Funny you should mention that tree, I bough one from a nursery last week, and I have it in a pot on my deck...I hope it does well out there!

Mandy

I've got one in a 10 gallon pot I repotted last fall. Not much to look at for now. One of the hurricanes made it tilt and so I have to repot it. It's rather spare of leaves and shedding 1/2 of what it has now. The flowers of aimee are very large but flat. Fantastic fragrance!
I often apply maybe a 1-gallon pot filled with compost to any large flowerpot planting like this one once or twice a year to make up for the lost organic material that burns up with the heat here.
Hope this helps!
kevin
p.s. whatever size of grafted plant/tree you get, make sure it's grafted! (don't know about your area but the nematodes kill all gardenias not grafted here)

The Aimee tree label makes no mention of it being grafted. I have a Mystery Gardenia and a Veitchii as well that are not grafted. The Veitchii I got last Spring and it is in a container and the Mystery I bought a few weeks ago and have not planted it yet. The only problem I have had with the Veitchii is the tips of some of the foilage turn brown and crispy. Hopefully I can avoid the nematodes.

Selling name FIRST LOVE(R). Try asking for it under that moniker.

Being an item carried by Monrovia, it should be possible to find it at several outlets in a given metropolitan area, unless nobody happens to be ordering from them there (probably not too likely).

A local nursery of ours that carries Monrovia sells them in non tree form but they charge $50 for them.

Desert Heat, I don't think Nematodes are a problem in Arizona like they are in Florida, and if you will be growing yours in a container, it shouldn't get Nematodes at all, I don't think. I think they are problem in the soil in Florida. Anyway, I found Aimee/First Love at Home Depot too in the bush form for $15. They are much more expensive at the local nurseries. I would think the tree form would be very desireable as it takes quite a bit of work to end up looking like that. Eventually, these gardenias can get to be very tall and very wide so the tree form is ideal in my opinion.

I bought a 4ft gardenia tree with full of fat buds(3inch) in 3gal container for $16 at Kmart. I think I got a good deal, the pot had wrong name tag as mandeville that may be the reason. I do not know what type of gardenia it is now? It has glossy 3inch leaves.

Just today I found this Gardenia at Lowes for $4.98 and it's a relatively good sized one.

I have some pictures posted here. Make sure you scroll through all the images of several cultivars throughout the thread. Enjoy.

shic_2006 4a 5a ;- You have captured some beautiful flowers!

I see growing Gardenia in a warmer climate has many advantages. A few years ago I purchased 'Veitchii' Gardenia
[I think] to grow as a container specimen. Three years went by and the plant continued to be beautiful, thrive and
abundantly flower. The forth year come along and our weather soared to 126. The poor thing was badly burned
and lost most of it's foliage and all of the branches died except for two that survived. I made the decision to cut one
branch off and train it to be a topiary form. This plant is now 2 and half feet tall and 2 feet wide. It never exploded
with blooms again however when it does bloom it only puts on a few blooms that are quite exquisite. These blooms
resemble a gentleman's bowtie that last only a few days.

Often I wonder can extreme heat or harsh growing environment alter the generic pattern of a plant.

{{gwi:8337}}

I once saw a gardenia tree about 10 feet in height with a six inches trunk in diameter. It was estimated over 70 years old. I have the rooting from this gardenia that actually looks like an ordinary leggy gardenia. So if we shape, for example, an Mystery gardenia into one single trunk with a stake for a few short years it may possibly resemble a small patio tree. If you want an innovation by yourself, here is the chance.

Gardenias do very well in AZ if they are in shade and fertilized with acid fertilizer such as Miracid. They often get Iron Chlorosis in the ground which is when the veins stay green but the newer leaves yellow. The soil in AZ has iron in it but it is so alkaline the plants can't use it.

My cousin has had one on her north facing patio for over twenty five years. It gets hundreds of blooms.

Gardenias are one of the plants that I miss desperately living in the rainy cold Pacific Northwest after growing up in Phoenix.

Trained as a standard, they are very desirable and often very expensive.

we just rec'd a gardenia tree.it has lots of blooms that doesn't open all the way.also we live near st.louis mo.can anyone give advice to where i should place my tree.it is about 3ft with high glossy leaves.any advice will be appreciated...wish me luck.thank you.

Neicy:Play it safe. I am not sure you should put it in ground. Check with your nusery from supplier and local ones too about cold hardiness. Please see my new post on this Fragrant Plant Forum on "A Different Gardenia"

I have a gardenia producing large flower. It is more cold hardy. It stood for 10 nights at below zero degree C. temperature without freezing damage, A water plant pot showed 3 inches of ice formation in my backyard. I also lost 4 Michelia alba on that year due to the cold. My place is colder than gereral SF Bay area. I figure that your place is much colder than the original gardenia habitat area in China.

I JUST BOUGHT A GARDENIA PLANT AND WAS WONDERING HOW COLD IT COULD GET BEFORE THE COLD WOULD HURT THE PANT.

We have a Gardenia Tree purchased from Home Depot 2 years ago it is in a 8 gallon clay pot. It was grea the first year and then it had yellow leaves and lost quite a few we fed it and gave it acid for the soil. Now it is getting so big we may have to put in the ground, great flowers and the scent is wonderful. We do cover it when there will be a frost but it has done well in temps down to 25 degrees here in North Central Florida.