water it often enough that if you're looking for the absorbtion component in peat - soil kinda' does that. - most often you don't want to much water retention in a pot. - now if you were saying mixing the peat in your garden bed - then I'd be a bit more understanding. Can't stand hosing the yard any more than necessary. I'm NOT an expert. REALLY. And I constantly show where my knowledge is lacking. I try to make sense of these mixes and goodness knows - I'm glad for folks like AL who can reason out how all the stuff works ... cause my mind can only wrap around so much info at once - and then I need my buddies to lead me through it when it gets to complicated. Thank goodness for GW and the good friends I've made here. :)

Maybe "cheating", but Grafted (onto G. thunbergia) gardenias by Monrovia (sold in many nurseries or directly thru website}, though $$ are much hardier/less fussy with watering & dying!!! The only plant I have truly killed is a gardenia! (Rose & fragrant flower nut.) I have an August Beauty (nursery person thinks since tag fell off), whose flowers are Huge! (3 1/2" in Fremont, CA in a 21" pot, now 4 years old & entire plant is enormous 4' x4'x3' with a slight weeping habit.). P. S. It did well but has really started to take off in the last 2 years once I was brave enough to cut off a strong shoot that never really had the right leaves & no flowers, finally figured out that was a "sucker" from the rootstock though situated smack in the center. That said, I've just started growing a double flowered Arabian Jasmine Sambac "Summer Soul" also Monrovia (pic). The flowers are huge for a jasmine 1-1 1/2" & the scent is heavenly (TDF), this beats everything else I have ever grown for scent hands down no contest, roses, gardenias, other jasmine etc.!!!!! P. P. S. Tried several other fragrant "gardenia-like" plants. Easier to grow but not impressed with strength/quality of scent on any. Including: African Gardenia (Mitriostigma axillare) & Orange Jasmine (Murraya paniculata) from Logee. Vietnamese Gardenia (Gardenia (Kailarsenia) vietnamensis) from Top Tropicals, & Double-Flowering Crape Jasmine (tabernaemontana divaricata 'flore pleno') from Kartuz greenhouses, also super slow 1st year. All outdoor pots in Fremont, CA, acid-loving potting soil, & no fertilizer till 2nd year just to be safe.

Gardenia is notoriously famous for being extremely temperamental about being grown in a container......and forget about trying to grow one inside! I encourage you to read this very old, very long, and very funny thread resurrected from earlier Gardenweb days. "So you want to grow a gardenia" Gardenias should only be sold in garden centers to people who live in a climate where it can be planted outside.