I throw a handfull of epsom salts .... then I am growing them outdoors and we get tons of rain. We don't fertilize by 'time' but by inches of rain!!!

The Epsom salt will provide magnesium and other minor nutritions.

Jerry, you and Carol are correct. I've used it before and had great success, Carol, I love your new hair. Lee

May I get back to the Epsom Salts please for a second. I really do not want to overdo it for fear it will hurt them, but I need to know who could tell me how much to mix with water to use on Gardenias in Pots. Is there another forum I should ask? This is why I get so frustrated with so many threads and if you start a thread for every flower you get those who grow them outside and inside, it is so time consuming. Can someone point me in the right direction. please.....

I just sprinkle about a little around the root ball area of the plant. If you want to mix with water just at 2 T. to a gallon of water. I don't put it on the leaves just the soil area.

Thank you Jen. Is that o.k. for potted plants in good potting soil also? I do not want to harm the roots. Your soil in the garden is not nearly the same as potting soil.????????

Do you add fertilizer to the pots?

Yes I do and I have a water softner which has salt in it. I have to take all these things into consideration. I requested the Adm. to start a "tropical houseplant forum" just to address these issues without having to search all over the Forums to find someone who does what I do, but the administration said we have a houseplant and a tropical forum. They do not need another, but, as you can see with some questions it takes forever to find people who actually can answer some questions because tropical houseplants have so many different mediums as well as different fertilizers, very few are the same. Also, most of the tropical gardners have these beautiful outdoor gardens and the soil is different. Plus, those people who have tropical houseplants as hobbies and not businesses use what they can buy over the counter etc. I could go on and on to try and justify the need but I guess I am always looking for the simple, easiest time saving ways I can. The pl.ants I sell are all starter plants and I like to send them out in the best possible condition. I am very fussy and my customers love it. I do appreciate any help you can give me. I am like a lost sheep here.

What I was trying to explain was that if you add fertilizer than you also need a little epson salt b/c the fertilizer doesn't supply the nutrients that the epson salt does. I know it's hard to wrap your mind around it but once you start to use it you will continue!!!! Check out this link JB!!! I hope this helps!!!!

http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.or...

Thank you so much. I am going to continue researching this on the internet and see what else I come up with. You are very kind. Thanks again.

I use it on my palm trees and they love it.

Really, I wonder how Christmas Cactus and Jasmine would like it?

I don't see a problem with the jasmine but I'd test the Christmas cactus.

I wondered that too.

Epsom Salts supply an element (don't remember which one) that acid loving plants love....and it make the soil more acid....I use it on my blueberries too...in addition to epsom salts which are just to acidify the soil.

JB, I grow tropicals outdoors AND in a greenhouse. Do you have some specific questions? If I can help, send me a tree mail.....

Thank you Carol, I have no questions at the moment. After all my research on epsom salts I decided not to use it because the soil I and fertilizer use already has plenty of what my plants need. Shoe helped me decide. I learned a lot from that. Never too old to learn. I will take a rain check on that offer. Thanks again.

Really busy getting cuttings in the flats so they have a few months before winter. I am only selling about six different plants this year, I have cut back because of lack of space. My Gardenia Jasminoides .'Aimee' are my big problem now. They are all two feet tall and growing like weeds. I think I have them all sold wholesale prior to having to take them inside for the winter , but if not, I need to find a place for them. They are really nice plants and I have them up on eBay just now. But, I may have to just pitch them if I get short on space. Shipping them is very expensive unless I take the pots off and ship them bareroot, then they still weigh quite a bit and I ship USPS Priority . Take only two days.

We had a slight earthquake yesterday and now they said there may be a hurricane coming close to the shore Sunday, so I am pushing this old body to get things done before something else comes up. We could have a blizzard, the way this weather is changing you just never know anymore. It used to be such fun with the seasonal changes, now we never know what the next one will bring. So much has changed over the years. That is what happens when you live too long.

JB, we felt the earthquake down here in NC, too! It sure got my attention, I thought I was gonna faint or something was wrong with me when it was happening...I came in to cool off and rest at the time, feeling puny from the heat, then the earthquake hit. I didn't know what it was until my daughter told me about it two hours later.

Wow. No damage here, just an attention getter!

And yep, looks like Hurricane Irene is gonna cause some evacuations on our coast in the next couple days. It sure looks like a biggun!

Hope you can sell your gardenias so you can free up some space. If you have to top them I'm sure they'll be fine, it'll just make them bush out nicely next year.

Shoe

Hello Shoe, Some fun that energy shaken quake. Got my attention for sure. Are you inland pretty far? I road out a lot of storms in my day so this one is just another pain in the butt. I had to move everything so I did that, now they are saying NC, NJ could get hit if she moves to the West, and she is headed in that direction but we still have plenty of time. We are about 20 miles as the crow flies from the ocean and in a good dry area. Just down the road from the farm is the big Joint Force Base of McGuire, Dix and Lakehurst and the planes are starting to move today, so I guess they are taking them farther inland. I don't expect we will get much of anything by the time it gets here. They expect it to be a #2 now, so that went down one since this morning. I only worry about the old Locust trees that we are waiting for the tree people to come and remove them. They are diseased and need to come down. I just hope Irene does not do that for us. The barn is too close to them for that. Nice to hear from you. Take care and if you want an Aimee, give me a yell, I will send you one or two. No problem.

I'm keeping an eye on the projected path. I'm pretty far inland, a good 3 hr drive from the coast so I imagine we might get winds and rain. Some years back a big one came all the way in though and we lost power for 9 days so I guess anything is possible.

I'll be walking around these next few days, looking for things that could get picked up and thrown, looking for potential damage, etc. I'm sure ya'll are doing the same.

We'll keep in touch as things progress!

Shoe

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you in the path of the hurricane. With any luck it will turn out to the ocean before it reaches inland.

Alan