on a plant that is 3 weeks in the ground .. i would leave it alone.. at least until SPRING .... crikey .. lets not love it to death ...

the black spots are out of focus.. but the first thing i wonder.. could they be soil.. from planting.. 3 weeks ago ...

i am sure that cold is not good for a G ... but its hard to pontificate on such.. not having been there .... but you do NOT give a frost/freeze history ... so i would be hoping for cold and transplant shock at this point ..

it is severely stressed .. its not hungry... and as such... i would be hesitant to covering its leaves with any type of goo ... or feeding it ...

lets wait and see if and how it buds out.. WHEN WINTER ACTUALLY ENDS .. lol ... and go from there ...

are they warrantied by the seller???

finally ... most of us prefer planting in the proper dormant season ... and near bare rooting.. and planting into native soil ... did you pull a plant with a big gob of peat based media.. simply out of the pot.. and stick it in an amended hole??? .. more facts about this ... as it could be problematic ... how much sulfur did you throw in the hole.. and where did you come up with that idea .. maybe the guy who sold sulfur and the plant ???? if it isnt opbvious... i have no clue on your particular TX soil ... and maybe you did it right for there... but we need to address the variable .... if no TX peeps chime in.. you might call your COUNTY extension office.. and ask them.. how to deal with your local soils ...

ken

Ken,

Thanks for your reply. Since it isn't dropping leaves my plan is to just wait and see as the weather improves. As far as planting goes. I did as you said and removed the plant from the pot and put it in the amended soil. The soil here is quite alkaline and is clay rich. I used sulfur to help improve the acidity of the soil as I believe gardenias are acid loving plants. I have a hibiscus a few feet away which I planted a few weeks before that is doing quite well, not that they are comparable but just to say that I find with proper amendments that acid loving plants can still do well in my "unfriendly" clay/alkaline soils.(or at least it hasn't taken a turn for the worse yet)

Best,

Mick

sgreer,

Did you mound the plant up? Did you mix lots of compost into the clay soil and mound it, so the plant is sitting on top of the mound? A small raised bed does the same thing.

Just to let you know, August Beauty is probably the hardiest gardenia you can plant.

They need very good drainage, so mound it up and mulch it good, and then leave it alone. LOL I'm serious. It only needs water when it hasn't rained for a week or so.

Watch the leaves, she will point her leaves to the sky and ask for water when she needs it.

Don't do anything else to it. Good Luck, it'll be fine if you ignore it.

Thanks! I did amend it pretty well. but I didnt raise it above ground level. I did mulch it well. Since the past week has been in the 60s-70s with sun. The plants are looking much healthier.