Sometimes the baby lady bugs are gray until they reach maturity, but they
look more like pill bugs or roly polys. I would wait and see if they
disappear on their own or if you detect any damage on the plants. Sometimes
the beneficial bugs come in and we automatically eradicate them without
first knowing if they actually might be eating aphids, as lady bugs do.

As far as the gardenia is concerned, the yellowing leaves are normal this
time of the year. They are shedding old leaves while producing new growth.
Mine were really yellow the other day and are now starting to really green
up. You can pluck off the yellow leaves if you would like to make it look
nicer. The yellowing will appear every spring/early summer and will
disappear soon.

Penny
"Margaret Lillard" wrote in message
...
Hi -- two questions for the more experienced gardeners/entomologists:

1- I have a variety of flowering annuals in a small mostly sunny plot next
to my house. Recently, I've seen tiny little bugs all over the flowers.
They look like very small ladybugs, only gray where they should be red
(that is, gray with black spots). They don't appear to be doing any harm
to the plants. Any idea what they are?

2- I have a Kleim's hardy gardenia given to me last year, planted in the
same bed late last August. It's nice and bushy and appears to be about
ready to bloom. But interior leaves -- at first on branches in the back,
close to the juncture with the main plant, now spreading to the base of
other branches -- seem to be turning yellow, as if the plant's
overwatered. I don't think that's the case, though I did notice a bunch
more yellow leaves this morning after soaker-watering a few hours late
last night. Overall, as I say, the plant looks good with lots of buds
ready to pop. Is this something to be worried about?

Thanks

MAL

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