# Question about Gardenias



## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Has anyone in south Texas been successful in growing gardenias? I have planted probably 20 over the years and have never been successful with them. They live a while and then die. They just do not thrive. I have used different flower fertilizers on them. Can't remember which ones right now but I do remember it said it was for shrubs. Any tips? I would just love to have a bunch of sweet smelling flowers in the yard that I can actually make live.


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

There are two problems we know of with gardenias in the south and probably many more!
Lacia can probably get more info to you. But one problem is that they do not like a lot of fungal activity around the root zone and get root rot readily. So perhaps some sand in your planting mix? Another is the fact that our hot nights do not let them rest. Many things that can take the temperature range cannot go without having it cool off at night. Somehow this messes with their growth patterns. We too have planted them several times because they were so much a part of gardens in So Cal. But they don't really like it here either. We do have a dwarf that has survived and it is in partial shade in a raised bed with better drainage than the surrounding area. 
They like to be acidic and higher ph ranges inhibit uptake of nutrients. There is a great product called Ironite that will acidify and give them deep green color and help them withstand the heat. 
Lee


----------



## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

I may try some Ironite and try one more time to grow them here. We have sandy soil here at the house. A few miles away over at what we call "The Far Side" it is black land. I finally got an azalea to grow here (Way away from any goats.) I noticed that the most beautiful azaleas I saw around here were planted near pine trees, so I stole a small pine knot from DH's wood shed and tossed it into the deep hole, added soil and then planted the azalea on top. They love that pine in the bottom of the hole. Never tried it with the gardenias though. That might work on them too. I don't know what it does actually. Maybe the pine makes the soil more acidic???


----------



## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Well of course this is from HG and what works for TX
Gardenia jasminoides 
gar-DEN-ee-ah jas-mi-NOID-ease 


Evergreen – Shade / Part Shade Ht. 4’-6’ Spread 3’-5’Ht. 4’-6’ Spread 3’-5’ Spacing 3’


HABIT: Glossy foliage, large white flowers in early summer. Native to China.


CULTURE: Needs highly organic soil with good drainage. Even moisture is important. Milorganite or manure in winter is a good idea. Chelated iron and soil acidifiers are often needed.


USES: Screen, specimen, accent, flower fragrance, container plant.


PROBLEMS: Aphids, scale, white flies, chlorosis.


NOTES: A good dwarf variety exists but has the same problems as the full size plant.

Gardenias are not always easy to grow but best results come from a comprehensive program of planting them in rich beds, fertilizing with organic fertilizers, and adding a tablespoon of vinegar per gallon of irrigation water. Bed prep for gardenias is: 4” compost, 1” wheat bran/cornmeal/molasses mix, ½” lava sand, ¼” Texas greensand, and one of the organic fertilizers at 20 pounds per square feet. Also spray the foliage every two weeks with Garrett Juice, which contains vinegar, or a fish and seaweed product. If vinegar isn’t in the product you choose, add it at 1 ounce per gallon of spray. The other ingredients are also important.


----------



## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Also from TX gardeners
Did you plant from a pot? Gardenias often come very root-bound in pots and if you drop them in a hole and just backfill, they will never thrive. You need to soak the rootball in a Garrett juice or similar tea -- 1 once to a gallon of water -- until well drenched, and then carefully lift and place in the hole. Make sure you gently spread apart the root-bound mass when it's in there and backfill with the native soil.

Pour the tea mix over it, water regularly to keep it moist, and hope...



Gardenias like a lower pH and lots of organic matter in loose soil.
So with our alkaline soil, lots of compost and other soil amendments will take you a long way toward success with them


----------



## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Yes, the pine would make things more acidic. They grew very well in coastal GA (where the soil is acidic...pine trees everywhere) but they needed to be in the shade. Made me very sad when we moved onto Ft. Stewart (after previously living off post in the closest town) into this brand new house (military quarters) and someone planted a ton of gardenias right in the sun. I tried to save them but it was hopeless. They smell soooo good.


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

> if you drop them in a hole and just backfill, they will never thrive.


This is SO true of most nursery stock. Everything is very rootbound and they never come out of that root ball if you don't break it up. I used to cringe watching Squidge plant new stuff and just knew he was killing it! Not so! I'm a convert! 
Often you can find evergreen shrubs pulled from the ground several years later showing no increase in root zone.

Remember too for all the root damage you do when you open and spread the root ball- some small feeder roots will be lost-you should take off a corresponding amt of the top. A bit of pruning on top will often give you pieces to root as well.

One more tip about gardenias for acidic root zone make a part of your soil mix from peat moss. This will be a slow acidification of the soil around it. And for long term acidification toss a scant handful of sulfur on the top and mulch with pine bark if you cannot collect needles. 
Lee


----------



## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Yeah, we have to use peat moss and sulfur for planting just about anything around here...our pH is around 7.2-7.4 otherwise!


