My two August Beauties have been exploding with blooms for about a week now. My two radicans (small, trailing gardenias) have been blooming for about three days. The August Beauties stems are so heavy with blooms they are almost falling over. To walk onto my front porch is heavenly--oh, the smell! I hope these really *do* bloom heavily until frost like I've been told!

Bethany

Mine too... actually STARTED a few days ago, then a few more blooms a couple days ago, then in the past day or two, HUNDREDS opened at once... smells like GARDENIALAND out there :)

My wintergreen, which normally blooms in mid-May, just started blooming a week or so ago, too, so I really DO believe some plants are running behind this year due to a cool spring... I'm betting everything catches up now, though, as summer weather looks like it's getting here and prepared to hang around!

Here's a shot of my gardenia in bloom I took this evening close to 8:30... had to use flash to reduce blur, since it was clouding up and preparing to rain at the time... that's why the leaves seem so bright I REALLY need to prune this plant this year... it's almost 8 feet tall now, and you can SEE how spindly it is in places, with the blooms pulling branches down... It's thick, but I've let it go too long... Think I'll take a BUNCH of cuttings in August and make a bunch more while cutting this one back to size :)

{{gwi:579838}}

Ugh!
Jeff

Yes, mine finally started to do it's thing about a week ago. Yippee!!! laura

Sorry to hijack this thread but how long does it normally take for a gardenia to bloom when started from a rooted cutting? I have one that was started from a large old fashioned type and it's about 2 ft with the new growth this year but still no buds. The tiny Radicans I planted last fall already has buds.

My groundcover gardenia started blooming last week. It smells wonderful!

Shari, it should be getting close... Have you tried fertilizing it? It would like an acid-type fertilizer, such as what you use for azaleas and rhododendrons...

HOWEVER, most of those are based on a 30-10-10 formula, which means they're getting three times the nitrogen to phosphorus, and it's phosphorus that's supposed to promote blooms. I believe the thinking is that acid-loving plants need a higher nitrogen content in their fertlizer to begin with, because they have a harder time taking up nitrogen unless the soil pH is low, but then the fertilizer, itself, reduces the pH AND includes chelated iron, which also helps.

What I found is that Green Light has a SUPER bloom booster fertilizer that is also acid based (used to say so on their label, but they took that off for the same reason Scott's quit calling theirs Mir-Acid -- ignorant consumers saw the word "acid" and freaked out -- but I actually EMAILED THEM for confirmation, and the formula still delivers an acid pH of around 5.5).

Their formula is 12-55-6 and also includes .1% chelated iron, plus some of the other micronutrients, and I sometimes use THAT with my gardenia and other bloomers that like acid... seems to work well.

I haven't actually fertilized that gardenia in a couple years, though, as after I hit it regularly a couple years ago, it took off like a weed and hasn't slowed down since, lol.

Happy bloomings!
Jeff

So is August the proper time of the year to prune gardenias? Mine is spindly like yours and needs to be shaped up. I've pruned it hard in the past, but I think that was in early spring.

How do you root the cuttings? Do you overwinter them in the house and then plant them in the spring? I can see some orchid trades happening with cuttings if I can get them going.

Thanks Laura

Thanks Jeff. I may try the Green Light. Have given it a dose of Holly-tone this spring and some coffee grounds. Would it be OK to use some of it now?

Yeah, Shari. I don't see why not.

You can get the small bags at Lowe's, but I've also found it in bulk bags at better per-pound prices in nurseries.

I'd just use it in a watering can, at the recommended strength, and cover the leaves, as well as soaking the soil and see what happens... you could get some blooms yet (although if you don't have buds, I doubt you'll get blooms this year).

Like Azaleas and rhododendrons, Laura, gardenias bloom on the previous year's growth, so pruning them in spring will cut off this year's blooms (or so they say). The one time I propogated, I had no idea how and was still successful... now that I've been through some training on propagation,

I've yet to try it with gardenias, but they say you should prune azaleas, rhododendrons and gardenias only AFTER they bloom, and since they bloom in that order, you prune them in that order. And the recommendation for taking cuttings (which I figure is easiest to just do while you're pruning) is June for azaleas, July for rhododendrons and camelias and August for gardenias...

Prune the plant however you want, then take what you have pruned and use those pieces to make cuttings... each cutting should be roughly 8-10" long, or a bit more, with no leaves for maybe the first half of it, and a few leaves up above... any really BIG leaves, cut in half (the reason for this is so they don't require so much feeding from tiny roots that are just forming, yet still provide some food to create those roots).

