gardenias and roses

Question

My gardenia leaves are turning yellow and buds are falling off, and roses were blooming when we bought them and now they are no blooms at all. I have fertilized the gardenias with acid Miracle Gro and also fertilized the roses with Miracle Gro and nothing has happened to help them.

Answer 1

It sounds like you just bought the rosebushes. When transplanted the rosebushes go into a bit of shock and react to the transplanting stress. It takes them a while to get their roots established and to get the energy going again to put forth buds that will be beautiful blooms. To help them get established in their new homes, give them each about a gallon of water with a product called Super Thrive in it and some root stimulator in it as well. Use this mix the next two or three times you water. It helps the rosebushes deal with the stresses. The same mix can be used on your gardenias too. If the rosebushes are still in the pots you bought them in and are no longer blooming, there could be a couple things going on. One is that they are becoming root bound in the pots and need to be either transplanted into the rose bed or garden, or into bigger pots. The other is that they rosebushes are merely between bloom cycles. Some first year rosebushes take a while to put forth the buds and blooms again. Giving them the Super Thrive and Root stimulator mix will help also.

Answer 2

By the way, Miracle Gro should be used in rotation with a good organic based rose food/fertilizer. It is not a good soil builder food and can actually cause some issues with soils salts build up.