A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Gardenia care in Georgia

I planted 12 nice sized...about 3-ft each... August Beauty gardenias in my backyard garden in October, '05.
I think I have followed all the care and feed instructions. All the plants survived the winter just fine and have grown about a foot all the way around. But beginning in first week of April I noticed that three of the plants have started turning yellow. About 10% of the leaves
on these plants have now turned bright yellow. Several have dropped off. I am concerned about losing these plants. I have tried to dig up information about this problem by asking around, by talking to local extension service and by searching the web...all to no avail. Earlier this week, I supplemented the soil with an iron sulfate and ammonium sulfate mixture in water. Too early to tell if that has helped or hurt.
Any ideas, any one? Thanks.

Try an iron spray. this has always worked for me also, check the ph of the soil. the iron spryas work more quickly as it is absorbed through the leaves and not the root system. how much sun are they getting? gardenias prefer partial shade- at least mine do. I have august beauties on the northeast side of my home and they do great except when the football finds its way into them...

Happy gardening