Fabulous gardenia, Mike. Looks like you are going to have lots and lots of flowers.

I have a couple that have made flowers this winter (much smaller plants). One is veitchii (I think - mixed some tags). Another is a huge single-flower Diamond's Delight. I think they set buds when I kept them outside in the cool and long nights in November. HID lights may have helped, too.

Do you have any growing/blooming secrets to share?

Wow, would love to grow my gardenia to that size! Absolutely nice plants Mike.

All my gardenia plants have died after I moved to the mid-West.

The soil seems to be poisonous to gardenia - possibly loaded with fatal fungus. My water is commercially softened - it is soft and alkaline - possibly loaded with unusual salts.

All my gardenia screamed and dropped died within 1 year. One last branch tried to survive by clinging to a cool wall. But when I repotted it, it died.

My fuchsia survived 2 years but it did not make it through the extreme hot summer. I also think there are something, salt or fungus, that helped the death of the beautiful fuchsia plant.

People in South-east claim they are rough necks. Gee, they need to come to mid-West to see real rough necks.

Are there success gardenia stories from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota?

Or, is this a formidable land that Gardenia could not survive?