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Chris I don't know if you knew Miss Ruth Yeager or not but she has/had the most beautiful gardenias when I moved here. She said the only trick with them was to put them on the south side of your house. Period. I have two huge gardenias on the south side of my house that thrive....having planted them everywhere else on the property including on the south side of Joni's house but near a fence...nope they are stunted and small, you have to snug them up against the house and let them go. Lucky for me the south side at least has a hugh window to enjoy them and is also right at the porch to sit and smell them, and on the walk to the garden. Vicki


----------



## txdana (Feb 26, 2010)

Gardenias will do fine in you area. Orientation and bed prep are key. Plant them where they get morning sun and afternoon shade. Prepare your bed for them by adding peat moss (properly worked), pine bark (it is acidic)and compost ( goat berries) working this all in 12 to 14 inches. You will not experience cotton root rot on gardenias in sandy areas. After they are established, you feed them with fertilizers labeled for azaleas, camelias, & gardenias. You can also make your bed more acidic by using aluminum sulphate. All blooming evergreens benefit from a shot of iron in Feb. Be carefull about putting fresh chunks of pine in the bottom of a planting hole because until it has had some time to break down it will steal all of the nitrogen out of the surrounding soil with which to do so and in effect will take nutrients away from your new plant.
Dana


----------



## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Thanks for these tips. If I can find some more gardenia plants Ill try some of these ideas and hope for the best. Maybe I'll try Lowes in Conroe. All I've been seeing lately is just azaleas.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Christine, you know who has wonderful plants in our area, the two mexican ones going down 105, one is before the flea market in Security. And of course the big outfit to your right as you hit Humble, it is my favorite place to go. Bushman Plant farm down by me is where we got our original gardenias and hollies, they didn't sell but wholesale for awhile, then I heard they were back...the are on the first dirt road past us, right past the white church on 945, think it's Sheldon road. There sign is all beat up, someone must have hit it, no idea if they sell to the public or not. They had super good prices, I actually one an auction with them one time with the chamber. vicki


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

ok, I got bugged by multiple folks to weigh in this thread... I have to say, I'm not thrilled about this whole section, there are tons of places to discuss gardening and so few to discuss our dairy goats and when the "unread" list is half gardening, its making me very cranky :biggrin

that said, I was asked for help by folks who have helped me, so here I am... most of you are on the right track here, they are compst and acidic loving, moisture sensitive and temperature fickle. And prone to just about every bug and fungal disease. But gosh are they worth it, eh? Try Rhody/Azaela/Camellia acid fertilizer with iron. The advice on morning sun and afternoon shade in TX is probably good, that's a regional thing, your sun/heat is way beyond what we here can relate to.

Pot-bound to a point, will sometimes make them bloom better, nice for retail show to get you to buy them :biggrin but then higher maintenance for you to keep their roots in that sweet spot of crowded but not too much. This is true of many flowering plants, they will flower best if given a little stress, that's when they freak out and say "under threat, gotta reproduce NOW" and look glorious and then die the next year cuz the stress-feared condition was too much, or they spent all their energy. If I had a dime for every time I've heard "but it was so glorious last year and then it just died"...

Wood stealing nitrogen is one of those mostly false, only a grain of truth things. Its true ONLY for the microscopic surface area of the wood. So if you are using wood chips as mulch, no worry. If you are mixing saw dust into the soil, then big problem due to the difference in surface area using nitrogen. Those potting soils that are mostly wood bits are a problem.

Peat is close to evil, both for how it is extracted, and how it behaves getting crusty and hydrophic, tying up some nutrients etc. Its better than nothing if you soils are just desperate for ANY organic matter, but you should all have plenty of old bedding, wasted hay, even goat poop still has organic matter in in. If you need more, try renewable coconut coir. Its weird stuff, you buy in in these dehydrated blocks and you have to hack them up a bit and soak them before using, but then its good stuff.

Wood chips with lots of goat pee are fabulous good balanced ratio for slow release nutrient mulch. Mulch goes on TOP of the soil, like a blanket for moisture and temperature, let the microorganisms and worms mix it in to the soil at the properly integrate-able (word?) rate... they are so much smarter than us about matters at this scale :biggrin

back to goats for me... those of you who wanted me here had better answer my post :biggrin :biggrin I'm worrying out about the flaky udder skin on the doe due to kid any day (143 today, last year was 147ish)


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Oh I like this...I will answer one question about your goats for every one questions you answer about gardening  HEHEHEHEee!!! Vicki


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

( Note to self: UH OH... Vicki's got my number... ) :rofl
really, I beg for mercy here, gardening is a ubiquitous black hole for my time, there's few other choices for good dairy goat discussion/info (is there an a$% kissing icon?) :crazy :rofl :sigh :help2 :nooo  :naughty :evil


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Time to pay up Lacia!


----------



## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

:rofl


----------



## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Well I found 2 beautiful gardenia plants. Planted them today. Got some hay/goat poop mixed into the soil and mulched around on top and I put a piece of pine knot in the bottom of the hole so they should be happy plants. Maybe they will live this time.


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

We have a mini covered in buds. I love the little ones too.
Give them a bit of nitrogen soon to help with composting the hay and manure- it uses nitrogen to do that and they may end up lacking. Be sure to acidify too- We just found the BIG bags of Ironite at Lowes this year after hunting all over the world last year. Just did all the flowering evergreens in time for this next rain which I hope is only rain since the berries have all set fruit....no hail pleeeeze.
Lee


----------



## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Ironite. Ahh!!! I knew I forgot something when I was at Lowes. Oh well... darn!!! Guess I'll have to make another trip to Lowes.


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

rusty nails in a bucket help too, just give them the rust "tea" if your soil is already a bit acidic. Otherwise add coffee grounds, most coffee places give them away for free.


----------

