| We bought one of your August Beauty Gardenias from a local retailer. It produced over 100 blooms in April - june and has produced a few small ones since then. Something was eating the new leaves but systemic fertilizer seemed to solve that. It receives lots of sun, occassional water spray on the follage and has regular applications of acid fertilizer. It seems quite healthy now in its original pot, but some of he older leaves are yellow and falling off. Any advice on picking blooms such as cutting off with some leaves or with no leaves? Thank you |
| Glad your shrub has adjusted to its new home and is blooming beautifully. It isn't necessary to remove the spent flowers, but you certainly can. In fact, clipping them off at the base will encourage additional flowering stems. You can trim a few inches of stem as you cut the old flowers off. This will keep the plant neat and trim, and you'll have substantial new growth throughout the season. It is normal for some of the oldest leaves to turn yellow and fall off. These are the leaves near the main stem of the plant, plus those nearest the bottom. Its the plant's way of renewing itself and new leaves will be produced where the old leaves once were. Enjoy your gardenia! |
