Gardenia: Tropical? SubTropical Evergreen?...

[petegreg]

Much appreciated!

You're welcome.

 

[Carol 83]

I decided to try again with them. I bought a couple small ones when at Cass Bonsai nursery this summer. So far so good. Brought them in when I brought my other tropicals, sub-tropicals in. Yours looks good. Good info about the water @petegreg , I knew that about azaleas, but not gardenias.

 

[GrimLore]

It did throw out one bloom this spring, and I see it appears to be getting ready to bloom some more this year...
The smell of the flower is very nice.

You may not like it so much indoors Although varieties exist with lower odor most can be a bit overbearing indoors. I am adding some in Spring but because the Winter room is virtually sealed so I must find the less fragrant type
You should keep it indoors with things like Ficus and remember they like light and humidity. Most likely it will pout at first when brought in dropping foliage but it grows back. Inside don't water the foliage as they tend to have fungal problems if you do. And finally, little to no fertilizer over the Winter.

Grimmy

 

[Slow Learner]

You may not like it so much indoors Although varieties exist with lower odor most can be a bit overbearing indoors. I am adding some in Spring but because the Winter room is virtually sealed so I must find the less fragrant type
You should keep it indoors with things like Ficus and remember they like light and humidity. Most likely it will pout at first when brought in dropping foliage but it grows back. Inside don't water the foliage as they tend to have fungal problems if you do. And finally, little to no fertilizer over the Winter.

Grimmy

I live almost exactly between both of you but close enough for the Bay to have a significant warming influence. I am interested if your gardenia will survive the winter outdoors. I have protected trees by wintering them outdoors in a basement window well. I am lucky that I have three that get lots of direct sunlight.

 

[GrimLore]

I am interested if your gardenia will survive the winter outdoors.

They would most likely survive for me here during most Winters but would require more work then I would like to do. The wind has a tendency to dry things a lot and the humidity is very low here throughout the Winter. Indoors I can control the humidity in the plant room and not expose them to drying winds. So yes they could survive outdoors but indoors they would be far healthier.

Grimmy

 

[just.wing.it]

Yeah, I might bring it all the way in....
I already brought it into the garage.....
Need more room

 

[GrimLore]

Yeah, I might bring it all the way in....
I already brought it into the garage.....
Need more room

Tortoise, plants, and dog grooming all in one room here makes life a bit easier. Even so I will be adding more shelves and lights as plants seem to spill over into the dining area

Grimmy

 

[just.wing.it]

Lol, my operation is a bit smaller....
But I did find a good piece of plywood, and made more room!

 

[just.wing.it]

All my trops!

 

[just.wing.it]

They would most likely survive for me here during most Winters but would require more work then I would like to do. The wind has a tendency to dry things a lot and the humidity is very low here throughout the Winter. Indoors I can control the humidity in the plant room and not expose them to drying winds. So yes they could survive outdoors but indoors they would be far healthier.

Grimmy

Do you think it's a bad idea to do any pruning on gardenia over autumn / winter?

 

[GrimLore]

Do you think it's a bad idea to do any pruning on gardenia over autumn / winter?

Honest on all garden/flora/shrub types I discourage long leggy growth while they are inside by light trimmings as needed. Most plants when brought indoors pout a little and some take a few weeks to do so. They drop some leaf and such and after that phase is when I clip as needed. My opinion is a bit different on the subject as I just want healthy plants to put back out in the Spring and I don't try to grow them or seeds.

Grimmy

 

[just.wing.it]

Honest on all garden/flora/shrub types I discourage long leggy growth while they are inside by light trimmings as needed. Most plants when brought indoors pout a little and some take a few weeks to do so. They drop some leaf and such and after that phase is when I clip as needed. My opinion is a bit different on the subject as I just want healthy plants to put back out in the Spring and I don't try to grow them or seeds.

Grimmy

Most of the shoots are at a point where I would trim them back...
And there are a couple unwanted branches I may remove.
Just didn't want to stress it too much, out of season...
It seems strong though.
I'm not scared.

 

[GrimLore]

Most of the shoots are at a point where I would trim them back...
And there are a couple unwanted branches I may remove.
Just didn't want to stress it too much, out of season...
It seems strong though.
I'm not scared.

As I mentioned it will probably pout a little and I let plants do that. To be more specific I work them when they start to replenish the leafs. To me that indicates they have acclimated and may be worked the same as outdoors. One thing to keep in mind is they don't like dry air so check and be sure you have some humidity. Our indoor plants in the room do good in a few different humidity levels ranging from 50 to 70 percent. Here a healthy plant like yours should be happy at 50ish but no lower then 40. Mileage varies but the basics for indoor health are pretty specific per plant type.

Grimmy

 

[just.wing.it]

As I mentioned it will probably pout a little and I let plants do that. To be more specific I work them when they start to replenish the leafs. To me that indicates they have acclimated and may be worked the same as outdoors. One thing to keep in mind is they don't like dry air so check and be sure you have some humidity. Our indoor plants in the room do good in a few different humidity levels ranging from 50 to 70 percent. Here a healthy plant like yours should be happy at 50ish but no lower then 40. Mileage varies but the basics for indoor health are pretty specific per plant type.

Grimmy

I'll have to dig out my psychrometer and check the RH level in here....
The ficus, and Carmona are liking it so far.

 

[GrimLore]

I'll have to dig out my psychrometer and check the RH level in here....
The ficus, and Carmona are liking it so far.

If they are growing healthy I treat shrubs as shrubs indoors. Here is a Bougainvillea we brought in when the nights were getting to be in the 50F range. It was to wide to bring in the door so we tied it upright and tossed it on the table for 2 days. About four foot tall - 10/05/2016 -



We chopped it down to 8 - 10 inches and 0n 11/04/2016 it started to bud on old wood -



More growth on 11/08/2016 -



A few days later today 11/13/2016 more growth and bracts starting -



It will now need a lot of trimming throughout the Winter to fatten it up and prevent it from becoming a 5 - 6 foot very leggy vine by Spring. As I said if it is a shrub or flora and it is doing good for me indoors during the Winter I treat them as one would outdoors down South. It works good and pays to read up on what garden growers do with many down South as a guideline. This is not unusual growth done properly and Serissa in particular require even more trimming all Winter or they turn into a real leggy mess.

Grimmy