How To Grow & Care For Your Gardenias

Gardenias are cherished subtropical, flowering perennial shrubs or trees that produce intoxicatingly fragrant blooms and dark green, shiny foliage. Gardenias make lovely additions to cottage gardens and traditional gardens and can be used as hedges, border plants, patio accents, or even grown as potted plants.

Follow our tips on gardenia plant care, so you can successfully grow these sweet-scented treasures year after year.

Light

Gardenias  prefer bright sun , but can grow in partial shade .Placing them in sun helps with frequent blooms.

Soil and Water

Gardenia prefers about continuously moist soil. Do not overwater as it will cause root rot and do not let the plant to completely dry out for long.

Fertilizer and Pruning 

Feed garden gardenias with any fertilizer at least once in a month .Potted plants can be fed about every two week.

For as beautiful as gardenias are, however, they are a shrub and like many shrubs, gardenias can benefit from being pruned occasionally. While it is not absolutely necessary to the health of the plant that you prune your gardenia shrub, pruning helps to keep your gardenia shrub shapely and the correct size for its location in your garden.

Because pruning is not essential to the health of your gardenia, it does not have to be done every year. Pruning a gardenia every other year  will be enough to keep its size manageable. You only need to prune enough to help your gardenia keep its appropriate size and shape.