It ’s no coincidence we typically associate the intoxicating scent of gardenia with summer .
The flowering shrubGardenia jasminoides , also love as Cape jasmine , is semitropic . And you could only grow it outdoors as a perennial if you garden in a warm climate .
These flowering evergreen plant shrub are stout in areas that have hard freeze , but not where wintertime temperature sink below 10 ° degree Fahrenheit , or for some types , below 5 or even -5 ° F .
If you have your centre set on gardenia but you live in an country with winter atmospheric condition they ca n’t go , you could still grow them . You ’ll just involve to take them indoors to overwinter .
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Gardenias do n’t go dormant , so if you take on their motive for warmness , moist line , and lite , they ’ll continue to develop indoors until you take them out of doors again in spring .
That ’s the cognitive process I ’ll describe here , beginning with preplanning and choose you through the best way to tend this florescence sweetheart once it ’s in your home .
Here ’s what I ’ll incubate :
What You’ll Learn
Are Gardenias Cold Hardy in My Zone?
Most older gardenia cultivar are hardy in Zones 8 to 11 , while a few varieties that have been bred more recently are able to support the colder temperatures in Zone 7 or even Zone 6 .
If you ’d like to plantG. jasminoidesin a border , garden bottom , or as part of a mass planting or hedge outdoors yr - around , you ’ll need to find whether you ’re in Zone 8 or eminent , which would mean the temperature do n’t typically dip below 10 ° F .
In those zones , you could grow the old favorites out of doors , like the diminutive ‘ White Gem , ’ which grow one to two feet tall and has unmarried , waxy , white-hot blossoms .
If you ’re design to plant a gardenia in the ground that can survive the winter in Zone 7 , you ’ll need to try out one of the hybrid that ’s been develop more lately for better cold resistance .
Scent Amazing ™ , for example , is one of the more late introduce gardenia that can sustain Zone 7 ’s median low temp of 5 ° F .
Scent Amazing ™
Part of the Southern Living Collectionavailable from Home Depot , it attains three feet in height and has single white blossoms . The plants are shipped in two - gallon container .
There are even a few assortment that some nurseries recommend for develop as outdoor perennials in Zone 6b , a subzone with a minimum average temperature of -5 to 0 ° atomic number 9 . One of those is Swan Queen ® , which features two-fold blooms on bushes that reach an ordinary height of four base , and boast improved disease resistance .
But I ca n’t emphasize this enough : If you live outside the range of growing zone specified for a special cultivar , do n’t try on to grow it outdoors anyhow – not yr round , at least .
This bloom is already fairly particular about light , humidity , and fertilizer , so it ’s not deserving total more risk by plant it outside of its sustainable temperature mountain range . It will not live !
Fortunately you still have the option of growing gardenia in colder climes if you heed the following advice for overwintering . Take a holistic approach path , begin with cultivar selection and concluding with an superfluous boost of TLC while the shrub is living indoors to wait out the freeze weather .
Let ’s begin with the overwintering preplanning you ’ll need to complete before Jack Frost makes an show .
Plan Ahead for Overwintering
you could attempt to bring a gardenia in spite of appearance at the last mo , and it might work . But you increase your odds of keep the works alive when you plot your strategy starting the spring or summer before , or considerably yet , before you procure your plant .
It ’s crucial to plant your selected cultivar in a container , even when it will live outdoors in the warm months .
Unlikehot peppersand sealed perennials that can survive being dig out of the garden and pot to bring in for the winter , gardenias loathe transplanting .
They do n’t wish to have their origin disturb , and once they ’ve suffered transplant shock , your gardenias are probably goners .
They demand humidity and logical wet all yr long , no matter where they are growing , so make certain you fill your container of choice with well - draining grime with stack of humous .
Pick a sess that will hold moisture and that has a drain fix in the bottom . It also needs a detach saucer at least an inch deep , to watch any excess water that you ’ll pour off after lacrimation .
G. jasminoideswill languish if you let it place upright in accumulated water or oversaturated filth .
If you grade that pot on top of a plant tea caddy with roll , this will facilitate the chore of moving it . One suitable option that holds 80 pounds and is 12 inches straight isavailable on Amazon .
Wheeled Plant Caddy
I realize it might seem odd to care about being able to wheel a plant around when that task is six months or more aside , but it ’s far easier if you start out with a portable planter .
Since your gardenia wo n’t be be out of doors when the weather condition turns cold , you canselect a varietywith any degree of stale hardihood when you prefer to overwinter it indoors . But you might have an well-off time growing small cultivars , since they ’re well-heeled to move .
Popular types that will do best in containers admit ‘ Radicans , ’ a nanus variety that grows two or three feet marvellous , with one- or two - column inch , whorled - shaped , multi - petal blooms , and ‘ dual Mint , ’ a succinct shrub that reaches about three feet tall at maturity date , with duple blossom .
Before you opt for any cultivar that will need overwintering , make indisputable it will have what it needs when you add it indoors for the colder months .
While it ’s tempting to call back you ’ll be able to try out until you ascertain the correct spot , these flowering houseplants do n’t do well with frequent motion . Instead , endeavor to have a place in creative thinker and get it all set up before the chilly weather hit .
This inside spot should have a temperature in the 55 to 60 ° F range at night , and 70 to 75 ° F during the day . It should also provide about four hour of sunshine or strong light , but not oppressive , hot , direct sunlight . The good scenario declare oneself morning sunlight and afternoon ghost .
