Question
i bought this braided gardenia a couple days ago. it was in gallon container. had a few yellow leaves and a bunch of buds on it not any opened up yet. it was pretty root bound i put in larger pot. with 1 cubic foot of scotts soil moisture controlled soil. i only added 2 cups of water right on top root ball afterwords i did cut roots about inch deep.is this too big of a pot how much should i water it it is inside in front of window.

Answer
Hi James.

I wish you had contacted me BEFORE you repotted and root pruned, as I would have strongly advised against doing either.

Flowering plants do best and are most likely to bloom when they are kept potbound. In addition, if their roots are disturbed when they are already in bud, then the buds are likely to drop off without ever opening. So your timing was not good.

When you move a plant into a larger pot unnecessarily, there is a very good chance that the excess soil added will retain moisture for too long and slowly cause the roots to rot and then you lose the whole plant.

Because you just recently repotted, it is not too late to undo the repotting by taking your Gardenia out of its new pot, remove the soil you added and put it back into its original pot or one the same size.

Keep your Gardenia on your sunniest windowsill, but also keep it as cool as possible. As soon as the top half-inch of soil feels dry, water it thoroughly until a bit of water trickles through the drain holes. Don't expect it to flower again until it has once again become potbound and that may take a long time.

I have written detailed articles on repotting and on Gardenia care that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who emails a request to me at [email protected]. I have also written an indoor plant care book in a PDF format that I can sell you if you contact me at my email address.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

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