you are not allowed to "set up" a new forum. only the webmaster can do that. you should either post questions, photos or comments about plants on the appropriate forum. this one is fine for gardenias and there is also a "shrubs" forum that will get responses for those and your other shrub questions.
i grow gardenias (any of them) in partial (mainly afternoon)shade. others recommend full sun. they may not flower at all in deep shade, though partial shade is fine in my hot area.

The more sun the better they bloom - i have gardenias planted in both full sun and partial shade.

Thank you for your response. Jen

I wrote Spike to request a forum on the Ozark region a couple years ago, and he started it up a few months later, you can always inquire about new forum ideas with the webmaster.

KK

Jen,

There are a lot of threads about growing gardenias scattered among the various forums. Do a search on all forums for "gardenias" and you'll be busy for awhile with the results. My all time favorite GW thread is "The Suicidal Gardenia" which is beyond hilarious as folks describe how tempermental their gardenias are.

However, gardenias are almost native plants here along the coast near Wilmington because they thrive in our very light (sandy) soil and high humidity with no attention at all. They are the very opposite of tempermental here! I've seen 8x6 foot gardenia bushes covered in blooms beside long-abandoned farm houses. But they HATE clay, so if you have heavy soil, so you'll have problems -- put your gardenia in a pot.

Allie