How to grow Gardenia

How to grow Gardenia

Gardenias are a genus of plants in the Rubiaceae family, found in Asia, Africa and Oceania. Their name derives from the Scottish botanist Alexander Garden. It is a genus that includes many species that, according to the authors, ranges between 60 and 250. Many of these, especially those originating in China, Japan and South Africa, are cultivated in Italy as ornamental plants. In this sheet we will see how to grow Gardenia both in the garden and in the pot. The success of this plant lies in the fact that it is a resistant and easy to grow plant; It can be grown both in pots and in the garden but, being a shrub that can grow up to 1 or 2 meters in height, its cultivation in pot or in the garden must be carefully studied. To obtain all the same plants, gardenia can be propagated by cuttings; this is useful for obtaining monochromatic colorings.

For pot cultivation, some important requirements must be followed. In this sense, a very draining coarse material should be placed in the vessel’s bottom and in any case ensure that the saucers are never stagnant with water.
For the cultivation in the garden must be taken into account that it is a plant that in winter can not stand temperatures that fall below zero. This is why it is advisable, in this case, to protect your plants during the winter with screens, even if the gardenias can survive short frosts, not too intense. For the planting of gardenia in the garden you have to choose the spring period, when you are sure that the frosts are over. This happens mentova also made for the sowing of gardenia.
As for the substrates, gardenia prefers rich and very humid soils with subacid pH. The exposure must be half-shade with a good balance between sunny and shadowy hours.
As for irrigation, remember that gardenia needs abundant watering in summer when the climate is dry and when it is flowering; in the rest of the year the irrigations are to be given only in case of need. For fertilization try to periodically provide compost or earthworm humus; this operation must be carried out with the operation of cleaning weeds and with a subsequent mixing of the fertilizer with the soil. In the summer with this system you can intervene three or four times.
Now let’s see how to produce cuttings. These are produced during the August-September period. You will have to choose the most robust buds of the gardenia and take portions of about 8-10 cm. The operation should be carried out by severing the cutting with a sharp knife, removing the basal leaves. At this point the cutting should be placed in a jar filled in equal measure with sand and peat. If you want to stimulate rooting, you can work with hormones prepared by you. During the entire rooting period keep the soil always humid and in a shady position. The cutting will be rooted when the first leaves appear; at this point a half-shade position is ready for transfer into larger vessels. Gardenias obtained from cuttings bloom after 2 or 3 years.
The flowering of gardenia occurs in spring and summer with white flowers (but also pale yellow), fleshy and fragrant. The period of greatest flowering is that between April and June.