Gardenias are only difficult to grow in climates with dry air, especially dry climates that are very hot and sunny. I think it would grow better in Southern California if it were put inside a humid greenhouse during the Summer. The fruit of Quince is fragrant too, the most wonderful smell, very floral and almost a hint of violets. There's a particular odor within the aroma that is one of the elements in the smell of pears, I can pick up on, but the overall fragrance is definitely not like pears. I am talking about fruiting quince (Cydonia oblonga), not ornamental flowering quince. Some people used to leave a basket of quince in the kitchen to make things smell nicer, or even hang quince in the closet. I think grapefruit is very fragrant too, as well as Bergamot Orange (not really good for eating though). If you live further north you can grow Yuzu.

Hi Mike! Oops! you may be right! My gardenia could be nasty to me because I have the gender all wrong! You see, in my native language, Gardenia is a "she", but who knows what happens in the plant world? Gardenias are acid loving plants, Right? I have mine in mixed soil composed of peat moss, compost and good soil. I water it solely with rain water (of which we have plenty) I do not let the soil completely dry out. It gets sun in the morning and later on in the afternoon; total about 3 hours. I fertilize it with coffee tea every 2 weeks.( I haven't been able to find Miracid in my area). At the moment the plant has two buds, but they are like that for the last 3 weeks and they do not open. What am I doing wrong? Is there another acid fertilizer that I could use? anything , at all that I could do to get it t o bloom? I have checked for insects and the plants seems healthy otherwise. What is it?Please help!! Europe is going through a heat wave, no rain and we here in the east are short of having a deluge. Every plant is nice and green but my tomatoes are waiting for some sun to ripen. My geraniums are reeling from so much water. I lost two pelargoniums and who knows what else I will lose! Mike thanks for the offer to come to the rescue with the insecticide recipe. My plants will apreciate and so will I! Today sunday is raining again! Depressing!

Thanks Kris - I have planted a wide range of species, with a view to seeing exactly what works and what doesnt. I removed a Schinus this morning and replaced it with a Blue Quandong (Elaeocarpus angustifolius): in the process I was elated to see that the soil around the tree was a vast improvement on the rock-hard clay I had planted the Schinus into some 6 months previously. Sugarcane mulch and plenty of watering had encouraged worms to begin breaking down the clay and this left me with a much improved soil. If there is a downside to my location, it is that I cant grow some of the more stunning cold-climate plants, but thats a sacrifice I'm happy to make. Cheers, Artie

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