Question
QUESTION: My gardenia plant leaves have turned yellow, waxy looking but not all, some of the leaves turned brown then dried, I pruned them off, never had a problem with them before what gives?

The rose plants have black spots, some leaves turn yellow, dry up and I pluck them, is this a fungus or aphid, more concerned with gardenias, a fight to keep the temperamental plants going than roses but concerned about both, azaleas have greenishbrown looking leaf, they are encore's, pigmy azaleas doing the same, my green thumb is turning diff colors as well LOL HELP! PLEASE!

Thank u,

Gary Robinson

ANSWER: Hi Gary...I believe your problem with your gardenia is fall and some leaves are falling off.  Every plant will loose leaves sooner or later.  All of my gardenias in pots or in the ground are doing the same thing.  Just nature at work.

Roses are a different story..if you have new roses black spot can be a serious problem.  Pulling off those yellow leaves and spraying is continual on that type of rose.  If you have antique or old roses they heal themselves.  This year with longer heat and little water has made it a tough year for roses.  Also the chile thrip has done alot of damage on the roses this year in Florida, curling the leaves and causing die back.  

Azaleas also need to be sprayed during the heat of the summer.  The bugs love to suck on their leaves too.  You should notice that the new leaves coming out are looking much better on all your plants now.

We use Neem Oil at the nursery on all our plants.  It is 100 percent pure so read labels.  It is a fungicide and miticide to stop the sucking and leaf eating bugs in their tracts.  I does not wash off and is organic.  It builds up over sprayings and once applied if the problem comes back you need only to spray the new growth that it is effecting.

Happy Gardening kathy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the answer Kathy that explained a lot except what do I need to spray the Azaleas with and what do I need to feed the roses with. ARE the spots on the roses a fungus or???

Thanks again

Answer
Hi again...As I explained in my last paragraph all your plants can be sprayed with neem oil.  It will cover everything.  Rose spot is a fungus and the oil will take care of that and also your azaleas.  To me it is the perfect spray.  If you know of a plant that has a problem every year, spray it before it happens to protect it.  

I use a 10-10-17 fertilizer from Florikan on my roses,it does not pollute or Osmocote.. in the ground going organic you can use manure, fish, mulch and good watering to keep them happy....Happy Thanksgiving kathy