What makes gardenias bloom

Plant Care Today. Gardenia bushes are popular evergreen shrubs from the Rubiaceae family. These flowers typically prefer USDA plant hardiness zones of 8 through Use Gardenias as screens, hedges, borders, or ground covers. To make the best use of their fragrance inside and outside, plant them near patios, doors, or windows. The Gardenia plant produces flower buds in late spring to early summer, even early fall depending on the type of Gardenia variety.

They take years to bloom from seeds and about a year when grown from cuttings. Slight changes in the following factors can affect bloom time significantly and may even lead to your buds staying closed.

Early fall is the perfect time for planting Gardenias, about 6 weeks before the local frost date. If you live in an area with a hardiness zone of less than 7, make sure you plant your Gardenias during the spring to give your flowers plenty of time to settle in before the first hit of winter.

Poor soil drainage : Make sure your Gardenia soil is moist and well-drained. Inadequate Ph : Gardenias prefer acidic soils with a pH between 5. Pests and microbial threats : Aphids, scales and spider mites can attack gardenias. Check your plant for pests underneath the leaves and on the stems. Spraying your gardenia with an antifungal agent such as horticultural oil with baking soda and insecticidal soap can reduce the risk of infection or infestation.

Gardenias are not the easiest shrubs to grow, but their exquisite fragrant flowers make up for the extra attention they require Learn More. If your Gardenia's flower buds fall off just before they open, this may be caused by any of these reasons Learn More. Gardenia Leaves Turning Brown. If your Gardenia's leaves turn brown or display brown spots, this may be caused by any of these reasons Learn More.

Gardenia Leaves Turning Yellow. If your Gardenia's leaves turn yellow and drop, aside from the normal aging process of its leaves, this may be caused by any of these reasons Learn More. Favorite Large Gardenia Varieties. Favorite Medium-Sized Gardenia Varieties.

Hardy Gardenia Varieties. Heat Zones 8 - 12 What's My Zone? Want Garden Inspiration? Related Items Guides. Hardy Gardenia Varieties Beloved for their intoxicating fragrance and attractive, Get garden design ideas Find your perfect garden. As mentioned, you need to make sure that your gardenias are exposed to sunlight. As such, your gardenias need to get both sun as well as shade. When planting gardenias, you should dig a hole which is at least twice the size of the root ball in order to give the roots more than enough room to grow out.

Soil nutrient ideas include acidic fertilizers, blood meal, bone meal, and fish emulsion. Set down some fertilizer once the spring thaw has come, mixing it so you have roughly one part soil to one part fertilizing plant mix, and then see where you are and repeat the process after six weeks. Whatever you do for the soil nutrient-wise, make sure that the soil is well-drained, lest that aforementioned root rot set in. Ideally, you should plant gardenias in such a way that excess moisture will slip down a slope away from the roots and thus drain naturally.

Planting your gardenias outdoors means that they will be exposed to all manner of different insects and bugs. While most of these are harmless and some, like bees, can be very beneficial, others like aphids, scales, thrips, mealybugs, and more can eat away at your gardenias, so you need to check for and remove these at the first sign of trouble.

Thankfully, gardenias are relatively low maintenance in this regard. That said, they can still benefit from a bit of pruning as branches and stems start to get old and grow brown or droop, or you notice flowers starting to fade. That said, gardenias will start to set down flower buds for the next season in late summer. Few flowers rival the gardenia's beauty. Keep your gardenia bush humid. If it is growing in a pot, fill a planting tray with pebbles and water. Place the tray underneath the gardenia pot and as the water evaporates, it will increase the humidity in the air surrounding the gardenia.

If your gardenia is growing in the ground or you don't have a planting tray, mist the gardenia with water daily. Provide your gardenia with just the right amount of sunlight.

Gardenias need full sun with shade provided during the hottest part of the day. Indoor gardenias should be near a window with southern exposure where they can receive indirect sunlight.