To produce that paragon , you ’ll require a sunny Confederate States or west - facing windowsill , or perhapsa grow light with a timer .
Also determine how you ’ll ply the 50 percent humidity expect forG. jasminoidesto flourish , perhaps with a tray of moistened sand or soused pebble placed beneath the pots . A humidifier could make for if you ’re up for the muss and trouble of keep it full and clean .
you may find morestrategies for rise gardenia as houseplants here .
While the plants are still growing outdoors , deadhead the spent flowersso they do n’t put any vigour into forming berries .
Also prune the flora after they complete the blossom cycle in mid- to recent summertime . Use keen , clean scissors grip or clippers to remove any drained branches , brown leaves , or scraggly prime . Then trim just a few inches or so , to maintain their form .
Hard pruning beyond early fall willdecrease the figure of flower for the next time of year , so avoid that if possible .
Also schedule the cutting at least a month ahead of overwintering , so the plant have a opportunity to recover before you subject them to the stress of a move into the menage .
There ’s one more bit of preparationI commend , although it ’s not a “ make or break ” part of the overwintering process . If possible , take a couple of cutting to root a month or so before you bring the plants in for the winter .
That way , if the industrial plant languishes , you ’ll have some new transplants uncommitted to plant out the next spring . seem forstep - by - step instructions for root gardenia cutting in our ecumenical growing guide .
Once you ’ve laid that groundwork , you ’ll be prepared to bring the plant indoors at the right sentence . Keep record for instructions to make a successful transition indoors .
Make the Move
How can you tell whether it ’s meter to impart a gardenia inside ? To avoid the huge temperature shifts that can cause these plant to decline , make the move when nighttime temperature start to get chilly , with Sir David Low around 60 ° degree Fahrenheit .
All cultivars can hold up temperature at least as cold as the average depleted temperature grasp in Zone 8 , which is 10 to 20 ° F .
The ones that are hardy down to Zone 7 can survive in temperatures as depressed as 5 ° F , and the varieties that can manage the winter shudder in Zone 6 can make it through when the quicksilver in your outdoor thermometer dip a few degrees below zero , down to -5 ° farad .
But do n’t wait for those icy temperature to tower before bringing the plants indoors . alternatively , take them indoors while both the outdoor temporary and your indoor setup are in the favourite range of 55 to 75 ° atomic number 9 , so the plant does n’t have to acclimatise gradually .
Also , before you roll or tug the industrial plant to its new , cheery , humid , warmish location , be indisputable to do what you’re able to to keep any glitch bollock or insect from entrance a drive inside .
Check the soil , stems , and both side of the leave of absence for signs of pestilence like aphid , scale , or whitefly . Be sure to pass over off any you spot with a body of water - moistened cotton wool diggings , or employ an insecticidal soap if needed .
launder the exterior of the planter and the whole dish with hot , soapy water . Rinse and dry out them , too .
Indoor Care Tips for Gardenias in Winter
To lean gardenias indoors in moth-eaten weather , be trusted to maintain sufficient moisture .
The top two column inch of the grunge should be allowed to dry out out before you get out the lachrymation can , which you could see by plunge a digit into the extinct edge of the land surface , or byusing a moisture beat .
Give the plant a thoroughgoing soakage , and then await 20 to 30 minute to let the excess waste pipe into the saucer at the bottom . Be certain to fling it , since stand up water is the enemy of this flowering shrub .
Mist the flora every few day with plain water , and provide humidness via that tray of wet pebbles or a humidifier .
As you did when the peak was grow outdoors , keep apply an acidifying fertilizer on a regular docket , come after the manufacturer ’s instructions for the amount and frequency .
recollect , frequent fertilizing will eventually conduct to an accumulation of salt in the soil .
you could eliminate the buildup , which can lead to ascendent rot and other malady , by flushing the territory with two or three rounds of water system once every six months or so . Let the redundant drain into the dish below , and then pullulate it out in the sink .
Also keep an eye out for the bugs that are so tender of gardenia houseplant . you’re able to obtain instruction for preventing and eliminatingaphids , mealybugs , mite , orwhitefliesin our guide to deal with each of these louse pesterer .
If you spot any pests before an infestation becomes widespread , you’re able to usually get rid of them with a strong current of water system or insecticidal soap spray before the plant succumbs to the microbe , or the ailments they can channelize .
These manoeuvre should gestate you through to the fountain . As the temperatures start to fond , you ’ll be able to add your overwintered plants back out of doors again .
Do n’t do this before nighttime temperatures are at least 60 ° fluorine , even if the daytime range is consistently in the 60s or 70s .
And keep an eye on the atmospheric condition forecast . If colder temperatures are expected after you ’ve returned the plants to their out-of-door posts , impart them in again , to a place with the same ample light and warm temperatures they ’ve been enjoying all winter .
A Winter Vacation Spot for a Subtropical Shrub
When you endure in a northern realm and long for arenaceous beach , tropic yield , and warm sunlight in the cold month , being capable to winter a subtropic flower shrub indoors can move up your liveliness .
If you make the attempt , I for sure hope you end up with sweet scents and pale - petaled blooms to run off the wintertime stagnancy .
And if you ’re fascinated with evergreen bushes that bloom , read theseflowering shrubguides next :
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About
Rose Kennedy
