Upon further research...I googled new Tahitian gardenia double and got my answers...this is a new variety and somewhat rare at the moment....o geez....I feel like I will be getting back in the car darnit......don't really have the cash to burn but it is gnawing at me....a reviewer posted on another site...

Positive malika1 On Dec 6, 2012, malika1 from Toa Baja, PR (Zone 11) wrote:
If you love jasmines and gardenias, and you do not own this plant, get it! I mean, get the double! I think it is even more exciting than the Duke of Tuscany Sambac. Really. The flowers are massive and the leaves are leathery, healthy, and darkish green. Large plants can be expensive, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime plant to own. Mine went for 85 bucks, but is is huge...oh, I live in Puerto Rico and has anyone had luck with clippings?

Also, in the market for trades of rare, scented plant rooted clippings and seeds...

Were they grafted? I have never been able to grow gardenias that weren't grafted here in Florida.

Hi Tom,

The top two pics are of the new double Tahitian and that is not grafted. The bottom pic is of the grafted Heaven Scent Tahitian Gardenia. That one can go in the ground. Although I grow all my gardenias in large pots as I can control the soil they grow in. Joe.

I happened to have my 9 yr old daughter next to me last night when I checked this post and I immediately got, 'Ooh daddy! I like those! Those smell great! Look, she got them from Lowe's! Let's go to Lowe's and get some!' Unfortunately, I had to tell her that we just don't have the right conditions to grow them (don't they prefer shady conditions?) and that just because they were at the Lowe's there, it did not mean they were at our Lowe's. Still not sure how she knows what gardenias smell like though.

Edit: I stand corrected. Apparently gardenias will do quite well with my conditions, provided I amend the soil with enough organic material.

This post was edited by Leekle2ManE on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 13:25

Hi Leekle2ManE,

You can certainly grow Gardenias down here...this is definitely Gardenia country. If they are not grafted however, the nematodes in our sandy soil will cause their gradual decline. So always look for a grafted variety where the trunk may be silvery and the grafted trunk darker...u should be able to make out the graft. A lot are sold in the big box stores not grafted and they are doomed to failure if put in our soil. I grow all of mine in large pots and that way I have total control over the chunky free draining mix I plant them in....and have also acclimated mine to almost full sun throughout the entire day. Good Luck! Joe.

Yeah, I knew that they would grow here, climate-wise. I just thought they required more shade than I had to offer. Though the information about grafted vs non-grafted is welcome information. My mother, who lives a couple blocks away, has recently started putting them under her sycamore tree as a reminder of her home in Alabama, but I doubt she knew to look for grafts and I can pass this along to her.

I just saw these at Lowe's today. Wow they were really really gorgeous. I might have to go back and get one. I am trying to resist but its probably futile.

Sultry, I say turn the car around RIGHT NOW - and please also hide one for me!

Would you kindly please tell me which Lowes... after you get yours... don't want to send the masses in that direction before you get a chance to go back...

Carol in Jacksonville

Lmao it was the one by the airport. By the Walmart :) They also have black bat plants in bloom. @ 25.00 for each.

There are black bat plants at the Lowes on Atlantic Blvd - the one close to Hodges Blvd:

They are labeled as shown:

Carol in Jacksonville

SJN, there may be a trip to the airport in my very near future. By the way, I have read that there was a plant seller at the Pecan Park flea market - Edie's Plants - that was located right next to the entrance. Did you ever go? Anything interesing? And is it true that he/she is permanently closed? I would run up there if I was going to be as close as the airport.

Thanks!

Carol

Lol@ Cat's Whiskers its even in Spanish :p. I havent been to that flea market in a few years. I don't remember a plant vendor there but I saw they were selling goats, chickens, and other livestock/ supplies now so ya never know lol. I saw an ad on Craiglist under 'farm and garden'.

SJN, I saw the same Craigslist post - selling the whole business - and the Facebook page says "permanently closed". I wonder if there is anything left - still selling plants? - or if the doors have been shut. Hmm.

