Question
Bought a gardenia plant a few days ago.  It has about 8 "buds" on it now.  I discovered a web on many of the leaf clusters and determined spider mites. I read a concoction of Dish liquid and water to get rid of them, but I haven't been able find out the formula that will do the job and not harm the plant.  Could you please give me the info I need and if you please any additional help to keep it alive and blooming?   Thank you.  Mike

Answer
Hi Mike,

My first suggestion is that you return the Gardenia because it had spider mites when you purchased it. Below I will explain how to treat the mites, but you should know that there is a very good chance that the existing buds will fall off as a result of this treatment or any other. In addition, Gardenias are among the most difficult plants to get to bloom, stay in bloom and re-bloom. You may want to re-think your purchase of a Gardenia.

A small squirt of liquid dish soap in a spray bottle - just enough to make the water slippery - will do just fine. The key is to get complete coverage of all leaf and stem surfaces (tops and bottoms) until they are dripping wet. If the solution misses just a few of these critters, they will reproduce and come back to haunt you in a month or two. Small plants can be inverted and swirled around in a sink filled with soapy water. That guarantees complete coverage.

The difficulty with Gardenias is that their buds are very temperature sensitive and blast or fall off if temperatures between 55 and 65 F. are not strictly maintained. They also require lots of very bright, but indirect light such as you get outdoors in light shade or indoors on a north or east windowsill. Finally, they are not forgiving of even occasional watering lapses. In general, when they are tightly potted (as they should be because repotting causes buds to blast and flowering to stop), the soil should be watered as soon as the surface is almost dry.

I have written an article on Gardenia care and another on treating indoor plant pests that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who emails a request to me at [email protected].

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

Visit my website at: A link to PlantCareExperts.com