noumin27
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 4:15 pm
Location: Fort Washington, MD

Bonsai Gardenia losing leaves rapidly

Hello!!

I'm a relatively new member and I joined in the hopes of saving my bonsai gardenia which I received as a gift for mother's day. When I made my previous post https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25797 the tree had more leaves and my main concern was that some of them were turning yellow.

Well now, more than half of the leaves in the picture from my previous post has fallen. I have been confused about the information out there regarding watering. I couldn't tell if it was too much or too little. I called a local nursery and upon describing that the leaves were yellow but soft, the lady there advised me to water it less. So that I did and I also added a humidity tray with rocks but there was no significant change.

2 things that I'm concerned about:

1) I received the tree via proflowers and have read other posts about bad soil quality. I have kept the tree in the same pot and soil that it arrived in but it looks very.."packed. and I'm not sure how well it drains.

2) it's been very hot lately in Maryland, can too much heat damage the tree? It gets partial sun because I have moved it under some short bushes.

I'll try ANYTHING to save it at this point...hoping it's not too late.

Thank you so much in advance!!

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Gnome
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 5122
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A

noumin27,

This is a species that I have never grown so I'm afraid that I can't offer much. If the nursery you called suggested less frequent watering I won't dispute that, it is not uncommon for new owners to water too often in an attempt to give their new charges proper care.

About poor soil in pots, that's true enough but unlikely to cause decline in such a short time frame. In bonsai we insist upon free draining materials because it is not uncommon to leave trees in the same soil for years at a time. Over time drainage slows and the plant suffers. If the plant was fine until you received it, it seems more likely that you are missing something regarding it's basic care.

Every once in a while I run across a plant that I simply cannot grow, so I simply don't grow them. I know that is not much of answer and I apologize that I can't offer more. Perhaps another member has some experience with gardenia.

BTW, have you tried our search function for previous discussions? They need not be bonsai specific, after all sound horticulture must come first.

Norm



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