The bottoms should be cut at the sharpest angle you can make them, and the cuttings should preferably be between a quarter and a half inch thick, although you can probably get by with smaller cuttings and maybe with bigger ones. You can buy small containers of rooting hormone at Lowe's or Home Depot for a few dollars (I think Schulz is the brand I have), but lots of folks don't even use any, and I didn't the only time I did 'em, but have with more recent cuttings of other plants... You'll want to fill a gallon nursery pot with good-quality potting soil and then poke a hole down into the pot as far as you plan to "stick" the cutting (3-4," usually)... then lightly "dust" the bottom inch or two of the cutting with the rooting hormone (I just roll my cutting around in it, but make sure the cutting's dry, as you don't want the hormone CAKING on it, and you may want to take some hormone out of the container and put it in a little cup to do that so you don't risk contaminating your whole batch), then push the cutting down in the hole, firm the soil around it, water it until water comes out the bottom and put it in a semi-shady location until you start to see new growth (although again, the gardenia cuttings I started when I didn't know any better were in full sun, lol). You'll want to water regularly and NOT let the soil get dry, but not keep it soggy, either, except maybe in the case of the gardenia, which can thrive in soggy soil -- especially when temps are warm.

I HOPE I've told you all this correctly... been a while since I took the lecture, and the only cuttings I've stuck since were winter-time cuttings on deciduous plants, which are done slightly differently (for one thing, you have to put a plastic bag, or something, over the pot to keep a constant mini-rain forest in there).

At any rate, we're talking gardenias, which are pretty easy, I think. If you want to double-check my facts, as It's always possible I'm wrong, there's a propagation forum here, too, or you could Google on Stem propagation (since the folks at the propagation forum could be wrong, too, lol).

But I'm pretty sure if you do what I told you you'll get a few gardenias out of it. I'll know more about September or so, after I see what I get.

Happy Propagating!
Jeff

My "first love" look the best they ever have. I think its the rain we have had along with the more moderate temps. I also had a more focused attack on the ever present whiteflies. Mine were just about barren after last year, and now they perfume the entire front yard.

I have a question about deadheading a Gardenia. When the flowers shrivel up, I've been pulling them off and leaving the bud that they grew from on the plant. Should I be leaving the old bud on there? Should I be pruning as I go?

Thanks!

Yes, Jeff. I've been enjoying some gardenia blooms in the house as well! I have a big bowl full that I take into my bedroom at night to enjoy. When I'm awake during the day the bowl stays in that part of the house. Heavenly scent....one of my favorites, for sure.
~Angie

Yep, Angie. If someone ever crossbreeds a woman with a gardenia, I WANT that woman!

:)
Jeff

Thanks for the info on propagating gardenias Jeff, I appreciate it. One of the reasons I'm inclined to prune them in the early spring, and forego that years blooms, is to give them as much time as possible to recover before winter. But, on the other hand, if pruning in August is fine, why miss the blooms? Laura

new to this website but I see the question about deadheading the gardenias and i was wondering which is best, removing the spent flowers or cutting back to a leaf junction. I cant really enjoy the flowers inside as the aroma is too strong for me but I love them outside.

I've been cutting back to just before the next big leaf junction, but I'm just guessing doing that, and frankly haven't gotten to that many... my big flush of blooms is done and I've just gotten to a few... would like to get in there and cut off ALL the spent blooms and see if I get some reblooming... if I do, I'll let y'all know what happens.

Happy Blooming!
Jeff

Hello all,

I've been growing a dwarf gardenia in a very large pot for the last two years. It had some blooms when I first bought it, but they quickly disappeared when I transplanted it into a larger pot. Last year it stayed green all winter and this spring was much larger & looked really healthy. I gave it some epsom salts & coffee grounds (a hint a Florida friend passed on). It had a couple of blossoms early in the spring, but not a lot. All summer the plant has been growing and growing and has beautiful leaves. It looks incredibly healty. Now I see many buds, but they seem to be taking forever to get fat. They still aren't ready to open. I'm wondering if there is anything I could do to jump start their opening their buds? Also will the coller weather make the plant stop budding? I live in TN. It's still very hot here in the daytime, but gets down to the low 60's in the night. I love gardenias. I had tons on old bushes in front of my house when I lived in Florida. I'm dying to see this plant in full bloom! Any suggestions?

According to Crockett's Indoor Victory Garden, gardenias don't set new buds if night temperatures are over 60 to 62 degrees. So the weather conditions sound right. Your gardenia should bloom as long as the buds don't get caught by frost.

Our gardenia almost bloomed before frost caught it -- it's a young one that still has to recover a lot after each winter. So I think they will bloom until fairly late in the year. As far as forcing it to bloom faster, I don't know.

I live in Dallas, Texas where heat and humidity can play havock on your lawn and garden. As I am planting trailing gardenia's for the first time, I am confused! I have always been told the gardenia requires shade or at no more than morning sun. Yet many of your post refer to full exposure as do many sites. Which exposure is it, full, partial or shade that is best for the plant? Again I live in Texas, Zone 8 where the temp today was near 107 !

Jeff Riley
dallas