Well, I'm not Rosemary but I just potted up 16 rooted cuttings last Saturday so I do have some experience. I always wait until after the gardenias bloom. That seems to be the right time to prune, also the right time to take cuttings. I take 8 inch tip cuttings, remove the mature leaves, stick the stems in some Rootone, stick them down in a pot of sandy-loam, keep them damp and place them in light shade. I took 18 cuttings last July 4th weekend and 16 survived. I left them outdoors all winter in sheltered spot. Last summer, they sat under shade of the banana trees. Just keep them watered. - Terry

Hey Rae, and thanks Terry. I take cuttings sporadically - dip some in rotting hormone and some not - put them in shot glasses in the windowsill and change the water on a weekly basis. I usually pull all but the top 2 leaves off - and somehow, i have miraculous luck! :)

My gardenias are yellow leaved right now too - gotta fertilize this weekend.

Now, that being said - i have been known to amend the soil tremendously when i plant - the extent of a couple of feet out from the rootball....

Deposition rescheduled by Butthead's attorney until next Friday - naturally.

Rae, you are in zone 8 so you don't need to worry. I was given a rooted gardenia which of course outgrew it's pot in one year. I planted it outside close to the south side of the house and it is now about 7 ft tall. I live in zone 7(Huntsville) so it should live at your place easily. The easiest way of rooting them is to bend over a branch in late spring and cover with earth or sand. I have rooted 2-3 to give away. Let them stay at least a year and they will grow into a nice little plant which you then sever from the mother plant with a shovel and a good scoop of earth and move them. Yellow leaves is sometime a signal of not enough acid in soil. They like an Azalea type of fertilizer. Good luck.

Thanks everyone, I 'll give it a try!

Rosemary, I'm sorry you were postponed. I know you will be very relieved once everything is finally over. Hang in there.

Rae