I live in Zone 9 and my potted gardenia's leaves are beginning to turn yellow and there are no buds. Help!

Question

I live in Zone 9 and my potted gardenia's leaves are beginning to turn yellow and there are no buds. Help!

Answer 1

Okay, Wait! Don't go fertilizing and all sorts of other stuff. Do a soil test! It could be that your soil is perfectly acidic already and your gardenia has an iron deficiency. If the leaves are yellow with dark brown veins you've over watered.  Green veins might need iron. Go to your local (the smaller the better!) feed and seed store and find a soil testing kit. Test the PH, and ask the owner. I have found that the owners of the stores know quite a good bit of info on what plants do in your own region. You may very well be in zone 9, but that means very little to a plant!  Put some compost around the base; I've never found a plant that doesn't thrive on compost. I've also never had a plant that hates chicken manure, but be sure to work it into the soil.

Have fun. Gardening is cathartic even on the hot days!

Answer 2

Usually a plant won't bloom if it does not have enough light, so since it's in a pot you might be able to try moving the plant to a sunnier spot. Since the leaves are yellowing too, there might be another reason for the plant's distress -- and stress can also prevent a plant from blooming.  There are several reasons for yellowing leaves.  Sometimes that's a sign that the plant has outgrown the pot. If you can see the roots starting to come out through the holes in the bottom of the pot, it's time for a bigger pot. The yellowing can also be a sign of nutrient deficiency or improper watering.  I don't think anyone can answer the exact cause of the problem without more information, but hopefully that gives you somewhere to start. Also, if it helps, my own gardenias get some yellow leaves sometimes, and I don't do anything about it -- the plants recover. (Mine are not in pots, though.)

Answer 3

I had a gardenia I bought and placed it in a pot on the south side of my house and it did the same thing. I thought it would do great since I'm in the same zone. The house I live in has a huge gardenia that was planted on the east side of the house under a window. It always flowers, it is right up against the house under the eve, and there is a tree about 100 yards away so it gets light from about 9am to 10:30am. and indirect light the rest of the day. Hope it helps.

Answer 4

you don't give enough info.  try repotting into a bigger pot or into the ground with new soil.  mulch well and water less.

Answer 5

If you're in Zone 9 then the plant is having some hot days.  Keep it out of direct sunlight as the leaves will sunburn.  You're probably not getting any buds because the plant is stressed with the heat.  Keep it in subdued lighting and give it a half dosage of gardenia fertilizer which gives the plant more acid.  They like an acidic soil. I don't believe the leaves are turning yellow because of insufficient watering so don't drown it.  It'll probably come around, esp. when the weather cools off.