My guess is, that what goes around the southern France, Italy or Greece, will also go in that space. Hot summers and cold, but still rather mild winters. Stuff like Bourgonvilla might die down in the winter, but would perk right back up, in the spring! Stuff that goes outside, but has a short blooming period out there, might get a longer period inside (how does the smell of moonflowers from early July to mid November sound to you?). Eucalyptus might die down the first couple of winters, but will in time get very strong and tall. I think a bay-leaf would do well year round. Peaches and grapevines would do great as well, no doubt about that. Figs too. Passiflora actinia and caerulea plus some of the hybrids can withstand down to -8c/ 18f. I÷m envious!

Ya know, now, coming to think of it, I had scales on my bay laurel recently. I had no idea what it was but I used q-tips and rubbing alcohol to get rid of them. They kept coming back for a few days but now they seem to have all gone. whew. The plant is very close to a few others but they seem to be totally fine! My gardenia is by a south window as well but the sun is much too strong for it there. It gets a great deal more of the afternoon sun than it would want. Some of the leaves are quite badly scorched. It got really bad in the peak of summer and I just plucked some of the burnt leaves off. Now, it seems better but gets a scorch here and there. I don't think it's a health problem in the plant- I'm more than positive it's the strong sun. But because it is producing buds at the moment, I'm much too scared to change its location. I'll have to wait till next month to do that. This new variety I have- 'fortuniana' seems much much more tolerent than the one I had before. The leaves aren't as thick, they seem more fragile. But it very very rarely yellows on me. My first one (the one that prompted this thread in the first place) was one big yellower. Mygardenia- did you read the suicidal thread yet? do a search for it. May take you a long time to read it from beginning to end though.

After reading this all these comments......and there's no shortage of them here, I agree with Doggie Daddy. I think too many people try to get too analytical in a subject they know little or nothing about! I have Gardenia shrubs I planted from Walmart, just as good as any nursery stock you get elsewhere.......price isn't a factor here. Gardenia are like Azaelas which require acidic conditions so I use azaela fertilizer on mine (and more isn't better-follow the instructions). Gardenia doesn't like overhead watering so use soaker hose, that will resolve many fungus/bacteria issues on your leaves. Like any other plant, they will get whaatever bugs are common to your area so I use just a simple store bought concentrate I buy and mix with water, then spray everything in my yard.....it doesn't kill anything but you can't have bugs on one plant and expect all the rest to be bug free, common sense! A couple of pointers I learned. As previously stated, no overhead watering. Don't pile mulch right up against the plant, leave 4-6 inches away from the stem. I don't use "pine" anything here in Florida because "pine" is an Eastern Diamondbacks habitat.....and I've seen them dead in the road not far from where we live! It's bad enough I encounter the Orange Ringneck....thank god they are non-venomous, non agressive, and only mature to 12"! However, we have no shortage of venemous snakes here and the occassional aligator that will also find refuge in your landscaping given the right conditions! I also use a 10-10-10 fertilizer on everything......works extremely well. I have never heard about the corn meal thing so I'll have to look into that....I suspect it has more to do with feeding earth worms which are a tremendous attribute to any garden. Whhile I am a retired farmer I am not a professional horiculturalist but I can stand my ground with the best of them from my farming skills. I have rose bushes second to none that all my neighbors always compliment....the secret, people are afraid to cut them back! When I lived in New England, I accidentally ran over one with the mower in late fall while mulching leaves, you wouldn't believe it, but that rose bush not only revived itself, it surpassed all my others! Since then, I cut my roses bushes back significantly in late fall, even here in SW Florida, and my rose bushes are overwhelmed with roses, After they bloom, cut them back to the third leave all season long and they will rebloom in a few weeks time! If you have questions, just ask the people at your local home center, hardware store, neighbors......who would know best in your area but the people who have lived there?? Joe Smoe in Tinkertown,ND doesn't have a clue what's going on in SW Florida........or vica versa!!! What works there might kill your plant where you are!!

Hi guys... be it Celsius or Fahrenheit both are units of temperature. let's not deviate from the topic please. I am from Mumbai, India and the temperatures mentioned are bang on. The high / low is 32 C / 23 C with a humidity of around 40 % which is 90 F / 74 F. It is rightly mentioned that gardenias require fertilizers as the same was mentioned by the person whom I purchased the plant from. Also from what I have researched is that it loves acidic soil and likes chelated iron. Thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate it :) I will keep u guys updated once it blooms again. it's losing the old leaves now and new growth is spurting up :)