Hi mersie,

YES! Now that's fighting spirit! You shouldn't give up on gardenias easily! One day, they will kneel down before you, beg for your mercy, and bloom profusely!

By the way, what happened to your two gardenias, the thread where in I asked if the potting medium was sand? Are they getting healthier with your warmer temps now?

Anyway, since you are asking for suggestions, why not get a variegated gardenia this time? They bloom just as well as the regular ones, smell just as fragrant as the regular ones, and you wouldn't have to worry about chlorosis! Mine are as chlorotic as my non-variegated ones but they are barely noticeable due to the variegation:

Also, they look attractive even without flowers so it's an added advantage given that they seldom bloom as profusely as roses.

Speaking of roses, why not grow a white rose by the way? The flowers look similar to gardenias and many smell fragrant like gardenias. Some are thornless like gardenias and many bloom profusely and repeatedly. What's more, some are cold hardy and many don't easily get chlorosis. Roses also like water and are not prone to root rot. Flowers can last as long as, or even last longer than gardenias! Here's mine for instance:

{{gwi:337942}}

Growing both white roses and gardenias side-by-side may also help 'scare' your gardenias. The competition (roses) will surely make your gardenia think you have a new interest, and as a result, your gardenia will try to outperform your rose in terms of flower output and growth. Come to think of it, it may be the reason why my chlorotic gardenias still bloom for me despite the severe chlorosis. They are probably scared I'll uproot them and replace them with roses and they probably sense I'm giving more attention to my roses than them. (They are probably trying to win back my attention!)

:) tropical

I wouldn't buy from Wayside if they were the last mail order nursery shipping. They charge too much and they send extremely small plants. Have of my two orders were dead and they refused to honor the credit I had to harass them for to get. 'August Beauty' is common, even Home Depot and my local grocery store florist carry it on a regular basis...

Mersie,

I have faith in you!! Pick whichever one you prefer...I know that one day, it will give up and just surprise the heck out of you and THRIVE in your care...have you tried "hypnosis" yet, lol...?

Here in Fl, most of the varieties that I see is the "Miami Supreme" standard, or the smaller bush type. We don't get too many varieties that I've seen...H.depot, lowe's kmart or wally world. Whichever variety you decide on, please post pictures! Good luck! May the Gardenia Force be with you!!!

Tropical, BEAUTIFUL!! Thanks for posting...

If you order from Wayside you'd better isolate that plant for a looooong time and spray the crap out of it- you'll get a nice case of scale insects with your order. I had never heard of scale until I got my Mandevilla Laxa, and I only isolated the plant for a month. The plant was heavily infested before I realized I had a problem, and I've been plagued ever since!
Despite that, I've kept my baby alive for two years...now it's got aphids- I have no idea where they came from unless I brought them in with me last summer...like my mites and mealy bugs.

Thank you guys for the encouragement and the advice about Wayside! My mom used to order from them but stopped for some reason. I think she said the plants weren't that great for the money you spend.

I'll let you all know what happens..and when I finally do it in! :)

If you're going to mail order, some nurseries in S. carolina will send much larger plants for the money; one is nurseries caroliniana and the other is woodlanders, both know gardenias very well. There's also gardino down in Fla.!

Jim

Thanks Jim! I checked Gardino's and they have 4 seasons...I think I'm going to buy that one! I'll email them to see if they have it available. :) Thanks for the reminder!