I have a gardenia and the leaves are yellow and green. it has barely any leaves what could be wrong with it?

i know the gardenia plant is at least 1 year old and i have well water and i have just started putting fertilizer i see new growth but the leaves are still green with yellow.

I have a gardenia and the leaves are yellow and green. it has barely any leaves what could be wrong with it?
You fed it, and you keep it well watered, but don't overwater.. I would think maybe its just acting up this time of year with the extended daylight hours. Maybe you can determine if its get the same amount and type of sunlight it was a few weeks ago, when the time changed so does the amount of light the plant might be receiving. Also is it indoors or outdoors, might be wanting to be repotted if its in a pot, slide it gently out if its in a pot, if roots massed, its time to repot it.
Reply:You could have overwatered it or an animal has overwatered it (catch my drift) or, you could have a variegated gardenia, highly unlikely; take to nursery/landscaper and get his ideas on what this disease is. May be something in the soil -- I found ants in my mailbox garden that were killing and devouring my plants.
Reply:First thought was not enough iron, but you weren't specific about the yellow pattern. With iron chlorosis, the veins are green, the rest of the leaf tends to be yellow.





Also lack of nitrogen causes yellow leaf, but a more general yellow.





Too much water can be drowning the roots keeping any nutrients from coming up the stems. And along the same line, lack of water causes the same problem.





So if the soil moisture is ok........and not unusual chemicals have befallen the plant.....like weed killer drift.........then I'm thinking nutrients may be a problem. For the iron use a chelated iron product. Nitrogen doesn't need to be as specific except if the soil is still cold. Then I'd use a liquid type fertilizer, saving the more organic things like cottonseed meal to warmer soils.
Reply:It is a sign that it is lacking iron. Stop using fertiliser. It needs to be repotted using ericaceous compost. If in the ground, put ericaceous compost around the plant. Check that the plant is not in an exposed location - it needs to be in a sheltered situation. Try adding some iron sulphate when watering it every once in a while.
Reply:You waited to long to put the fertilizer to it. Give it time and the yellowish leaves should fall off and new leaves should start growing. You also have to be careful that you're not over watering or under watering it. If you have a local lawn and garden store in your area go check with them to be sure that your area is ideal for grown a gardenia bush. Gardenia bushes don't grown in all climates.
Reply:I have done the following first aid on my Gardenia with yellow leaves. I first removed the mulch from around the base of the plant. I than spread 1/2 cups of regular yellow corn meal. I than diluted four table spoons of Liquid Iron and 1/2 cup of Epsom Salt in 2 gals.of water and sprinkled that over the corn meal. I than replaced the mulch. Next I sprayed the top and bottom of the leaves with a solution of three tablespoons of Ultra Fine and one tablespoon of Liquid Iron (Chleated Iron) with one gallon of water.


I finished off the first aid with two cups of fertilizer (Sunniland 8-4-8)placed over the mulch and watered in.





The result is that I have had no more yellow leaves and a whole lot of additional new leave growth. Next will be those wonderful fragrant blooms.





I hope this information will help.
Reply:Sometimes if the soil is too wet or too dry they will do that.
Reply:Gardenias are acid loving plants. You can use cofee grounds as fertilizer. Just sprinkle the grounds over the dirt, then water. The yellow leaves indicate over-watering. I'd repot the plant in new potting soil (plus the coffee grounds), and see if that helps.