Question
I received a gardenia house plant for mother's day. How do i  take care of it? the leaves are turning yellow and are falling off.

Answer
Hi Cordelia,

Gardenias produce lush, white flowers with a magnificent scent. They are an irresistible plant, but are one of the more difficult plants to grow and bloom indoors successfully, so much so that they may best be used as a seasonal plant and discarded after they have finished flowering. Gardenias are not easy to bloom indoors because they have rather strict temperature requirements.

The immediate cause of the yellow leaves is probably either poor light or allowing the soil to become too dry - even once. Move your Gardenia to a sunny windowsill and be sure to water as soon as the surface of the soil is almost, but not completely dry.

I assume your Gardenia arrived with lots of open flowers. Flowers are initially white and become a pale yellow as they mature. Individual flowers last 4 to 7 days and turn brown on the edges if handled too much. Unopened buds  are very temperature sensitive and will blast or fall off if temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees F. are not strictly maintained. Be sure to disturb the in-bud Gardenia as little as possible. Do not repot or fertilize it.

Enjoy the flowers while they last and then discard the plant unless you have an environment where you can attempt to meet the challenging requirements described below.

Gardenias are extremely difficult to get to re-bloom successfully. Unless you are experienced with plants, I think you should put your time and energy someplace else more rewarding. When the flowers are finished, you can keep your Gardenia near a sunny window and no longer worry about warm temperatures. 6-8 hours per day of direct sunlight, high humidity, and acidic soil (5.0 pH) are also important for maintaining Gardenias long term. The soil must be kept evenly moist at all times, but not wet. Water whenever the surface of the soil feels just barely damp. Avoid repotting until it is utterly potbound. Use an acid fertilizer, such as Miracid, at half-strength during the growing season, usually from March to October.

In the fall, allow Gardenia temperatures to fall to about 50 to 60 degrees F. at night and no more than 70 degrees during the day. You must maintain these cool temperatures through the fall and winter if you want buds to set. Once buds form it is important to maintain temperatures in the 55 to 65 degree F. range or they will fall off. Of course, good light and careful monitoring of the soil to keep it moderately moist is also critical during this time. There are few things more disheartening than to see fat Gardenia buds fall off because the temperature got a bit too warm or the soil a bit too dry.

It is difficult for most people to provide these conditions. Some are satisfied to keep a Gardenia as a foliage plant.

I have written an article on Gardenia, Azalea and Camellia care that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who sends 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  www.HorticulturalHelp.com