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mersiepoo

My gardenia....

mersiepoo
16 years ago

has BUDS ON IT!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA.....

Just had to gloat...sorry! I hope it doesn't know I'm typing this, if so the buds will turn black and fall off.

Comments (24)

  • snasxs
    16 years ago

    I thought what big deal ... however that is, like, 3 months later than mine :-P Link to my thread - the first Gardenia of 2008.

    BTW, I do not really read their minds. My success starts with a soil-humidity meter. After a while, I am so used to the pot. I know when is the best time to water. It is all about watering, fertilizer and light.

    As far as my plant concerned, temperature or humidity have little impact to their health. Temperature does decide the mode - either vegetative growth with no flower, or time to set buds, or time to mature and open buds.

  • beetle_2007
    16 years ago

    Congratulations mersiepoo!!!! Thats Wonderful!! Are you going to post pics of your beauties?

  • mersiepoo
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Snasxs, coulnd't see the pics unfortunately..they had the broken link thingie..no image. :( Congrats on your gardenia blooming, that is wonderful!! :)

    Thanks beetle, I will post some pics soon so you guys don't think I'm lying, ha ha! :D

  • snasxs
    16 years ago

    Mersie, I remember you posted a picture of your Gardenia last year, together with your son. So I guess you are being honest with us ;-)

    The pictures should be available now. Everyone sees these. Please try again the first Gardenia of 2008.

    C

  • mersiepoo
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Ok, here are the pics of the buds, they aren't really big yet (not enough sun) but hopefully they'll bloom sooner than later. :) I have a grow light on them but they need sun I think.
    I'm taking bets on when they will bloom....? :)

    Can you spot the asian lady beetle on the gardenia? Sort of like "Where's Waldo", ha ha!

  • snasxs
    16 years ago

    The lady beetles are not from Asian exclusively. Most of them are from Europe. So the proper name is Euro-Asian lady beetles.

  • beetle_2007
    16 years ago

    Way to go mersipoo!! I spotted her, [bottom right] Your garenia looks great!! It may bloom for you under lights..mine does.As for when they will bloom, I'm guessing 3 weeks from now.Good luck, and please post more wonderful pics when she blooms? Have a Great day!

  • mersiepoo
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I knew it...it heard me bragging on the phone to my mom...curses! I should have whispered instead!!! Now it's leaves are turning yellow, I think it may be because I started rotating it. I lifted the pot up and saw roots coming out of the bottom too.

  • snasxs
    16 years ago

    mersiepoo, it surely is NOT the cause.

    Your plant is struggling at the edge of live-or-die.

    I think your potting mix is clearly TOO HEAVY. Please use more and more peat moss, orchid mix and perlite.

  • puglvr1
    16 years ago

    Hi mersiepoo,

    How exciting, you have BUDS!! I'm sure you'll get the yellow leaves under control, your plants seems happy...I am anxiously waiting and hoping for buds on my recently purchased gardenias myself :o) ,wish me luck! I will need it, LOL...

  • mersiepoo
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I think I was overwatering it too, I had added more gravel and didn't make sure that it was on top of it, so the water was pooling near the bottom. Ha ha! Otherwise it seems okay, thank God for Terra Cotta!

    Snasxs, if the potting soil got any lighter, it would be air, as it's mostly peat and sand, with some potting soil added in.

    We shall see what happens, I KNOW it knew i was talking about it....

    Puglvr 1, GOOD LUCK with your gardenia! Just assume you are going to kill it and it will do GREAT for you. But do NOT under ANY circumstances let it HEAR you bragging about how well it's doing. I am serious, they KNOW.....

  • snasxs
    16 years ago

    Mersiepoo,

    This is quite unfortunate. I feel you. You were so happy in your first post. What a drag.

    Sitting in water plus low temperature are the causes. If you would keep the low above 60 F, it would be fine.

    Also I think gardenia do not like sand. You see "sand" is in the word "sandy loam";-) I remember a humorous author wrote "Gardenia love acid. It will faint by a mere mentioning of sandy loam."

    Why not use orchid mix - tree barks - with peat moss? My gardenia tells me that she loves large chunks of barks. Her roots can comfortably touch around these airy items. Both orchid mix and peat moss are quite cheap.

    The pictured plant of mine has 5 new buds opening today. It looks like a bouquet. How lovely! Please do not worry, I will not post anything.

    C

  • mersiepoo
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Hi Snasxs! I'm not worried...Yet. I found it had been sitting in water near the bottom of the pot. I had kept adding gravel around the pot and didn't realize that the lower end of the pot was totally waterlogged. Oopsie! I remedied the situation, hopefully the gardenia will forgive my sins and be okay. I dare say it, but (whispering) the buds are *still* on the plant..shhhhh, don't tell it I told you all.

