Above: A gardenia bud unfurls ... Related, a lack of buds forming can be caused by not enough sunlight—see what I mean about gardenias being a bit finicky? Above: Photograph by Mimi Giboin.

The first step is to understand why your particular gardenia’s leaves are yellowing, so that you can target the problem at the source and return your plant to good health. See also: 5 mistakes ...

However, it may be more important to you to get the gardenia under control than to see the flowers (only the flower buds on the parts you cut off are lost.) In that case, prune now. Or ...

Gardenia buds are notorious for falling off ... Don’t transplant until you see roots coming out of the bottom of the pot’s drainage hole and only into a pot one size larger.

But, then, the plant enters the home environment where hot, dry air and gloomy winter days send the gardenia in a downward spiral. Those delicate flower buds, so filled with promise of good things to ...