Helen,

I'm so sorry about your plant. Gardenias are great and it is difficult to watch a plant decline - especially the second one.

A couple thoughts:

First of all, was this plant in a black nursery pot either before or after the repotting? If not, were either of the pots (before or after) a dark color? And where was it located - in full all-day sun or full half-day sun? Plants do not like cooked roots and every year, right at this time, we get posts from people who say something has suddenly changed with a plant that was doing fine. In late May, when it starts to get really hot, the sun heats up the roots in the pot and the plant deteriorates. Plants do not like cooked roots. Remember, for plants in the ground, the roots never get heated or cooked - they stay cool all the time. So for potted plants, you should do your best to replicate that by using light-colored pots and positioning them, if possible, so that the pot does not heat up. This would be my best guess at what caused the decline of your plant.

Second, what kind of potting mix did you use for the repotting? For most readily-available bagged potting mixes, it is best to mix them with some pine bark fines (finely ground pine bark mulch) for better drainage. Walmart sells it in a purple bag. It is labeled "Pine Bark Mulch" but it looks like ground up pine bark. Most plants do not like heavy, thick, mucky potting mixes that retain water forever.

Hope your cute little plant revives!

Carol in Jacksonville

It's a possibility, Helen. Feel the side of the pot in midday. Then imagine what it would feel like if you were able to stick your hand about a foot underground. Compare.

We have this type of problem posted at this time every year: "My plant was doing just great until a week or two ago!" It's often cooked roots. It just doesn't get that hot until May and then the problems appear. Roots in a pot are not in the same conditions as roots in the ground. Makes for an unhappy plant, especially in those black plastic nursery pots.

One of the things I do, if a plant must stay in a pot, is put it in a crowded area in my garden where it is surrounded by other plants that can provide shade for the pot. Another option is to just move the plant to an area where it is in shade all the time.

I'm so sorry. I hope you can make for better conditions and get your little guy happy again!

Carol

Hi Helen, I saw your cross post in the Southern Gardening forum and that you purchased a Tahitian Gardenia. They are gorgeous plants! Yay for you!

They are very, very sensitive to wet roots. See this thread for lots of good information which I hope is helpful:

A Rare find at Lowes today...

It would also be helpful to add your city and zone to your profile so that others can help you better for your conditions.

Eager to hear back how your plants are doing,

Carol

Hi Carol - I thought I posted and then couldn't find it! I am in Royal Palm beach, FL I think that is zone 10. or 11. Thank you for linking all these posts :) I'm new to this forum! A Master Gardener told me Tahitians are good for this area and they can go in the ground (most die here due to nematodes). Though this particular plant is to replace the one that is dying. So I want it to live on my patio. I'm ready to bring the dying gardenia into the nursery at the botanical garden and see if they can help. I will check out that link

Welcome to the forum! I'm glad you are here!

Read that thread about Tahitian Gardenias - and don't give up before getting to the bottom. The most useful posts are closer to the bottom of the thread.

Carol

I read the full thread. This one is also a double but I got it from a nursery in Lake Worth. I have never seen these in the big box stores. the one that looks like it is dying is the August Beauty from home depot. I also have a miami supreme in a big pot doing well and one that I hadn't realized is a tree in my yard (also a Miami Supreme). I LOVE fragrance. I've recently bought a few orchids for fragrance. So for attempting to treat the root rot. I am pretty sure that is what killed this plant. I went up too much in size on the pot and the roots got damp. The soil was the miracle grow cactus citrus - so it 'should' be well draining.. mixed with a little perlite. So if I repot - should I just prune the whole thing back to nothing and see what happens? I may run it over to Mounts Botanical - maybe they can help if I get lucky :)

Hi Carol

I hope this thread is still open. I found it while searching for issues with my Gardenias. I Have 7 potted ones that I transplanted to the flower bed about 2 months back. I hardened them first for about a month to get them used to the climate and heat. They are under a fairly large tree so they can have partial sun, direct would be too harsh I think, I'm in AZ. They have been doing well and acclimated very well. They have even been blooming. A couple of them have a couple branches on them where the leaves are getting burnt edges but very odd burn, like dry white edges. I'm used to seeing brown or yellow. They are on two different plants and separated and have about the same amount of light direct sun light. they ate watered daily with drips. Do you know what the white edges mean?

Thanks in advance

Jeff R

Hi, Jeff,

I'm not sure what is going on. A few pictures would be helpful. It could be sunburn, but it sounds like you acclimated them in advance - and then to a semi-shady spot.

(I think gardenias, at least in Florida, can be acclimated to full, all-day sun. I have some that get hot, all-afternoon sun.)

Try posting a few pictures here and see if others here can help? I am not sure what is causing those white leaf edges.

Carol