Blackening of Gardenia Bush

The bark and leaves of my gardenia bush is black. It comes off when I wipe the leaves after watering it. But the bark is crusted with it. Also broke a piece of bark off and it has bugs in it. What can I do to clean the leaves and bush and make it healthier? It is getting ready to bloom soon so I don’t want to cut the branches back.

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1 Comment To "Blackening of Gardenia Bush"

#1 Comment By Nikki On 03/30/2014 @ 9:36 pm

This is sooty mold. It happens when the plant gets a pest infestation. I would recommend using neem oil, as this will get rid of the sooty mold fungus and kill the pests. Here are some articles that will help you: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/how-to-get-rid-of-sooty-mold.htm ^[1], https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/pests/neem-oil-uses.htm ^[2]

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URLs in this post:

[1] https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/how-to-get-rid-of-sooty-mold.htm: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/how-to-get-rid-of-sooty-mold.htm

[2] https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/pests/neem-oil-uses.htm: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/pests/neem-oil-uses.htm

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