I carefully monitored her progress as she settles into her new environment, watering and feeding when I thought it was required.
But then it started happening - flowerheads dried up and or fell off for no apparent reason! Lots of them did! I was devastated as some of them looked ready to open, and I didn't know what to do.
I decided the best plan of attack was to go back to basics;
1. Check the soil level - Gardenia's have sensitive roots so need to be well protected. The soil level seemed a bit low so I topped it up with potting mix and compost.
2. Water - I checked the soil daily and gave her a nice long soak with water when needed.
3. Feed - as well as the compost when topping up the soil lever, each week I give a feed of liquid food after soaking. By soaking first and then giving the liquid feed, the plant gets the water they need, without wasting the liquid feed!
Thankfully this seemed to work! My Gardenia started to grow, and formed flower buds - and this time, they fattened up and bloomed!
Just as everything seemed on track, the aphids moved in! The had moved in quickly, massed around the new growth and flower buds! I began a daily routine of spraying a concoction of water, oil, detergent and sugar and am managing to keep them mostly under control. Phew!
K. xx
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