The 6" pot of gardenias that my grandsons gave me on Mother's Day last year
are ready to be re-potted. However, on the smaller "under" leaves, I have
found them to be completely covered in a black powder! I can rub it off,
but I have no idea what it is--a fungus maybe? If so, what should I use to
get rid of it? The much larger "upper" leaves are not affected. Any
suggestions will be much appreciated.

Linda

Sorry, Scarlett: I made a mess of posting a reply to your query about gardenias, as I'm new to the forum. The black stuff on the underside of your gardenia leaves could be sooty mould. If you use chemicals a spray with a fungicide should do the trick. Check the plants carefully for aphids: sometimes sooty mould grows on the sugary excretions they produce. I love gardenias but can never get them to flower again...

Thanks, Phoebe! I will use chemicals, and I have Ortho's RosePride for
Black Spot, Rust & Powdery Mildew--do you think that would work on sooty
mold? Also, I have the Ortho Orthene that is for aphids and all sorts of
other pests--could I use that also?

I have never had much luck with gardenias, but I have managed to keep these
plants alive for almost a year, and I am going to re-pot them in a large
container so that I can control the soil and feed them lots of acid. I
think that's what makes them flower again.

Thanks again for the information!

"phoebe" wrote in message
news |
| phoebe wrote:
| * * Sorry, Scarlett: I made a mess of posting a reply to your query
about
| gardenias, as I'm new to the forum. The black stuff on the underside of
| your gardenia leaves could be sooty mould. If you use chemicals a spray
| with a fungicide should do the trick. Check the plants carefully for
| aphids: sometimes sooty mould grows on the sugary excretions they
| produce. I love gardenias but can never get them to flower again...
|
|
| --
| phoebe
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk
|
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Scarlett wrote:
The 6" pot of gardenias that my grandsons gave me on Mother's
Day last year are ready to be re-potted. However, on the
smaller "under" leaves, I have found them to be completely
covered in a black powder! I can rub it off, but I have no
idea what it is--a fungus maybe? If so, what should I use to
get rid of it? The much larger "upper" leaves are not
affected. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Linda

Common problem... powdery mildew. Spray them with a mixture
of water and baking soda. Leave set to an hour or so and wash
them down with a hose.

I repeat the process every year or two.

BJ