Specialty Gardening: Gardenia with Spider Mites, 1 by calypsa

calypsa wrote:
I posted this in the house plant forum, but thought I would post here as well since the gardenias are outdoor plants for part of the year. I have had two little gardenias in pots since last fall. Since coming in for the winter, both of them got spider mites. After several sprayings with a commercial spray designed to get rid of such pests, one of my gardenias is doing fine. He still has many mottled and discoloured leaves, but he is growing happily and I think I will do very well once he goes outside for the summer.

My other gardenia, however, is another story. No matter how much spraying or cleansing I do, I cannot get rid of the spider mites. I have tried three different sprays (1 multi-purpose indoor pesticide spray, 1 spray designed for mites and spiders, and 1 type of paraffin spray designed to coat leaves and smother bugs) and this gardenia looks awful. He has new growth on the tips of his branches, but slowly the new growth turns black. And the spider mites just keep on coming........

Has anyone found a solution for such a nasty infestation? Any suggestions for the best way to treat this poor gardenia?

This is a picture of the unhealthy gardenia:

This message was edited Apr 4, 2006 4:14 PM