A soft, jasmine-like fragrance rising from an evergreen shrub: gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides) is one of the most beautiful indoor plants, native to tropical and sub-tropical Africa, Asia and Oceania and loved above all for its abundant flowering. Everything hangs on moisture — very humid air, soft water, never a radiator nearby — and the reward is bloom after bloom.
| Name | Gardenia |
|---|---|
| Family | Rubiaceae |
| Type | Indoor plant, shrub |
| Soil | Soil mix |
| Height | 6 ½ feet (2 metres) outside, 1 ⅓ to 3 feet (0.5 to 1 metre) indoors |
| Exposure | Well-lit |
| Foliage | Evergreen |
| Flowering | Late spring to mid-autumn |
Care, watering, pruning and repotting should help you enhance the blooming.
Growing gardenia isn’t always easy, particular care must be provided to boost gardenia growth and blooming. First of all comes planting and repotting.
Gardenia is most often used indoors in temperate climates because cool winters makes it impossible to grow gardenia out in the open.
Planting gardenia outdoors is only possible if the climate is warm in summer and mild in winter, because it cannot survive freezing.
If you’re growing your gardenia in a pot, repotting every 2 to 3 years is prescribed. The plant needs space to grow, and a tight pot would alter its development.
In certain specialized horticulture stores, special gardenia soil mix can be found.
Gardenia is often sold as a houseplant, but it’s relatively easy to multiply one on your own.
Read also: All about propagating gardenia
Gardenia is grown in three quite different ways, and each one asks for its own position and soil. Here is what separates them before you choose.
| Situation | Position | Soil | Main constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indoors | Very luminous spot, but no direct sun | Good flower plant soil mix | The usual choice in temperate climates, where cool winters rule out growing outside |
| Outdoors | Sheltered from wind, a bit sunny but not too exposed, part shade ideally | Garden earth mixed with soil mix, heath and dried leaves or river sand, well drained | Only where summers are warm and winters mild, as it cannot survive freezing |
| In a pot (repotting) | Left undisturbed while buds are swelling | Special gardenia soil mix, or a blend of heath and soil mix | Repot late winter to early spring, every 2 to 3 years, once the plant shows it needs space |
Whichever situation you pick, constant moisture in the air and in the pot is what carries the plant through to flowering.
Gardenia doesn’t like hard water, so it is always best to water from collected rainwater or bottled mineral water.
To recreate the moisture in the plant’s natural environment, you can place the pot on a bed of clay pebbles or gravel, and ensure the space between these is filled with water.
The water will slowly evaporate and remain in the vicinity of the plant: you have just re-created the plant’s native tropical environment!
It is important to water regularly without flooding the plant.
Wait for the surface of the soil to have dried out before watering again. Since gardenia needs very moist air to grow well, spray water on the leaves, but stop doing so as soon as the plant is in full bloom.
Reduce the watering. Wait for the substrate to have dried out down to about as deep as your index finger will reach. When the soil is dry to that point, water again.
After the blooming, prune your shrub lightly to retain its tight, compact shape while reducing the branches by ⅓.
Remove wilted flowers regularly, since this stimulates production of new flowers.
In order to reinforce the plant and produce spectacular blooming, provide it with special heath plant fertilizer.
Repotting in spring every 2nd year in a blend of heath and soil mix is needed to bolster proper plant growth.
Since gardenia flowers on shoots produced after the cut, pruning late in the growth period costs you blooms.
Pinch the tips of a young gardenia to make it branch instead of running up on one stem.
Leave the pot where it stands while buds are swelling, because gardenia sheds buds after any abrupt change of place, draught or temperature.
When grown as an indoor plant, gardenia may encounter most diseases, insects, parasites and mites that attack house plants in general.
Most common parasites are aphids, scale insects and red spider mites.
Note that if your gardenia leaves turn yellow, but the veins and ribs stay green, you’re probably dealing with chlorosis resulting from water that is too hard.
If the flowers fall off before opening up, lack of ambient air moisture is certainly the cause. Spray soft water on the leaves and unopened flowers, but stop when the flowers have opened up or spots will appear.
There are several hundred different gardenia varieties. Some do better indoors than others.
Great for indoor growing are:
Though originally a tropical plant, a few recent varieties are frost-hardy:
Nearly every gardenia sold as a houseplant is a cultivar of Gardenia jasminoides, so read the label closely if hardiness matters to you.
‘Veitchii’ is the one to look for if you want flowers indoors over a long stretch, including the colder months when light is good.
Gardenia ‘Frostproof’ was named for flower buds that resist late-frost damage, yet like other cultivars it still benefits from a sheltered position and a thick mulch over the roots in cold winters.
Gardenia is certainly one of the most beautiful indoor plants.
Native to tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Oceania, people usually love it for its abundant flowering. Additionally, gardenia releases a soft jasmine-like fragrance.
This plant will adapt to living indoors very well, as long as moisture levels are very high. Never place it near a radiator or heat source. It’s important to keep it from dehydrating.
Outdoors, it requires very mild climate, without any frost or freezing in winter.
During winter, freezing would kill the plant, and you’ll have to bring it inside for protection.
After having purchased your gardenia, wait for the blooming to end and repot the plant: this will stimulate development and proper growth.