So I was truly almost out-the-door to head to the Lowes by the airport and thought, I better research a little bit about this plant. I am now reading that the Double Tahitian Gardenia is only hardy to zones 10-11. I know you have a greenhouse, SJN, and how lucky you are. My greenhouse is also called my garage. :( No way I can buy one more large plant that has to be protected in winter. I thought most gardenias were hardy to much colder regions, so this one really is "special", LOL. So I had to use the "somebody stop me" line with myself.

"Carol, put the car keys down!"

I noticed this thread started back in 2013. How is a plant still rare after 3 years (still says this on their tag)? There was a bunch of these at the Lowes near me.

HI ellusionz,

Back in 2013, these were not widely distributed but in subsequent years these became more common. Sadly, mine did not do well as I had not repotted and it is very sensitive to wet conditions. I had a very rainy summer and the plant declined pretty fast. Definitely more finicky then the standard Miami Supreme or Aimee Yashioka.

Thanks! Bunch of them now lol. Decided to try my hand with a gardenia and with the selection available decided to go with this one too.

Not sure if you all have tried this, but my August beauties I got from lowes were TERRIBLE their first year! They were covered with white flies but were healthy in the store. I even sprayed with neem and the leaves turned black from all the sooty mold. (They are in full sun and do fine bloom wise for me though.) This spring, I did some research and learned they like acid soil so I looked at my fertilizers I had on hand and I had some of that granule acid for hydrangeas to turn them blue, so I sprinkled like a handful or two of that stuff at the base of the plant to the drip line and watered it in. This year the leaves are soo shiny in the sun they glisten! And no white fly what so ever!! Also, 2 have shed all of their black leaves and have grown a foot, while I have one that has grown a foot and is replacing the black leaves with green shiny ones every day now. I Duno if you have tried that but I thought I'd share!

Thanks for the info, Filly. I also am trying more acidic fertilizers. Do you have your gardenia In full morning or full afternoon sun? Mine is still adapting I think. It's in full morning sun and gets lots of water but sometimes it looks good and sometimes not so much

I planted mine in full all day sun, they are in open areas of my yard on the south east side, so they get the full days sun. I think that's why they bloom so much. I had 2 of my 3 plants in partial sun by my house the first year and those were terrible, didn't grow and had a ton of whitefly/sooty mold. This spring I moved them to that open full sun spot and they made a full recovery and are blooming and growing. The flowers do get a bit scorched after 2 days but take 4 to turn gross enough for me to pick them off.

If you are debating sun requirements I would guess they need at least 6 hours of sun to be healthy (like roses) and the blooms would probably last longer than if did full 12 hrs of sun like I'm doing. I'm not moving them though. These bloom so much, I don't mind blooms turning yellow/brown edges after a couple days bc the foliage is SO healthy where they are at.

mine are planted right near a sprinkler head. I learned the hard way on one of the plants that wet roots that didn't dry well and wind are not good because the trunk was really loose from the base/roots so I piled some more ammended soil on base of the plant and put some lava rocks on top about an inch from the trunk to help keep it down. The wind here is sometimes bad and wants to uproot my plant!! I think I do need to add more bloom food though since they bloomed a lot this spring and have not bloomed much this summer (compared to last year). I don't really feed them as much as I should since most of my time is devoted to my Austin roses! I just ordered some down to earth rose and flower mix so I'll see how that works. Last year I thought gardenias were harder to care for than roses but if you have them in a good spot, planted not too deep, then, water and feed well, they are pretty easy!

Yes, they need good aeration and they prefer acidic soil. Mine only bloom for about three weeks and then only a few blooms in the summer. Their requirements are much like camellias and azaelias except they like more sun and in sandy soil they need to be grafted.

Have seen Double Tahitian Gardenias at two different Lowes in the past couple weeks (Regency Square and Baymeadows locations). There were actually three plants, loosely braided together, in each pot. Priced at $24.98. In each location, I only saw two or three and they were already in slight decline. However, the blooms were huge and smelled wonderful. They looked just like the first two photos at the very top of this thread.

I did not purchase - no greenhouse here.

Blutayle, do you still have yours?

SJN, did you ever get one?

