Ken,

The Gardenia was fine after I removed the shrubbery shading it. It wasn't fully covered but in the midst of it. Anyway, it greened up nicely and budded & flowered all summer into fall. The flowers were small, though - Could be a lack of nutrients.

The yellowing of the leaves began about two weeks ago. I see little black pindots on the underside of the leaves, which tells me there is something attacking it. We've had some 73 degree nights, but I don't believe the cooler temperatures to be the culprit because we have the same Gardenia up in the mountains (we also have a coffee farm / orange orchard), where it can go to about 60 degrees during the winter.

Some of the roots are exposed. That may be an issue. I am going to place a wide collar of stones around the base and fill it in. I will also fertilize and spray with a bio-control home remedy. That whole area has a little shading in the corner, creating a haven for white fly, which are all over the lemon tree and Maltese Cross hedge. I think that should do it.

Thank you and all others for the recommendations and comments...Greatly appreciated!

Maria Elena

my point was... on an evergreen plant ... the injury to the leaf.. can be months prior to the result of the injury ... and once injured ... other things attack ...

just speculating ...

and do wait until other reply before you go slathering on remedies ...

ken

I do understand what you mean. I think the plant will be fine with a little TLC. If not, I agree with you...chop, chop!

By bio control, I mean a mixture of 4 tablespoons baking soda, 1 tablespoon each peppermint mouthwash, cooking oil & alcohol to a gallon of water and a squirt of dishwashing liquid. I have been using it on my houseplants for years. Kills spider mites and helps control flying insects.I squirt it on all my epiphyles and on the christmas / thanksgiving cactus.

I know the soil could use some Epsom Salt and coffee grounds, as well, to acidify the soil for greater flower production. I have begun doing this with the roses and have seen great results.

It does not look like an insect at all, certainly not a "borer" as you insist in the other thread. It appears to be a disease, but not one I recognize. It was suggested that it is a rust fungus, but I am not aware of any such rust agent that affects gardenia.

There are fungal disorders, bacterial diseases, and virus.

Biocontrol, by the way, is the use of living organisms against a pest.....parasites, predators, and natural disease agents. Your suggested methods are a form of chemical control, though not the toxic commercial pesticides.

Biocontrol solutions include ladybugs, lacewings, parasitic wasps, bacillus thuringiensis, and others. These are used to control a wide assortment of insect pests.

Again, I see zero indication of insect activity on your plant.

OK, thank you.

I visually inspected the Gardenia and saw bugs on it but I'm in a tropical climate and there are bugs everywhere. if everyone is telling me that those pin dots and browned areas are not a sign of a bug, that's all I needed to know. I'll just spray it, feed it, and add soil to improve its environment. If its appearance doesn't improve I'll just replace it with a flowering hedge.

What I use are actually called "Garden Tonics," which are included under the category of biocontrol measures because they sometimes do incorporate blended bugs into the mix. I just don't take it that far.

This is the insect that I see on the Gardenia. It's all over it and is very small... I didn't even see it when I took the picture.

Someone emailed me and suggested it was a fly. It obviously is not. A fly would have moved away the moment I touched the leaf... It certainly would not have stuck around for the photo shoot.

Thanks again for all your comments. They are much appreciated.

After carefully considering the comments posted by wiscositom on my original post and by Ken & Rhizo here, I have decided to view this from another angle.

I cut off all the unsightly and spindly growth, placed a collar of stones around the base, filled with new soil, and ferlilized, adding a little epsom salt. The Gardenia seems to be responding positively. After just 2 weeks, there are new green leaves and buds coming in.

We just enjoyed a cold front, with lots of rain and temps at 70 - 84 degrees. That was definitely a big plus. I recall we had a rather dry season last summer, which very likely contributed to the poor health of this plant. Will post an update with photo once it has filled in.

Hi, everyone!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you once again for your help, especially wiscositom on my original post and Ken and Rhizo here, who really made me rethink my approach to solving this issue.

It's been 3 weeks since I applied the above measures. The Gardenia hasn't filled out yet but it's well on its way.

We have beautiful large green leaves (without a speck of brown spot), a bud at each terminal branch, and yes folks, a flower! I just had to share that with you.