Scientific/Botanical Name:
Genus: Gardenia
Specie: G. jasminoides
Variety/Cultivar:
English Name:
Common Name:
common gardenia, cape jasmine or cape jessamine
Botanical Family:
Name in Latin: Rubiaceae
Name in English: coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family
The Plant
Origin: originated in Asia and is most commonly found growing in Vietnam, Southern China, Taiwan, Japan and India
Growth Habit: fragrant flowering evergreen tropical plant , shrub
Flower:white flowers, highly fragrant
Blooming Period: spring
Leaf: dark green shiny leaves with prominent veins
Usage:
garden/house plant. Blooms for floral design/weddings.
Care and Handling
Soil: acidic soil (it is an acidophile plant). If the soil is not acid enough, many of its nutrients (especially iron compounds) will not be available for the plant, since they won't dilute in water and therefore won't be absorbed via the roots.
Amount of water: advisable not to water Gardenias with very hard water. When having to water with hard water, it is possible to add some vinegar or lemon juice to it before doing so, this will lower the pH of the water.
Nutrition: Feed every two weeks with a water soluble, lime free fertilizer
Special handling: bright indirect sunlight or partial shade, rather than direct sunlight.
Special feature/remarks:
thrives best in warm temperatures in humid environments. Getting those conditions is rather hard when in non tropical latitudes, reason for which gardenias are usually cultivated indoors or in greenhouses.