A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2003 Yellow leaves on my Gardenia

I am staying for the whole winter in the Florida Keys and have just recently gotten a Gardenia. I only water it once a week, or if the soil is dry. I keep it outside in the sunshine. Now some of the leaves are yellow and some of the yellow leaves still have some green on them. Help, what should I do??

I have only had experience with Gardenias indoors since they won't survive our winters outside. However it has been my experience that they like to be kept evenly moist, bright light, and require special fertilizer. Yellowing leaves is usually overcome by using a fertilizer which is formulated for acid loving plants, try using a product put out by the makers of Miracle Gro, it is called Miracid. The NPK should be 30-10-10. Gardenias are also very susceptible to spider mites so you might want to mist the plant frequently (avoid getting any water on the blooms). Good luck!