can I help gardenias this late?

8 years ago

I think I have come to the conclusion that my gardenias are lacking nutrients and need fertilizer. I tried briefly reading and it says gardenias leaves turn yellow when deficient and need to raise the ph to help.
I thought ph and fertilizer are different. So.. Can someone help me understand wha exactly they are referring to? Do I need fertilizer or just something to raise ph?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

Embothrium
8 years ago
They were talking about the whole thing turning yellowish green. What you have instead is the oldest leaves yellowing and dropping to an excessive degree - check soil moisture, by digging under the mulch and looking at the soil around the plants. Including the potting soil they were in when first planted.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
pH and fertilizers ARE different. But the pH of the soil affects how the plant is able to access nutrients. Generally with an acid loving plant like a gardenia you would want to lower the pH, not raise it....it is the lack of a sufficiently low pH that restricts or limits the plant's ability to access the nutrients it needs.

But I agree that plant looks less like it is suffering a nutrient deficiency than it is some other cultural condition that is not to its liking.
Related Professionals
Chula Vista Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Hilo Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Athens Landscape Contractors · Moline Landscape Contractors · Marquette Landscape Contractors · Bozeman Landscape Contractors · Crestview Home Builders · Augusta Home Builders · Pittsburg Home Builders · Louisville Home Builders · Covington Home Builders · Southaven Home Builders · Lynchburg Home Builders · Greenfield Home Builders · Brattleboro Home Builders
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
did you leave out the fact that these were part of your big project.. and just planted this spring ...

IF SO ....

no plant holds its leaves forever ... the older leaves are internal ... and perhaps they were/are being sacrificed due to planting stresses ...

when its this MINOR... LIKE THIS .. it means.. imo ... that you just barely missed doing it perfectly .. and its just shedding some older leaves.. a little earlier than it might normally do.. in fall ...

IF I AM RIGHT ... and you just missed... barely ... then reacting and going over the edge.. with all kinds of voodoo .... it would simply be wrong ...

i would water properly thru the rest of winter [in my MI ... i dont water in winter] ... lets see how they leaf out in spring.. and IF you still have a problem ... then we can figure out whats going on ...

it is sometimes very hard.. to just have faith.. and not screw it up.. by what i might call .. loving them to death ...

if you want to figure out how you just missed... well ... we would need a complete history of how it all went down ... and then we still might not be able to rule out the plants itself ... especially if you planted a hundred plants.. and the only ones that look like this.. are these ...

to repeat ... look to the new growth.. the end tips.. not the old leaves on a plant.. to figure out if you have a current problem ... and yours look fine ... dont over react ...

ken