I have a gardenia
with beautiful green leaves and no flowers. I have had several buds on it over the last year, but they
fall off. How can I encourage and
keep more blooms?
Temperature,
light, humidity, and soil moisture are the key factors to getting and keeping
gardenia blooms. Keep your
gardenia out of drafts and in a room 55 to 65 degrees when trying to encourage
or prolong bloom. Warmer and
colder temperatures can interfere with flower development and lead to bud
drop. Keep the soil moist but not
wet. Fertilize gardenias with a
dilute solution of any flowering houseplant fertilizer. Use a product for acid loving plants if
possible. Group your gardenia with other plants and place it on a gravel tray
to increase humidity and improve bud retention. Just fill the plant saucer with pebbles and water. The pot should sit on the pebbles above
(not in) the water. As the water
evaporates it increase the humidity around the plant. Move the plant to a south- facing window or supplement the
light in its current location. Don't transplant. Gardenias need to be somewhat potbound to bloom. Transplanting will encourage more green
growth and delay blossoming. Once
blossoms form, avoid hot temperatures, dry soils and low humidity. These can all cause bud drop. All your hard work will eventually be rewarded
with fragrant blossoms.






