Question
All of the leaves on one branch of my gardenia wither , turn brown, and die.  This progresses from one branch to another.  i've already lost one small gardenis, now it has started on another.  I sprayed,used neem oil.  I've inspected for insects, and looked at the roots on the dead gardenia.  Help please.

Answer
Hi Pat.  This is really hard trying to help and guessing, but here goes.  If you bought some inexpensive gardenias, you may be having a problem with nematodes.  Nematodes are small creatures you can't see with your eyes, that live in the ground and clog up the roots of certain plants that are susceptible to them.  To prevent this they graft gardenias, which cost more but eliminate this problem.  If this is the case you could dilute some of the neem and drench your gardenias in it.  The neem company says this works on bugs that kill the grass, so my thought would be why not nematodes.  Also if you could get your hands on some manure and put it around your plants, this will make its way thru the soil and keep them away also.  It is well worth the try...kathy