I have a azalea and gardenia that will not bloom does anyone know why?

I fertilize with miracid but nothing happens I have others that bloom.

I have a azalea and gardenia that will not bloom does anyone know why?
Well, starting with the time of year that it is I am not surprised. Other than that, it is not that unusual for azaleas and rhododendrons to spend their first months in the ground developing roots instead of setting flower buds. If they were planted last year and bloomed beautifully, remember those buds were set the year before in nursery conditions and before the roots were disturbed taking them out of containers.





Other than their age and length of time planted, reasons for failure to bloom are too much shade, pruning wrong time of year, overfertilizing, drought in summer when buds for the next year are being set. If they look healthy and are not in too much shade (#1 cause), you may just need to be patient another year.





Gardenias are heavy feeders, too. They do not like to be cultivated and love to be misted daily at the right time of year.
Reply:Anytime someone comes into our garden centre and asks why doesn't _____ bloom, our first question is "is the plant healthy?"





If your azaleas and gardenias have lots of healthy green growth then it's probably a fertilizer problem. Miracid (i believe I'm correct in this, we don't sell Miracid much anymore) only makes the ground have the pH they need to survive nicely. It does not fertilize them or make them bloom.





If the azaleas and gardenias have healthy foliage the nitrogen count in their fertilizer is high (do you fertilize your lawn? Are they close to the lawn where they could be getting the lawn fertilizer?) Next spring, start them with a fertilizer that has a high middle number (Phosphorous that promotes blooms), look for anything that's made for flowering plants. Along with miracid keeping the pH correct, the fertilizer will give them the right balance to help them bloom.





If this does not work, then it is time to contact the garden centre at which you purchased it for help.
Reply:I am not really up on gardenia culture, but azaleas could have several reasons for not blooming. If you are pruning them in the fall, you could be cutting off bloom buds. Any pruning should be done right after blooming is finished. Also, fertilizing them in the spring before they bloom forces early new growth and causes them to drop their buds in favor of the new growth. Don't fertilize until after they bloom, and then once a month with the Miracid the rest of the summer, until about the first of August. You don't want to encourage growth after that time, as new growth could be damaged by freezing. Be sure you mulch them well, keep them moist and give them a little sun--early morning or late afternoon is best. Also, deer or ground hogs could be eating the blooms.


If your plants are indoors in pots, just following the fertilizing and pruning rules should help. Good luck!

roots rain