One would think that if you googled summer, a picture of a Gardenia should come up. In the dictionary, if you looked up the word summer there would be a description of the fragrance of a Gardenia flower. Gardenia flowers have a sweet, heady fragrance that really just says summer. That is why everyone wants to have Gardenias in their landscape, as cut flowers, and as popular bridal bouquets. The foliage is deep, dark, shiny green and evergreen, wow!
How Do I Use Gardenia Plants?
Did you know there are over 250 different species of Gardenias? That means one for every situation. Most people buy Gardenias so they can smell the flowers. That translates to using them close to where you will be spending time in your home or landscape. Walkways, front entrances, patios, and let's not forget foundation plantings, so when your windows are open, you can smell them!
They make great, smaller hedges with that incredibly elegant evergreen foliage, so even without bloom, they rock! Keep Gardenia plants up close and personal by growing some in containers that can be moved to where you are.
What Is the Best Way to Care for Gardenia Plants?
Gardenia plants stay happiest when their soil pH leans to the acidic side. Our growers already send them out in soil with a lower pH, so they arrive healthy and ready to shine.
To keep them happy:
- Give your Gardenia a boost with an Azalea or Camellia fertilizer (or another acid-based liquid feed) around March to keep the foliage a rich, glossy dark green.
- Another application of fertilizer, 4–6 weeks after the spring application, will really help the flower power.
Gardenias crave consistently even moisture.
- They don’t like to dry out.
- They don’t want their feet sitting in soggy soil.
- Well-drained soil plus steady moisture keeps those luminous white blooms coming.
Because they’re shallow-rooted:
- Avoid digging around the base.
- Plant them a bit high.
- Use a generous layer of shredded bark mulch to keep the soil evenly moist and to block weeds.
These plants may seem a little particular, but they give back big time. Gardenias are famously handsome, and their blooms deliver some of the most unforgettable fragrance Ma Nature ever created. With an annual spring feeding of acid fertilizer, steady moisture, and a sunny spot, your Gardenias will stay healthy, vigorous, and ready to put on a show year after year.
Pruning Is Simple and Not Excessive
Basically, removing the flowers as they fade (as they transform from a pure sparkling white to a not-so-pretty brown). Removing spent flowers and shortening up any wild new growth to keep everything in check is an easy chore really. If you are using Gardenias as a more formal hedge, remember that all pruning needs to be complete by late July to allow next year's flower buds to form and develop. Young plants may need some help training new growth in line as the plants mature.
Gardenia Plants Are Typically Hardy From Zones 7-9
Nature Hills has done its best to offer you plants that work out beyond these zones and has come up with one that is hardy as low as zone 6, and another that works way up into zone 11. Check out the selections that our nurseries are growing. Flowering typically starts in May and will continue for weeks, and many will produce another flush of flowers later in summer. It is imperative that pruning cease by late July or early August to keep those plants producing flowers for the next season.
Happy Planting!
