I do not use beer, at least not for the plants, so I don't know how beneficial it might be. I just use a fertalizer for acid-loving shrubs. However I have heard of putting used coffee grounds around them. And that would be good for any acid-lovers. I think that the tricky thing is not to give them too much or too little water, or too much or too little sun. Mine are potted and during the summer I have them where they get afew hours of sun. And I do not let the soil dry out completely nor stay saturated. In the winter I give them as much sun as the windows allow and keep them where they are cool but not cold at night. BTW the first few gardenias I had all died and I thought I would never be successful but now I believe that their difficulty is exadurated. Good luck. Jerry

Maybe you didn't hear her right, and she was saying you would have to be fed beer in order to calm you down. Gardenias really need to be outdoors (in a mild climate) or in a greenhouse to shine.

Kline, are you planning on growing the gardenias in containers or the ground?
My 7 year old Gardenia blooms on and off year round. In summer it goes outdoors, winter it's set in a cool room.
During growing season I feed with an azalia/rhodo food. Since I haven't repotted in some time (tree's in a 10" pot) I add 1 capful of vinager to a gallon of water, stir and water. The vinager will help w/soil that has turned alkaline, There are other options to lower pH like adding sulphur but I don't like messing w/it. Vinager is safe.
I've also heard about using coffee grounds, which will work if gardenia is planted outdoors, but it's not a good idea to do this in potted plants that will be set inddors in winter. Good luck.
The only author I know of who uses beer in plants in Jerry Baker, but then he also uses urine on plants..lol..Toni

I don't think beer's a good idea.... as far as I know the alchohol could kill the plant.

gardenias are more refined than that! i think a nice riesling with delicate floral undertones would be more appropriate than beer. ;-)
just kidding.
your winters may be too cold in nw arkansas if you are leaving them outdoors.

Alas an appropriate use for American Light Lager (Bud, Miller, Coors) a.k.a. American Swill. My suspicion is that it's nonsense, but humor your M-I-L and ask her for some beer to test her theory.

I have been know to garden using Newcastle Brown Ale, but the ale is for me noy the plants.

Several years ago when I bought my gardenias, I was told to fertilize them with birth control pills. I was pretty sure that my HMO wasn't going to give a postmenopausal woman an Rx for them, so I posted to GW asking if people had ever heard of such a thing. Several people had heard of it, but no one had ever tried it and no one was able to come up with an explanation of why it should be helpful. But now that I hear about the beer recommendation, I'm beginning to see a pattern...!
Ginny

I agree with Jeff and the nice Riesling, Johannesberg preferably. lol...

Last spring, I decided I was going to try my hand at growing Gardenias after many failed attempts at our previous residence. I went to a local farmer's market and bought a 2 gal. one. It is doing so well and had/has what seems like a hundred buds. As soon as I would clip flowers off for my flower bowls, more buds just kept opening up.

Here's what worked for me: I planted in a well draining soil which was a mixture of supersoil and finely ground bark chips. I also placed at the bottom of the pot larger nugget barks for better aeration.(Do not use a tray under your pots, gardenias don't like sitting in water and prefer for water to run off.) I place my 5 gal. pot in my patio and gets lots of morning sun and full shade after 1pm. I fertilize once a month with Miracle Gro and every other will use Ironite liquid. Someone suggested using a little vinegar to help with the acidity. But I heard that for acid loving plants, Miracle Gro works just fine.

When my gardenias get tired of this routine, I may opt for beer or coffee grounds to see if there's any truth to these helpful tips.

This a really funny thread! I have to bring it back to pg.1 these are great tips for gardenias maybe I might give them another try!

Can you pour beer on plants ? yes
50/50 soulion fifty ffty means add water to delute the beer like fertilizer add also add any kind of plan t food in with the beer because the beer contains yest it is ok to add to any kinds of plants yes even in the garden. it is a natural food source because the beer has alohol in it . you are going to have to delute it.

also the best additive to the beer when deluting it is epson salt it is a natural food for plants it helps . it is a old wives tale that beer works it does when you are low in cash to feed your plants even the expired beer works to that stuff that sat around your refridge for a long time.

I used this and also old tea bags with tea grounds in it. anything can feed medication but i would not use medications if wild life get to it you as the homeowner will be charged for killing the wild life i would never ever use any over the counter meds or birth control pills or any kind of experied medications the cause of that will not only kill the wild wife but it could be in your drinking water that is dumb to do but natural fertilizer like beer is fine when deluted.

best of luck to all