Nothing quite says Summer for me than Gardenias. Have you always loved their heady fragrance? Feeling the urge to stick your nose against the screen right now??? I adore that divinely, and deliciously beautiful scent from the luscious white blooms and the emerald-colored glossy green leaves that can unmistakenly only be from the Gardenia.
I adore this fragrance and so of course despite the naysayers telling me that these can’t be grown very well in Perth, I set about to prove them wrong. These lovely plants with their glossy, tough, deep green leaves, do well in tropical settings as well as more formal gardens and of course a cottagey collectors style garden like mine.
Pots work well for me
I have always grown Gardenias well in pots or large planter boxes where I can control the soil composition and water. I use Baileys premium Potting Mix which has a neutral PH of about 7 pretty much every time you test it. It also has a good moisture-holding capacity and slow-release fertilizer. The pots are hand-watered when they need it so, I check the moisture of the soil-by sticking my finger in the pot and if it still feels moist then they are not ready for a drink-even if it is a hot day. Overwatering Gardenias, as with many other plants, will cause the roots to rot, particularly if the plant is potted. I regularly add Nutrarich Mature Compost and slow-release rose fertilizer to the potting mix so that these plants are always enjoying a mix filled with soil microbes and nutrients.
Location, Location.
In my experience, Gardenias don’t do well in the full sun. They prefer a warm spot though preferably with some morning sun and afternoon shade. I have mine in various spots in the garden where their fragrance can be enjoyed. There’s a huge ‘Aimee Yoshiba’ in a large terracotta pot on the deck near our dining table. The fragrance from the flowers drifts in the evening breeze on summer evenings when she is in flower. I have two long planters filled with ‘Ocean Pearl’ en masse as you come in the front gate, visitors to our home get a hit of fragrance as soon as they step through the gate when these guys are in bloom, which is actually most of the year. I also could not resist temptation and have two more in planters either side of my front door with ‘Professor Pucci’. These ones get plenty of light but virtually no sun and yet they are happy enough and bloom often.
Busting Myths
There are heaps of myths about caring for Gardenias and one of them suggests adding Epsom Salts to “cure” yellow leaves-piffle, I say to that. If your leaves are yellow and suffering from a Magnesium deficiency, they will drop off and will never recover. You need to ensure that your soil is at a neutral PH, so, buy Premium Potting Mix. Healthy Soil, Healthy Plant. Also, the odd yellow leaf is part of the life cycle of this plant, old ones need to drop off to allow the plant to create new ones. Better to save the Epsom Salts to soak your feet in after a long day in the garden! Some say that they should be planted in the ground, I don’t think that our soil is reliable enough on a consistent basis to recommend that.
Ants will be present if your Gardenias have scale. The ants come and “milk” the scale. It is a food source for them. If you have scale (raised black lumps on the underside of the leaves or black kind of sooty mould on the leaves) then this houses a sap-sucking insect which can severely affect the health of your plant and that can be treated with Eco Oil or Scale Gun. Once the scale has been eliminated then the ants will be gone too.
Say Goodbye to Spent Blooms
Once the flowers have reached their peak they will begin to dry out and start to go brown and crunchy. At this time, I remove those spent blooms to encourage more. If you don’t remove them they will eventually just fall off by themselves, which is fine too.
White In The Garden Is So Elegant
If you are seeking an elegant look in your garden then you simply can’t go past using a green pallet with white flowers. If you are disciplined (which I am not) and stick with just white flowers and green leaves your garden will have a lush, sophisticated and timeless feel. Potted gardenias will add fragrance like no other. Some other plants for a Green/White garden are Pyrus Usseriensis, Bauhinia Alba, Prunus Persica “Alboplena”, Magnolia Little Gem, Dombeya, Rosa ‘Iceberg’, Rosa ‘Pope John Paul 11’, Rosa David Austin ‘Glamis Castle’ Murraya Paniculata, Buxus Japonicus, Brugmansia Double White and Raphiolepsis ‘Snow Maiden’ all of which have a home in my garden.
So, if you like me, adore the fragrance of a Gardenia, go along and buy one this weekend. Mine will be getting some extra love this week with Mature Compost Liquid Seaweed Fertiliser and deep hand watering, just so they know that I care.
