Oh Terra, ye of little faith! and all that stuff. Don't be discouraged, it may not be as bad as it seems. I wonder sometimes if we don't worry ourselves into these awkward situations. I wasn't even going to give it a try after reading the dreaded gardenia posts, but then I saw a very good buy on a very healthy looking gardenia and treated myself. I have it in a pot, full sun and make sure that it gets plenty of water. It has new leaves popping out and now buds are starting to show. Don't know if this will be the beginning or the end! Good Luck!

Don't plant it in the ground!!!

If its in the ground, the roots will eventually grow into the poor soil that exists where you live and the plant will begin to decline.

Its much better to plant it in a nice pot just slightly larger than the one it came in. Use an acid type potting soil. Fertilize it with an liquid acid fertizer and the plant should grow well.

Here's a twist....I moved into a house 5 years ago that already had a gardenia installed in an area that gets an hour of sun a day, at most. It's usually shaded by a huge live oak. It's in alkaline (7.0-7.5!), clay soil. I have virtually never watered the gardenia. The occasional spray, maybe every couple of months if I've got the hose in my hand, but it's pretty much just there. It is blooming profusely right now, and seems as happy as can be. So, don't give up hope -- apparently there's a large luck factor involved.

Wrap it in a blanket and take it to the local church and leave it on the doorstep with a note. It will be better that way.

I think you can successfully grow a gardenia, just don't worry about it too much. I have one on the north-west front of my house, right by the front door. It receives afternoon sun from about 1pm until sundown and is growing in unamended clay soil. I water it deeply about 1 x weekly during the intense summer heat (I have a hydrangea in the same bed and I use it as a barometer for when the bed needs water) I don't use sprinklers at all, I have a soaker hose in that bed that I connect the garden hose to when it's time to water.

I think the key is to let the gardenia settle in (which I think can take a few years). I planted mine about 5 years ago and transplanted it 3 or 4 years ago (only moved it about a foot). I bought it as a cheap tiny thing at OSH for 2.99 or 3.99--it's a veitchii. Anyway, until this year is has hardly flowered (lots of brown bud drop) but has grown lush, is about 3' x 3' (which I think is about right for veitchii), and it seems quite happy. Now it is flowering more and dropping fewer buds and I haven't changed what I do in any way. Over the years I have put occasional coffee grounds in the general vicinity of my gardenia. I have a lot of baby tears growing around the gardenia as groundcover but they fry and dry up every summer (returning in the fall, no worse for the wear).

My mom (who lives up in Redding) kept hers in dappled shade in pots for many years, increasing the size of the pot as necessary. Early this year, she heavily amended (mostly compost with some sand) a dappled shade bed and put in some of her azaleas, with the Gardenia center stage. It is happily blooming its little heart out.

The only one I ever tried died as soon as I took it out of its pot and put it in my very much UNamended soil. :D

Brenda

okay, thanks everyone!! I had to laugh at some of the replies! Thanks.

I will be presenting my options to husband and see what he thinks. I am thinking either try for the ground and pray a lot, or just ask him to pot them and put them out on the back patio near the patio covers. We shall see! I'll keep everyone posted. - Terra

We had gardenias along the front walk when we moved into this house in 1997 (it was finished in 9/91) and they're still there -- just starting this year's bloom. They are on a daily watering system, and I fertilize with Acid fertilizer once a year.

There was a long thread here a couple of years back, called "suicidal gardenia". It had some of the most hilarious entries!!

Right around that time I bought my gardenia, and planted it in the ground. Sure enough, in a matter of weeks, my plant was croaking. Two years later, I figured if it doesn't straighten out, out it goes by spring.

The following spring, it was lush, green, healthy and covered in fragrant blooms!!! It's been happily ever after, and I'm enjoying the fragrance a lot.

My advice, don't sweat it tooo much. Not too much water, feed occasionaly with acid-loving plant fertilizer, use bark or mulch around it. Semi-shade I think will be good.

I was just thinking to buy more gardenias!

Did you read the Suicidal Gardenia thread? It was archived in the FAQ and I've posted the link below. It contains everything you need to know about growing gardenias. ;-)

We have one that's been growing and blooming well for almost 30 years. It's in alkaline soil beneath a pine tree. We never feed it, and it gets water only when we run the lawn sprinklers. After reading the Suicidal Gardenia thread, we're very careful to not look at it, talk to it, or give it any praise. We pretty much just ignore it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Suicidal Gardenia

HAHA..well, yeah, I started reading the thread but there was sooo many posts I didn't get threw them all. It was pretty hilarious though.

My husband was laughing today when I was reading him some of the posts off that. He said he'd still like to see them planted where we were initialy going to plant them until I mentioned about potting them. He said he'd rather have our large bird of paradise in pots and the gardenia off the kitchen window for fragrance. So, guess I'll sink it and ignore it =) Hopefully it will feel it's getting it's way and be a good plant..wow...sounds kinda like my 19month old and temper tantrums, lol! Leave it alone and it'll resolve itself HAHA!

It does take time to get established. During this time, about two years, it is easy to lose it while overdoing one solution after another. Once established the plant is quite tolerant of over or under watering as well as forgetting to fertilize. The buds turn brown and drop off, the leaves yellow and fall off, some of them, not all. Now after three or four years if I remember to fertilize with acid type fertilizer, it remembers to bloom and so we understand each other. Al

I have three that were here when we moved in. They are in full shade. I just decided they weren't going to bloom because of the full shade and all of the sudden, they have buds all over. The only problem is that the leaves have started to look ratty. Some are very white and some have brown edges. Oh well, I never expected them to look nice anyway...
jen

Is it tolerant of other plants being next to it in the same bed?

Next to my Gardenia is a Mr. President clematis which is mostly unsupported and tends to lay on the gardenia. The purple clematis bloom next to the white gardenia blossoms is quite attractive. Al

I have four gardenias and I can share what I have found out.

Two are in dappled sun, and two get more morning sun and then afternoon shade. They are all on side yard, within 10-15 feet of one another. I have two types. The first pair, one does absolutely fabulous with blooms ALMOST year round. Right now about 20 blooms on it. The other one barely has a bloom or two and is on same exposure, go figure. I treat both the same.

The other pair are in similar areas and do well, but of the four the one does terrific, two do ok, and one not so great. I am going to try and move the one that doesnt do well but I really think part of it is getting "the right spot and exposure and water right". Mine are watered with sprinkler system but dont spray right on them. I fertilize with natural camellia/gardenia fertilizer several times a year and use iron when needed.

Good luck, they are beautiful and smell fabulous.

Well, I'm in shock. I'm sitting next to a gardenia flower. Like a fool, I bought a couple of gardenias from HD in spring, almost as a joke. The "Mystery" one isn't doing much, but it's the first time I've tried the smaller species G. radicans, and it actually looks happy. Unfortunately I forgot about the nearby dormant peony, which is now hogging the light, but the gardenia doesn't seem to mind. The true test will be the next few days, if they're going to die, it's always during the first run of 100 degree days of the summer. Well, at least I got a few blooms, so I guess I can't complain. Sue

after reading the suicide thread and various other ones, not to miss out on all the "fun" I went and bought one also. i don't know what kind it is - it is a 3' tree with 4" double flowers. as the flower ages, it turns antigue white then yellow until it is golden yellow. then it becomes brown and shrivels. I have to keep mine is a pot because our winters are very severe. I have it for almost 3 weeks now and so far so good. thanks everyone for all your exoeriences and stories.