Gardenia

Evergreen shrubs or small trees with glossy deep green leaves and fragrant white or cream flowers, gardenias provide some of the most fragrant of all flowers and are popular in warm-climate gardens worldwide. The genus includes some 200-odd species, most of them from tropical Asia or southern Africa.

Insider's secret

Gardenias are hardy to Zone 8. They thrive in full sun or light shade in moist soil that is quite acid (either naturally or made so with soil amendments); if foliage turns pale with dark veins, add iron chelate or iron sulfate according to the manufacturer's directions. When setting out container-grown plants, plant them at the same depth as they were growing or even an inch higher. Since cultivating around the plants may damage their shallow roots, keep the soil moist and cool by mulching with 2 to 3 inches of wood chips, sawdust or ground bark. Feed the plants every month during the growing season with a light dusting of a rhododendron-azalea-camellia fertilizer, cottonseed meal, or the fertilizer sold especially for gardenias, scattered as far as the branches spread. Prune lightly in early spring to shape plants, and remove deadwood.