My mother asked me to take care of her gardenia after she nearly killed it. I've had it a 10 ft from a south facing window for 3 or 4 months now. I've keep the soil moderately acidic. I like to water by testing the soil dryness by touch, but my mom insisted on self-watering via a bottle adapter (is that the term?) - new branches have formed, its grown shiny leaves and even buds due for flowering! All was well until I recently realized that leaves were progressively getting blacker tips and dropping constantly. In the past two weeks alone, I've lost so many leaves!
I've looked for possible answers, but I can't find anything that sounds right- I see sooty mold is often cited as an issue with gardenias, but I've found no insects on this plant at all and the black leaves feel dry and withered- this doesn't feel sticky, doesn't look fuzzy, and isn't an issue of many black dots, but the entire leaf edge becoming black before the whole leaf itself discolors yellow and falls. Any ideas?
