If all the people who have tried unsuccessfully to grow gardenias were laid end to end, we’d have a long line of disgruntled gardeners. And yet gardenias are not difficult to grow.
Indifferent gardener that I am, I have one growing and blooming most of the winter in the living room, heated according to our not the gardenia’s needs, and cheerfully sharing the inadequate sunlight through the dark months with other plants.
It blooms intermittently, filling the room with fragrance, and it accepts the less-than-greenhouse humidity as happily as the African violets and gloxinias.
If my gardenia can be grown under these less-than-ideal conditions, then why the repeated failures by experienced growers?
We start with a pampered plant, fresh from hothouse conditions, with adequate light, correct temperature, and perfect humidity.
The plants from this ideal environment are unhappy with browning foliage, dropping buds, and yellowing new growth.
So I bought a just-rooted baby from the florist—not a full-size, perfectly grown plant. This, I reasoned, could grow into a gardenia that would learn from the beginning to get along with less-than-perfect growing conditions, and my experience proved me right.
Soil and Watering Requirements
Gardenias like acid earth. They want soil wet, so when you touch it with a finger, it comes away damp but not muddy. Partly decayed oak leaves used as a mulch add acidity to the soil.
If your plant’s leaves remain green, you may be sure the soil is sufficiently acidic; if tiny new leaves are bright yellow or green streaked with yellow, you can be just as certain that your plant needs acidity.
The soil formula I like best for gardenias is two parts rich loam (half of this from my compost pile), two parts peat moss, one-half part sharp sand, and one-half part dried cow manure.
I put a deep saucer filled with pebbles under the pot and poured water in until it was level with the bottom of the pot.
You mustn’t do that with most potted plants, but gardenias love it. I turn a plastic bag over my plant, and a few holes are snipped in it for air circulation.
That creates a greenhouse and is a quick way to give it the humidity it likes. Gardenias love warmth, so they don’t suffer from the higher temperatures inside the bag.
Dealing With Insects and Pests
Insects that trouble gardenias are few and easily dealt with. Thrips, red spiders, and mealybugs are about all of them.
When my plant was small, I took it to the sink once a week and let a steady stream of lukewarm water run over the leaves until no hint of a pest remained.
That treatment added moisture and washed the dust off, along with the hugs. I let it stand in the sun until it was dry, then put it back in the window.
It has grown too large to carry, so I spray it where it stands, protecting it from the sun with a newspaper until it has dried.
Since it is now growing in a tub mounted on casters, I can roll it into the bathroom whenever anyone is about to take a shower. It responds to the warm, humid air.
Care For Gardenias During Winter and Summer
Ideally, gardenias should be grown at about 60° at night and 70° degrees Fahrenheit during the day.
Still, in my home, the belief that humans are more important than plants prevails, and a night temperature for humans is healthier at 50° than 60° degrees Fahrenheit.
My gardenias, surprisingly, go along with this philosophy, but I suspect only because I keep the humidity adequate.
These plants belong out of the country in summer. I find high-dappled shade under a tree and sink the pots into the soil up to the rims, putting them on a layer of stones or cinders so the roots can’t grow through the drainage hole.
Like a vacation for people, this sojourn out-of-doors gives them the strength to cope with the trying dark or windy days.
They’ll show their appreciation with shiny green foliage and many fragrant flowers. When days grow shorter and nights become cool, it’s time to bring them in.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
One nice thing about gardenias is that they show you immediately if anything is wrong with them.
Yellow foliage means either the soil is too alkaline or they’ve been kept too wet. Gardenias must breathe as well as drink. Bud dropping comes from too high temperatures or too wide a fluctuation.
If you are a gardener, I probably needn’t tell you that you must never fertilize an ailing gardenia. Fertilizer should be given only to a plant that is growing well and in perfect health, thereby showing that it can take stimulation.
When the robust growth of your gardenia indicates that a little feeding would be acceptable, sprinkle cottonseed meal lightly over the surface of the soil and scratch it with a kitchen fork.
Sometimes, it is the alkalinity of the water that turns leaves yellow. A friend sent a sickly plant to me.
The tiny new leaves were bright yellow, turning to yellow-streaked green as they grew larger. I put a half teaspoon of sulfate of iron in a quart of water and watered it with that every other week. The leaves quickly reverted to green.
Pruning and Propagating Gardenias
You’ll notice your gardenia develops leggy, fast-growing branches. You’ll need to prune it occasionally to keep it bushy and full of bloom.
Those clipped-off ends, rooted in peat moss, become little plants in record time, and you’ll probably find yourself with a long line of supplicants for them.
I cut off the bottom leaves and insert the cutting on a slant in moss on a box, packing it tightly about the stems.
If I’m in a hurry, and I usually am, I cover the box with clear plastic and set it over the element of fluorescent light. In no time at all, the cuttings strike root. Cuttings can be made anytime, but they become little plants quicker in spring.
Different Varieties of Gardenias
If you buy a gardenia from your florist, chances are excellent that you’ll get a Gardenia veitchi. The other kind often sold for home growing is G. florida, the cape jasmine.
It has smaller flowers borne only in summer, a disadvantage to those who want to brighten dark winter days. G. veitchi is everblooming; you only occasionally find a large, healthy plant without one or more fragrant blooms.
44659 by Dorothy Schroeder