this bed is being redone to incorporate a watergarden so excuse the clutter of dichondra and various weeds.

I also have hundreds of 'Daisy x Chuck Hayes' & 'Chuck Hayes x Daisy' seedlings just sprouting right now.

That leaves 'Chuck Hayes x Mystery' for me to do this year. After that maybe my first seedlings will be blooming.

It will be interesting to see how many petals and such...seeing as Daisy is single and the others are double.

These were the most vigorous.

These were the glossiest/best looking.

The one on the right is the one that Won out over the others on this last winter trial. It is my only gardenia that didn't display ANY winter freeze damage from 0F.

This is it in the yard.

OK, I have more pics of others...but I won't be a bore.
Seed pods.

This years seedlings. I'm going to transplant into a flat or two this week...(gardenias have a high transplant success rate). WTH am I going to do with a hundred gardenias?

When I did my first batch I could find NO information on breeding gardenias. I use a q-tip. I believe they are generally self-infertile which makes it much easier.
Yes, I'm in E.TN. No I don't have a greenhouse.

About Mystery. She is much cold hardier than most would believe...and 'triploid' in the gardenia world...so she's not going to set seed and when used as a father one can explect less fruit set also as a result.