Fall is coming and it's the best time of the year for shrub and tree planting.
Let’s explore the ever growing varieties of landscape plants. I will feature favorites and highlight their benefits so you can make the right choices for your garden.
Today’s pick is the beautiful, fragrant gardenia. I live in Southeast United States, USDA Plant Zone 7 where this plant thrives.
Gardenia has a few varieties all sporting a sweet smelling Summer bloom. Plant it near a deck or patio so you can enjoy it's fragrance. It’s a broadleaf evergreen, meaning it keeps it’s lush leathery foliage through the winter. Gardenias are similar to the other acid loving plants, (plants requiring a ph of 5-6), like rhododendron and azalea. Feed them in the Spring with a slow release plant food.
3 Standard Varieties:
Common Gardenia - Gardenia Jasminoides 5 - 6 feet tall. This is a full size bush so give it room. Plant near the back of a shrub border.
‘Klein’s Hardy’ 2 - 3 feet , medium height
Dwarf Gardenia - Gardenia radicans 6 to 12 inches prostrate variety, plant along the front in a shrub border.
I hope this inspires you to get digging and add gardenia to your plant collection this Fall.