Kooshball,
Clay soil must be amended with vermiacite and sand.
They have to have great drainage.
At this point, you can dig them up, gently, amend the current soil with sand and vermicite, and when you replant them, mound them up. At least 6-8 inches. Plant them higher. Then lightly mulch with either pine straw or finely ground pine mulch. Not too close to the stems.
Don't feed it any more til next spring, just make sure it doesn't dry out this winter.
It's the soil. Relax, they'll be fine.
You have no choice but to amend that soil, clay soil is horrible for gardenia.(unless you amend it and mound them up)
If you don't, they will all die one by one by next summer.
Good Luck!

Kooshball,

Please don't miss the point that butterfly4u made.

Number 1, the soil, then 2, don't feed.

All the Iron and Salts will not help if your roots are not content. It will only aggravate your plant. It should be fine if you make the roots happy first..:-)

I did amend the clay soil with the compost (it drains very well now; I tested before I planted). I also did plant each of the gardenias above the grade (4" - 6"). The bed is in front of my foundation, next to my porch and has a slight slope away from the house. Even without mounding the drainage should be good b/c there is no runoff "up hill" to impact the plants. The bed is mulched with triple shredded hardwood mulch.

At first I thought drainage but then when the "highest and driest" one looked good and the "lowest and wettest" one also looked good I got confused.

With the additional details is the consensus still the soil for those two middle plants?

Well, if everything is exactly the same as the other two and they are doing well, then only one thing can happen.

Since they are newly planted , either the two good ones will react the same way as the others and decline, or the two that you are having problems with will just correct themselves over time and get better..

If everything you provide is just right for them, exactly the same as it seems you are suggesting, such as mentioned above, they will do well, all together overtime...I wouldn't worry then, just be patient..

Hopefully the latter will happen. Remember, no two anything alive are exactly the same, nor react the same..One may go into shock, while another a bit stronger may not...Who's to know which plant will tolerate more than another beforehand..

Goodluck! Let us know what happens...:-)

If they were grown in a greenhouse or in Florida which is like a greenhouse outdoors ;) then the shock of being shipped and then planted can cause yellowing and leaf drop.

Kooshball, your Gardenia could be sufferiing from shock..So some leaf drop is normal. Patience is the key.

There is one other thing that should be mentioned..Have you inspected your new Gardenias for insects? Spider Mites, Mealy, etc?
Insect infestation will cause leaves to yellow than drop. Look for webbing..white patches..Brown lumps.

As for iron, Epsom Salts, etc..I use iron 2-3 times a year for certain plants, including Gardenias.
But, with new plants, the only suppliment added is Superthrive..Some people like it, others don't..

I doubt Salt/Iron set your gardenia back...I would definately hold off on fertilizer until spring or once new growth forms.

BTW, what type of compost did you use? Was it bagged? Aged? How does it help for draining purposes? I would think it'd do the opposite...
If you didn't buy compost, what mediums did you use? I've been trying to find the recepie for some time...(for potted plants.)

I am not sure if the plants were grown in a greenhouse but I did buy direct from the grower here in NC so there is no chance of regional relocation issues (greenhouse maybe but I am not sure).

I will not be adding any fertilizers until spring and the only thing that I added during planting was bio-tone.

The compost was bought in bulk (1 cubic yard dumped in my truck bed) from a much place. The only description offered was "Certified Compost: 100% composted materials from food grade production residuals, yard trimmings, and aged sawdust. This product is very light and fluffy and includes the nutrients necessary for healthy planting and for reseeding yards."

I mixed this 2:1 compost:existing clayish soil and did end up with good drainage (via the puddle method).

I think I will poke around this weekend with a moisture probe to see if there are major differences in the soil under each plant. I have previously checked for bugs but didn't see anything I will check again and maybe apply a pesticide just in case.

kooshball,

I think your missing the whole point...Sorry..:-(

Please re-read these post that all have helped you with, and try to find a common theme in all of them. The same word was mentioned 3x or more between all of them.

When you get that, you will finally figure your problem, and then be able to relax..

Goodluck...;-)

Took a few of the leaves to the nursery yesterday and was told that pests were a contributing factor. I have treated all the plants and will see what happens.

Thanks