Yes, you can grow gardenias in North Carolina. There are more cold tolerant ones, but hopefully those are the ones stocked in your nurseries.

You might find this link helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Article on hardy gardenias

They will grow best with a west to southwest exposure, preferable close to a structure which would retain/reflect heat in the winter.

Ok....if gardenias must have night temps of 50-55 how can we in lake norman area have them budding in our pots???? take them inside in the ac at night????? please help as I love these things...Mark

You can leave your gardenias out as long as temps stay above freezing.

Yes, I am in your area and have several in my yard as well as those of clients. Try Gardenia 'August Beauty', Gardenia 'Kleim's Hardy' or if you want a shorter one Gardenia Radicans. They like sun and mine get a bit of shelter from a wall of the house and another gets shelter from a picket fence. These varieties should be readily available, in fact my August Beauty came from Home Depot a few years ago.

Here in Northern Virginia I am trying Kleim's Hardy which failed to get through the summer last year. I put it in a better drained and less direct sun location. I am getting some yellowing leaves, but have added Espom salts and Miracle Gro Shake 'N Feed for acid loving plants which hope fully will help things a bit.

justdave, do you know what variety of Gardenia you were growing in pots and tried to plant outside? I know 'Veitchii' is commonly sold for growing as a houseplant or in a pot, but it is not very cold hardy. I believe the plant will be killed to the ground around 20 degrees, so it's not suitable for outdoor planting in Charlotte.

I'm sure there are gazillions of Gardenias growing outdoors in Charlotte as there are here in the Birmingham, AL area. Any garden center should stock them. The most commonly available selections are 'Mystery' and 'August Beauty.' 'Radicans' is also commonly sold - a dwarf form which is not quite as cold hardy. 'Daisy' is a nice compact, hardier form with single flowers. Several other selections with different growth habits are also on the market around here, including 'Aimee' (Trademark name is 'First Love') which has very large flowers, 'Shooting Star' (tall grower, very hardy, single flowers), 'Grif's Select' (more compact, very hardy, single flowers), 'Frostproof,' 'Four Seasons' and others.

I agree with those who suggest avoiding a Southern exposure, as they don't really like that much sun and it will induce Winter growth and cause the plants to get killed back to the ground.

I keep mine under lights in the winter and they do wonderfully

also I spray mine with hot water and alcholol to keep the bugs down.

Mark, we're talking about Gardenias grown outdoors as landscape plants, not indoor plants. Too much full Sun and warmth during Winter can cause problems for Gardenias in the Southeast, because they will break dormancy and then get injured following the next major shot of cold air.

First is good luck to you... I have 3 "big" gardenia bushes
all over six feet tall- very bushy planted intheground 20-23 YEARS ago..... 2 in frt yard, 1 next to house North side.This one we "lost" to a major snow storm/long term hardfreeze -Cleaned it up,just left ONLY the root in the ground, It bounced back !!!!.that was 18-19 years ago.
Suggest U check attached tags on plants-they give good info... IF no tags onbush/trees - I don"t want/no telling where they R from or anything else...Again -Goodluck & before I forget - in Havelock area .............