Several years ago, a friend told me that her Gardenias benefit from an occasional application of coffee grounds round their drip zone. I did this off and on and dont' really know if it had any effect. I can't recall what time of year I did this. I since moved to a new house with some medium-sized gardenias in the yard.
Last week I thought I'd try coffee grounds on the smallest of my Gardenias. Several days later I found that nearly all the leaves had dropped off. About half of the remaining leaves are brown around the edges. Anyone know why? Anything I can do? It sure seems that it was the coffee that did it, since the other Gardenias are absolutely fine. Any help appreciated.
Deb
Gardenia plus coffee grounds not so good?
I doubt the coffee grounds were the culprit, especially since you've used them before and had no trouble in the past. I'm assuming you applied them to the top of the ground, or did you try to work them in with a trowel/rake or what not? Also, you probably applied used grounds, not fresh ones?
Sounds like the plant is drying up or could have been affected by extreme cold or dry winds. Do you remember what the low temps were in the past week or so?
Gardenias can be a bit finicky sometimes and there are a gazillion things that could "go wrong" making it difficult to figure out without seeing them firsthand.
Do you know the name of the one that is sickly? And is it a different variety than your other ones?
Shoe.
Thanks for answering. They were used grounds and just sort of spread around the base of the plant. We've had alot of weird weather, cold them warm, but that week was average. This gardenia is one of 3 along a wall, about 10 feet apart. This one was slightly smaller than the other two, which was why I decided to "Treat" it.
The other two look happy as can be. There was a very unusual hard freeze about 10 days earlier.
Here's a closeup, maybe it's from the cold?
Deb
Here's the whole thing....
Deb, that is wierd but since this plant was smaller to begin with, perhaps there are other issues it is dealing with. Have you taken a soil sample in that area recently? Leaf burn can be caused by so many different things; I would start by trying to figure out what is missing or over abundant in the soil right around that plant. As an example, it appears to be quite close to your foundation and Gardenias do not like lime which leaches from the cement. Are the others right along the foundation too?
I am pretty sure your coffee grounds did not cause this.
Thanks, Ardesia: Maybe it was the cold snap. The others are just as near the foundation and look ok, but they looked better during the summer as well. Also this one also gets a bit less sun during summer. So, as you say, it may be "other issues". I will try checking the soil. I was just so surprised because I've never had trouble with gardenias before. ..and the timing.
Appreciate your help.
Deb
PS/Prob'ly won't be taking any soil samples for a few days, since we had 3" of rain today! :)
Us too, I was afraid my kayak might float across the garden.
Thanks for taking pics...that sure helps.
Looks like leaf scorch in that first picture. And like Ardesia said it comes from several factors but most prevalent is wind burn and/or drying. The wind burn will dessicate the plant and cause the leaves to dry up. Also, scorch comes from inadequate water, and that doesn't necessarily mean you're not watering enough but possibly that the roots are damaged and not transferring the water into the plant. Also, if the soil is waterlogged, that too would cause a decrease of water moving into the plant as it would cause root rot and you'd have very few roots able to transfer the water.
Since you mentioned you've recently moved there you don't really know how long the plants have been planted (or do you?) The plant in question might've been small/sickly/weak to begin with or maybe it wasn't planted with as much care? Or maybe it was planted where an herbicide was once used? Or maybe it is where rains that run off the roof fall directly on it or the downspout gutter is too close to the plant (again causing root rot, etc). I'd also check and see if the crown of the rootball is set too deeply in the ground; the top of the root ball should be slightly above ground level for good drainage.
Welp, getting a bit too long-winded here, ain't I! :>)
Hope this is helpful cause I love gardenias, have about 4 or 5 varieties now and locals are calling me the gardenia king because I have so many!
Shoe.
Shoe: Thanks for the ideas. You're right, I don't know how or when these 3 gardenias were planted as they were here already. I have my suspicions, since when we moved in there were 5 of a smaller variety sitting in the back yard, still in their nursery pots, that had been there so long that they had substantial roots that had grown out the bottoms of the pots, well into the ground. Had to cut the pots off to replant them. (All 5 survived and look great, btw.)
The one's in question are probably getting run-off from the roof as well. I will continue to "investigate".
Thanks very much for your help,"gardenia king"! ;>
Deb
I have beautiful gardenias here but the most beautiful I have ever grown were at my home in Summerville back in the late 60's/early 70's. I think the climate there is just perfect for them. I didn't know a lot about plants in those days and didn't do anything to them but they bloomed so heavily the branches used to bend over from the weight of the many flowers.
That has been my experience with them also, Ardesia. Shade or sun. I have them all around our back screened porch and the fragrance is amazing.
Deb