Gardenia Plants Care

Gardenia plants can be a little tricky to care for, but with a little understanding about what they need you can grow them as houseplants or outdoors in your landscaping depending on climate conditions. Gardenia plants are fragrant evergreen shrubs that have glossy, dark green leaves and blooms that can range in color from a pale yellow to a creamy white.

The gardenia originated in Japan and China, will grow outdoors in warmer climates and can grow anywhere from two to eight feet tall with a spread about the same depending on the species. When they are grown indoors they want full sunlight but outdoors they will be happy in partial shade with a rich, moist, well-drained acidic soil. A good place to plant them would be on the east or west side of your house near a window or a deck so you can enjoy the fragrance. They will generally bloom from the middle of spring into summer.

Gardenias like humidity but water droplets and a lack of air circulation may lead to fungus on the leaves. You also do not want to place this beautiful plant under or near plants that will drip water onto their leaves. Gardenias need to have at least 1 inch of water or rain every week. A layer of organic mulch, about a two to four inch layer, will help keep the soil moist, keep a constant soil temperature, and reduce the weeds. When you water gardenia house plants, poke your finger about an inch deep into the soil and if it is dry give your plant a good soaking. When any extra water starts to collect in the tray of the pot you need to drain it away. In order to create some humidity you can fill the tray with pebbles and the excess water will drain through the pebbles to help provide a little moisture and humidity for the plant.

Fertilizing on a monthly basis needs to be done from April through to November. The nutritional requirements of gardenias will be met if you use a fertilizer that is designed for azalea plants. It is a good idea to always prune the older stems right after the gardenia flowers stop blooming; this will encourage new growth and it will bloom more frequently.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to plant a gardenia outdoors, the hole you dig needs to be as deep as the root ball of the plant but at least three times as wide. The soil needs to be an acidic well conditioned soil that contains compost and peat moss. When placing the plant into the hole make sure the top portion of the root ball is just slightly above the surface of the soil. Place soil in the hole half way up, water and tamp down to remove air pockets. After the water has drained through fill the rest of the hole with soil and pat or tamp down gently to get rid of any more air pockets and finally water your gardenia thoroughly.

You want to plant your gardenia shrubs in spring or in the fall and space them three to six feet apart. They also prefer to have the outdoor daytime temperatures anywhere from 68 to 74 degrees F. and about 60 F. at night. A well established gardenia can handle temperatures during the night to be much colder. I live in Southern California and our gardenia plant is 20 years old, this winter the water in our water fountain froze over and the temperature got down to low thirties or high twenties and our gardenia did not have any problems. It is now early February and the plant is now blooming.
   
Gardenias can be vulnerable to various garden insects such as aphids, mealy bugs, scale, spider mites, thrips, and whiteflies. The best way to protect them from these pests is to keep them healthy and do not over-crowd them. Other causes of insects may include too much moisture on the leaves, improper temperatures and the level of moisture is too high. Whether you grow them outdoors or indoors enjoy the fragrant aromas of your gardenia plants.