• slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
Flower-Buds-Falling-Off-Gardenia.jpg

Flower Buds Falling Off Gardenia

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.

Related

Upcoming Live Events
& Webinars


March 27, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

How to Start a Garden for Beginners
Register now

April 3, 2024
Garden Trends 

Franklin Public Library, Franklin, WI

April 10, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

Container Gardening Throughout the Year
Register now

April 11, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

7 Steps to Managing Water Where it Falls in Your Yard
Register now

April 17, 2024
Landscaping for Birds: 
A Gardener’s Perspective

Glendale, WI 

April 18, 2024
Be a Waterwise Gardener
Golden Rondelle Theater, Racine, WI
Register now

April 20, 2024
Pruning Hydrangeas and Other Shrubs 
Pasquesi Home & Gardens, Lake Bluff, IL

April 27, 2024
Ridges & Rivers Book Festival
Viroqua, WI

April 28, 2024
Flowering Trees and Shrubs
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI

May 1, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

Ornamental Fruits and Vegetables
Register now

May 9, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

How to Plant Your Rain Garden
Register now

WATCH ON-DEMAND WEBINARS

Learn More

Book an Appearance

Learn More

Enter to Win The Birds & Blooms' Ultimate Gardening Guide !

ENTER NOW