"Can anyone suggest to me the one Gardenia variety that I'm looking for- thick and full and round and large and floriferous and cold hardy" And can I have one, too? ;>) Seriously, Gardenia nomenclature is almost as bad as jasminum's; as far as I know (somebody shut me up if I'm wrong) augusta, jasminoides and radicans are all varieties of the same species, with augusta being the largest in leaf and flower, jasminoides being smaller and more compact, and radicans for prostrate growers. How full and lush they look, and how tightly they grow, and of course how well they flower, has a lot to do with cultivation, which, we all know, is a pain in the grass. Gardenias that are young, without extensive root systems, or that are in a bad site (poor drainage, alkaline soil, nematodes, insufficient light, bad karma, evil feng shui, cursed juju, etc.) will grow leggy and not bloom well, and plants that get all of the above right, with luck, will be all that we dream of . . . You may want to web search for "old-fashioned" varieties like Augusta Beauty and Belmont; nurseries in South Carolina and Florida usually carry a number of cultivars and can help with cultural advice for their areas as well. good luck with the new seedlings! Jim

listen jed ... your name indicates you are a beginner ... welcome to the gardening world ... but i have to tell you ... you really need some more plants.. so you will quit fixating on this particular one ... lol if it were me ... first... all house plant get a systemic drench of bug killer... cleans the soil .. and cleans the plant.. from the inside out.. summer is the perfect time to do this.. because you can do it outdoors.... i am not for a lot of chemical use.. but house plants.. i want them clean when they come back in the house in fall ... i do not recommend specific chemicals.. that is for you and your local nursery to figure out.. read and follow all instructions COMPLETELY ... second ... after a proper dose .. once the plant is 'clean' ... learn how to propagate it ... as i recall it is pretty easy on this plant ... i am sure google, or one of our friends can tell you how ... that way .. should this one become too much of a problem ... you have one or two more ... which are exactly the same plant ... i would try to propagate 5 ... so with failure rates... you end up with a second.. and have a few for gifts to friends ... plants do NOT live forever ... and sometimes its easier to just cut your losses and move on .... and i wouldn't repot it.. until the babes are on their way .. so if you kill the big one... well .. you have more .... that's what i would do ... good luck on your new hobby .. ken

Yes, I noticed that in the news. I agree with Linda.....I hope someone decides to delve seriously into the story. Or maybe Huguette deserves to have her privacy. She certainly achieved it in her lifetime. And what a long lifetime it was!

There are different varieties of butterfly bushes. I have Purple Knight and that gets about 6', my white one grows to about 8' and my pale blue one stays around 3'. They grow so well that I prune them back early in the season before the buds come out. I have one underneath my bay window in the kitchen and that one I trim back whenever the stalks get too high. Just yesterday I went out and cut off the top 2' of each stalk. There's still enough growing time in the season and new little branches will grow and flower. They flower on new wood so pruning doesn't hurt. I enjoy the one by the bay window because we can watch the butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and hummingbird moths feed on them. Personally I think they're almost a weed because they grow so readily, you can chop them way back and they still survive. The only time I tried to transplant some of the little seedlings that were growing nearby they did wilt and only 1 or 2 made it. Sometimes if the branches spread out too much I'll tie twine around them to bring them closer. They are fairly indestructible. Most books or plant tags will tell you to cut them back to 12" in early spring. However I cut them back to 8" to 12" in early winter when I'm out cleaning out my perennial beds. I find it looks neater. Here is a link that might be useful: pruning