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Gardenias As a Schrub in Phoenix AZ??

Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2006
by m. colson on September 01, 2006 04:29 PM
Hello,
I am a transplanted Floridian living in the Phoenix Arizona area. I have recently added two varieties of Gardenias to my yard. First is the Veitchii variety; it has produced several blooms and the buds dropped before they opened. I inspected one of the fallen buds and it had what appeared to be a small brown worm deep inside the bud.

The second is called the August Beauty Gardenia, it should grow larger and wider than the previous variety. This bush is growing well but does not produce buds at all.

I have had these planted for approx 60 days and am not satisfied with the result so far. I have very fond memories of my Gardenias in Tampa Florida, I never really had issues at all while growing things in my yard in that state. I come to you for advice;

I purchased these both at the local Home Depot and was assured they would thrive here but I cannot get things rolling; I water these daily 3 times a day for 8 minutes on a 2gal per hour drip system. The recent weather conditions have been moderate for this area. Daily highs around 105 to a low in 90's. They were planted with a slow release 10-10-10 fertilizer and are both producing new growth with out any sign of disease. Just no flowers!! What to do??

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Thanks for all your assistance. I am a real brown thumb!
by TulsaRose on September 01, 2006 11:10 PM
[wavey] Welcome to the forums.

At the top of the pages here, you'll find a Search option. Garden Helper has a number of "how to" articles that are a great help. Here is the link for Gardenias.

I hope you enjoy The Garden Helper forums as much as I do. [Wink]

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Rosie z7a
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by m. colson on September 02, 2006 05:35 AM
Having just enrolled on this forum, I wrote this post and then found the search option you mentioned. THANKS! I see from that text that I have 2 things going against me at this time; HEAT and I suspect over watering!

I am making adjustments to the irrigation and considering relocation! lol.. NO not really!

It does appear the water drainage may be the primary culprit as we had 5 days of extremely heavy rains here in the desert! (oxymoron) It happens this time of year and I think it impeded the blooms.

P.S. Moved here after a stop in Shawnee Oklahoma. I think I would have had better luck growing these there in Oklahoma.

Thanks for the prompt response!

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Thanks for all your assistance. I am a real brown thumb!
by debnoel on September 03, 2006 01:40 AM
Yeah, heat is a problem. I live in upstate NY and I have a large gardenia in a huge pot that I take indoors for the winter but I leave it out in the summer. It needs its own umbrella to shade it for the hottest part of the day or the leaves get burned. When you read about them, they have pretty specific growing requirements, not just for staying alive, but also for blooming. I love mine and killed many before I stumbled on the correct place to put it- bright light, not direct sun- careful watering, it doesnt't like to be constantly wet, and temp control. Good luck.

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