Try feeding it, maybe?

Here's some info from the Univ. of FL:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep338

It might be grafted. I'll get a picture later. I didn't think about it being grafted. That might be the big gnarly looking area. I thought it was weird looking. Grafting didn't occur to me.

You'll never get the sooty mold off the leaves, so don't waste the water. Do, however, spray it with garlic and Dawn in water to knock down the scale. Don't be afraid to cut it back hard. Florida Gardenia is tough to kill. I have one in too much shade that blooms in the summer when it gets the midday sun for a few hours. I recently cut it back to within 24" of the ground and it's full of leaves after less than 90 days.

Also, be sure to put Epsom Salts around it once a year. It tends to get magnesium deficiency (yellow leaves with green veins). I was always told that they needed shade, but that was in Z10, so maybe there they do. When I lived in Bradenton, I had one that did great in full sun.

BTW, they root easily from cuttings, and are fine as long as you grow them in containers with sterile potting soil. It's the nematodes that kill them.

Thanks! I'm gonna need a lot of garlic!

Is this a graft Union? There is a branch growing from below the gnarly part. Should that be pruned? Will the rootstock overtake a gardenia in the same way it will with roses?

From the front. **SMILE** you're on candid camera!

Hard to tell, but maybe. It looks like the bush froze back at some time and came back out. If it's relatively healthy, I'd leave it alone.

Gardenias are grafted onto wild cherry, not other gardenias, so no, the rootstock won't take over the original graft. If the original graft dies, you won't have a gardenia.

Well that's a fascinating little tidbit! I had no idea they didn't graft into a hardier species of gardenias. That's really cool.

I'll leave the poor plant alone for now. It still has several crossing branches that need to be removed but I am waiting until it gets some new growth.

Gardenia jasminoides is very susceptible to nematodes in the sandy Florida soils. They graft them onto Gardenia thunbergia, a South African gardenia that is resistant to nematodes. Further north into Florida and the Deep South, there is heavier, clay soil which usually don't have nematode infestations. You usually can grow gardenias ungrafted, on their own roots.

It is very rare for the G. thunbergia rootstock to take over. G. jasminoides is a pretty vigorous grower and maintains dominance unless the plant is cut below the graft then G. thunbergia will be what regrows. Gardenia thunbergia itself is a nice plant and I don't know why its not grown more as a specimen instead of just used as a rootstock. It grows to around 10-12ft, makes a nice smaller tree. The flowers are white and fragrant and are "flatter" and more pinwheel shaped. It also flowers on and off all year. It is less hardy than G. jasminoides, freezes back below about 23-24F.

Looks like yours might be the cultivar 'Fortuniana'. This is an older variety that was very common or possibly 'Miami Supreme'.

Thank you!