Gardenias – Secrets to Success
Create a Healthy Root System.
• Give plenty of sunlight. The more light the better.
• Dry period between waterings -Visual dryness to the soil surface.
• Moderate amounts of fertilizer, discontinue during fall and winter before growth stops in fall. Excessive fertilizer makes the plant grow fast, but creates a weak root system.
• Grow in clay pots to insure quicker dry down between waterings. Don’t over pot.
• As a potted plant, temperatures above 65° F to keep the roots active, but it will tolerate temperatures below freezing, if grown outside.
• Prune in springtime after flowering.
• Use a soilless potting mix. To keep a more acidic soil, put black tea bags in a watering pot and give a drink of diluted tea . Do this every month or two.