    Post some pics of your gardenia, It'll give me HOPE, ha ha!!

  • beetle_2007
    16 years ago

    Here is a little hope lol!! Some of the stages of these wonderful blooms!


    I even think the finnished flower is sweet.

  • jimshy
    16 years ago

    My gardenia 'Kleim's Hardy' is hardly alive outside, despite the mild winter we've been having . . .

    Stems are barely green and seem to have some sort of black, fungal infection on them, leaves are non-existent; there's no way I'm disturbing the roots in February to see how they're doing . . .

    I think I'm going to write a song to the tune of Run DMC's "My Adidas" called, "My Gardenias", sing along with me:

    My Gardenias!
    My gardinias they die no matter what I do
    If I knew I'd 've stopped and just bought me a shoe
    With the roots so fine and the leaves so tender
    I should've got a ficus b. and not be a big spender
    my gardenias!
    Huh, hu-huh, huh!

    'Nuf said.

    Jim 'No-Style' Shy

  • puglvr1
    16 years ago

    mersiepoo, thanks for the advise, I will keep that in mind, LOL...

    beetle 2007, very nice flowers, gives me hope for my plant (sigh). Thanks for the pics...

    Jim, sorry to hear about your gardenia, Maybe you can spray some insecticidal soap to control the mold. Good luck, we are pulling for you. On a lighter note, GREAT SONG!! ha, ha, very funny... (o:

  • littlem_2007
    16 years ago

    hello, congrats on the blooms. mine has a couple of buds but no blooms.
    mersie, i stuck a bamboo skewer thru the soil and out the drainage hole - left it like that: it actually helps to drain out any water that is at the bottom of the pot. i leave the skewer in place and it helps to keep the plant from being overwatered. there is a thread on container gardening where the poster gave a detailed account of why and how this works. good luck with your gardenia.
    sue

  • ccooke
    16 years ago

    HELP, I have a neighbor who wants my 93 year old Mom's gardenia cut down because it is tooooooo tall.

    We are selling her house and I would like to know if I can take this huge shrub from Pompano Beach, Florida to Denver, NC, just north of Charlotte, NC.

    It is beautiful and it blooms 2 times every year. Even though the garden center tells me I am wrong. But it does, and that is why it is sooo big. hundreds of beautiful flowers 2 times a year.

    If I can't take it with me, is anyone interested in taking it?

    Thanks, carolcooke631@aol.com

    The neighbor put town code notice in our mail box today regarding the size of the plant as it is along the chain link fence that goes down to the sea wall of the canal we live on. And code say you aren't to have any plants higher than the chain link fence to block a view! But the neighbor has a deck built over her seawall!! There is 12- 15 feet of open fence with no blocked view HELP

  • snasxs
    16 years ago

    Carol,

    Can you post a picture of the plant?

    It helps us to give you a solution. Large outdoor gardenia usually do not survive moving.

  • ccooke
    16 years ago

    I have to down load one that I took yesterday.

    If I can't move it. How do I takes branches and start rooting them? I have never done that before.

    Thanks

    Carol

  • mersiepoo
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Littlem thanks for the info, I'll try that. I felt the soil and it was very damp, I'm letting the soil dry out but still misting the leaves, they are still turning yellow (some of the new ones near the buds just stay light green and turn whitish/yellow and drop off. The weird thing is, some of the other leaves are fine, the far branches are doing okay. I laid off the watering and brought the pot to where it was before, laying on the gravel instead of buried in it.

    Beetle, great pictures! Thanks for sharing....

    Jimshy LOVED the rhymes, ha ha! Maybe you gardenia will do better once it gets warmer out...

    Snasxs thank you for the suggestion about using orchid mix..that is a good idea! I'm planning on killing a vanilla orchid (maybe) this spring, so we'll see how that goes. :)

  • jimshy
    16 years ago

    Carol,

    Gardenias, especially old, well-established ones, can take heavy pruning and recover, so why not suggest cutting it back instead of termination w/extreme prejudice?

    Rooting cuttings of gardenia is not easy; you'll need to use rooting hormone, have a tray of perlite or cutting mix ready, and a misting system of some sort to have a good chance of success. How about contacting a local nursery and see if they'd be interested in getting some cuttings of this amazing plant?

    Jim

  • mersiepoo
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Ok, here is what it looks like now, the leaves are turning yellow on some stems and the one bud fell off, but some of the stems that are further out seem to be okay. Weird!

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