Carol

Yes I did. Its been blooming constantly all spring. Like a new huge bloom or two every other day. Its very fragrant and the best gardenia I've ever had. Well worth the price and greenhouse space. Between the Tahitian Gardenia, the regular gardenias, Michelia alba and figos, jasmines, and roses my yard smells like an Island Paradise.

SJN, that is awesome! Do you keep it in a pot? Gorgeous picture!

EDIT - nevermind, I see "greenhouse space" so I know you have it in a pot. Sigh. I may have to get one at this point. And turn my garage into a greenhouse!

HI Carol and Sultry,

My first one from 3 years ago died a slow death. Unfortunately, and I notice this now, if you don't get the plant as a fresh delivery at Lowes they turn shoddy pretty quick. It does not take long in these big box stores to make it to the sale rack, much abuse. I have learned this is a finicky plant, not as vigorous as a grafted gardenia, and much more sensitive to wet roots. I did buy another one this year and I will be shielding it from the summer rains. Sultry, what type of soil do you have it planted in? They seem to not like being over potted as that leads to wet roots as well. Overall, this is my favorite gardenia fragrance, just when I thought I was obsessed with regular gardenias. I will always try to perfect growing this. There really is not a lot of info on the web about these, so I guess that is where we come in...providing our own experiences for others....So...do tell... Joe

Blutayle, Thanks so much for the reply! That's very useful info. I bet you have much better luck this time around since your prior experience.

I'm eager to hear what SJN says, too. I agree - it is very useful to get answers directly from other experienced gardeners - no matter how much info is on the web. Years ago, I noticed that there is a lot of plagiarism on the web and learned that articles you read may not really be from authoritative sources after all. ONE PERSON may be the source of everything you read on a subject... the rest are copycats.

This tip might be helpful... or you may already know this one... with almost all of my potted plants, I put one-to-three inches of mini-pinebark nuggets in the bottom of the pot, before adding any soil. I prefer the pinebark to any kind of rocks or gravel or anything else in the bottom for drainage. It really seems to help.

Carol

Also, I've found that gardenias and michelias both bloom longer if u pinch off the spent blooms right away.

SJN I have a michelia figos! I love it. It is starting to rebloom again. It isn't huge maybe a foot and a half. I'm new in the forum Carol sent me to this thread because of my dying gardenia. I'm in zone 10a.

Hi Helen, I'm glad you found the thread! I sent you here not because of the dying August Beauty gardenia but rather because you said you had purchased a Tahitian gardenia as a replacement. Lots of good info above regarding your Tahitian plant.

For anyone still wanting a Tahitian gardenia, I saw six new Monrovia plants in beautiful condition yesterday (May 29, 2017) at the Lowes on Atlantic Blvd (near Hodges). Two plants per pot. Gorgeous! $24.98.

Carol

Just moved to Haines City and was looking for curb appeal for house. Saw these unusual plants. The tahitian gardenia at Lowes on Hwy 27 had four. I picked up two. They are grafted as I looked and now have them planted in front yard. Can't wait for blooms to open.

WVHH, welcome to Florida and to the forum! You've got some gorgeous plants, no doubt. I smelled one the other day when I was in a Lowes and it smells delicious. Please post some photos when you can. Hope your plants do well!

Carol in Jacksonville

Does anyone have any kind of gardenia in the ground for many years in FL that is not grafted? I saw many old large gardenias in Louisiana when I lived there but they don't have the nematode issues like FL does. They have a different type of soil (less sandy and slower draining). I would love to put mine in the ground here but I don't think they are grafted.

...plus, what rootstock exactly, are they grafting them to that is nematode resistant ?

Hi Sultry,

As far as I know, gardenia thunbergia is the only rootstock used for grafting. It keeps the plant exceptionally vigorous, nematode resistant, and generally a more healthy plant all around in poor soils. And as we know, a healthier plant will also be more disease resistant as well. I am sure you can plant non-grafted in the round after the soil is well amended, but sooner or later those pesky nematodes will catch up. Gardenia roots are also very sensitive to rot, and with Florida rainy summers this could be a problem. Grafted varieties escape this issue.

When i lived in the panhandle any ole gardenia did well but down here i have only ever got the grafted ones to survive in the ground