Ok, I received a gardenia for Mother's day this year. I have no idea which variety but the fowers are very small and tight with many petals. I live in the Chicago IL area.

The gardenia is special to me because it was my dear sweet mothers favorite flower. On the Mothers day before her passing when my brother was pinning her corsage onto her (always a gardenia by the way) she told him that when she dies she wants to be buried in a blanket of gardenias. She passed 4 weeks later. So just for her we had a blanket of gardenias made to drape over her casket. It was the most spectacular thing anyone has ever seen or smelled.

So this beautiful smell will forever remind me of her...and this flower will always have a special place in my heart.

Now onto my questions...

I have it in a pot. I placed the pot inside another pot and put it onto my garden bed in full sun all day long. The summers here are very hot and humid. Should it be removed from the full sun spot? I thought they needed full sun but I am reading here and some say part sun and then shade in afternoon. Can I plant it in the ground? If so do I need to dig it up and bring it in before frost or can I leave it there covered? Will it bloom again in spring then? I was told to water it with a preparation of water and vinegar, one gallon water to one teasp. of household vinegar. Also what I read said put the pot into another pot of gravel and keep the gravel 1/2 inch full of water for humidity.

I guess I am looking for facts on growing this both outside and inside. There are two different locations inside my house that gets sun, one between 7:30 am to about 9:00 am and the other location the sun shines between 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm. Outside there are way more options for sun exposure and that is why I considered moving it outside for summer.

Also, the fact sheet I have explains a regiment for forcing bud growth. A cycle of feeding, sunshine during the days and moving to cool dark locations at night. Upon first bud, stop feeding and just water with the acid water solution I mentioned above. Sigh...I'm tired already. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Janice