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Gardenias turning yellow and losing leaves
Posted on 3/4/20 at 10:58 am
Posted on 3/4/20 at 10:58 am
I need all the help I can get! I have gardenias planted all around the front and sides of my house. I also have rose bushes and boxwoods but they are fine. The gardenias are all starting to turn yellow and the leaves fall off. My wife thinks it’s because I had my house pressure washed but I started noticing some of them turning yellow and losing leaves prior to that. Any ideas? I don’t see any bugs in them. I can post pictures but I don’t know how, I need all the help I can get! I have gardenias planted all around the front and sides of my house. I also have rosebushes and boxwoods. The gardenias are all starting to turn yellow in the leaves fall off. My wife thinks it’s because I had my house pressure washed but I started noticing some of them turning yellow and losing leaves prior to that. Any ideas? I don’t see any bugs in them. I can post pictures but I don’t know how, LOL
This post was edited on 3/4/20 at 11:02 am
5
Posted on 3/4/20 at 11:10 am to Shoulderchoke
Whiteflies can be an issue with gardenias so look into that, and gardenias require acidic soil to thrive (pH of around 5.5 as I recall) much like azaleas, so if you have a basic soil you might need to amend the soil with elemental sulfur. If you don’t have a soil analysis of the landscape beds then get one. I had more trouble growing gardenias than any other shrub, so I gave up on them. 
Posted on 3/4/20 at 12:12 pm to Shoulderchoke
Currently fighting the same issue with mine. They are older bushes and I transplanted them in April of last year. Transplant shock + heat rocked them pretty hard. I got my soil tested a few months ago and the nutrient content was great, but the pH was 7.5. I amended with sulfur to get them ready for spring. A couple seem to be doing a little better now, but hard to tell just yet. I just sent another soil test in to see what effect the sulfur had on the pH. I’d recommend starting with a soil test, because all of my research has led me to believe that gardenias are more picky than most any other shrub when it comes to pH. I just like the smell a lot so I’m trying to figure them out. Hopefully this year they do better.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 12:34 pm to bluemoons
Use Miracid
Posted on 3/4/20 at 12:41 pm to Popths
I used Miracid once last year and it burned them. All of my nutrient levels are so high that I think the quick pH shock of Miracid was too much for them, so now I’m trying a slower route.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 1:32 pm to Shoulderchoke
Mine are doing it too. I think they started new growth and that most recent cold snap convinced them otherwise. It yellowed all the new growth. They'll probably be ok once it rains some and weather warms.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 2:00 pm to mthorn2
Is it safe To rule out the house cleaning killing them? I know that it did do some topical damage on my roses but they are all growing back really nicely. Also my wife won’t shut up with blaming the house cleaning so I want to be able to prove her wrong.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 2:24 pm to Shoulderchoke
quote:
Is it safe To rule out the house cleaning killing them?
Did they use chlorine in the cleaning process? I suppose it possible it might have some effect as gardenias seem to be somewhat fickle, but are these relatively recent plantings, like in the past year?
I just can’t remember if gardenias, though evergreen, tend to yellow and lose older leaves as new leaf growth emerges in spring. Also are they planted relatively high in elevated beds that drain well? I think they are also pretty susceptible to root rot, as are azaleas, and we’ve had a great deal of rain all winter, but I hope it’s nothing like that as they usually won’t recover from root rot. Just trying to walk through various potential causes. Hopefully just losing old leaves as new ones emerge.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 2:53 pm to Shoulderchoke
At my last house I had to give them liquid iron and it fixed it. My newest one now started doing it so I was going to give that a try.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 3:06 pm to Shoulderchoke
An Atlanta nursery told me it was due to the erratic weather lately. The wek or so of warm weather triggered their Spring growth and then the cold snap damaged the new growth
The cleaning solution used on your house was likely so diluted that it won't harm established shrubs
The cleaning solution used on your house was likely so diluted that it won't harm established shrubs
Posted on 3/4/20 at 3:17 pm to mtcheral
Let me know how that works. I haven't tried chelated iron yet but if I can't get the pH right in a relatively short amount of time, I'm going to give it a shot.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 3:25 pm to bluemoons
I've got the same issue except only ONE of three bushes is affected.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 3:35 pm to CrawDude
quote:
Did they use chlorine in the cleaning process? I suppose it possible it might have some effect as gardenias seem to be somewhat fickle, but are these relatively recent plantings, like in the past year?
They used bleach and jomax. Like I mentioned earlier, it did kill the tops of my roses but they are grown back now and this issue with the gardenias seemed to be happening before.
The gardenias are almost 4 years old. Someone at the local nursery thought it may be a plant fungus (although nothing is visible on the leaves). I went ahead and sprayed them today with a light coat of anti-fungus spray.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 3:39 pm to Shoulderchoke
This post was edited on 3/4/20 at 3:57 pm
Posted on 3/4/20 at 3:48 pm to Shoulderchoke
Did you hose the bushes off after the powerwashing?
Posted on 3/4/20 at 3:50 pm to The Nino
The people who did it said they sprayed it off before and after
Posted on 3/4/20 at 4:14 pm to Shoulderchoke
The bush in the center of the first picture is the only one that looks rough. All the others look like they'll recover. But test the pH of your soil as others have suggested just to make sure
Posted on 3/4/20 at 4:19 pm to The Nino
Thank you all. I just ordered a PH tester. Should be here Friday
Posted on 3/4/20 at 4:40 pm to Shoulderchoke
Based on those photos that doesn’t look like any damage at all associated with house washing. Actually they look very nice, just the one looks a little thin where significant leaves have been lost. Scratch back the bark on on a few of those branches on that one plant to see if you still have bright green cambium layer underneath the bark.
Seem to recall mine commonly looked like that then when transitioning from winter to spring, but you had them 4 years so you’d know what’s normal for you.
Seem to recall mine commonly looked like that then when transitioning from winter to spring, but you had them 4 years so you’d know what’s normal for you.
Posted on 3/4/20 at 5:00 pm to CrawDude
This is from the bush that looks like it’s got aids
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