Gardenias!

Our giant ( and I mean G I A N T) gardenia bush is starting to bloom. It’s so large, that we keep it in a 40 inch tub and it is nearly 6 feet tall with a trunk that is about 8 inches in diameter, even after being cut back hard last year. It is 40 years old, and inherited from a friend, who got it from a friend, etc. Nothing compares to the rich scent of gardenia on a hot evening, like heavy cream and jasmine.

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  1. Matt – your Gardenia looks beautiful!

    I'm here in SoCal and have 3 bush varieties and one "tree" variety. It seems I always have mine on the point of ruin. Either they decide to turn half of their leaves yellow, which then all fall off, or the leaves get black spots; and if I look at any of my plants wrong, the flower buds flip me off and promptly fall to the ground.

    How can I please these picky beauties?

    Sean

  2. Hey splatter, i don't know what we do right, since we have to drag the tub into the cold greenhouse every autumn, and back out again in the spring, but it seems that once they are big, they are easier to take care of, or, this just happens to be a sturdier variety ( it is old).

  3. splatter, I inherited a very old Gardenia with my Norcal house and it has many of the same problems. After poking around the internet, I thought my problem was chlorosis (yellow leaves) caused by low soil temp.: Gardenias like it over 70. Mine does seem to green up a little in the summer, but by that time they want more humidity than we can provide in Cali.

  4. I always believed that Gardenias needed heat, and indeed, our summers here in New England can be hot and humid, but remember, this plant spends 7 months of the year in a 40 degree greenhouse, where it thrives. It must have been a particularly hearty variety. I have bought many other varieties, even so called 'hardy' ones, and none have survived. I think I should propagate this one.

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