Gardenias are very pretty and colorful, and are ideal for any garden. You can plant them in large clusters on trellis or fence posts, or you can grow them in small groups on small fences or hanging baskets. The good news is that they are hardy perennials, so they can easily sustain even heavy amounts of fertilizer. They love full sunlight, but need at least six hours during the day. So plan your garden so it gets the right amount of natural sunlight.
There are some gardenia plant companions that do better in the garden than other annuals. Most gardenias do well in full sunlight, but you will find those that do better in shade. You should also watch out for acidic soil, which will affect many of the flowering annuals. Try to find gardenias in fertile soil where they can grow for four to six weeks before pulling them off. If you don’t do that, you may be ruining your new blooming gardenia.
Conventional gardenias are a great way to get the best use out of your garden space. They grow slowly, take a while to flower, and have a long blooming period. Many have long blooming stems that reach up to three feet tall, so they look better as shrubs than as annuals. There are some other slower growing shrubs that make good gardenias, too. Try mixing and matching the types of shrubs to create a more natural look and feel to your backyard area.
Most gardenias are sold in spring, but you might still find them available at some times in summer or fall. If you’re having trouble locating them in containers, you might try putting some on a shelf and checking them out carefully each year when they get close to replanting. Some perennials, such as japanese spurge and morning glories, will stay in bloom all year, but most others won’t. If you can’t wait, however, you can purchase a variety of gardenias in spring and move them into pots when they’re ready to begin producing flowers. Some perennials, such as freesias, also are good companions to taller annuals in the same bed because of their size and ability to grow very large.
When you’re considering what to plant with gardenias, you also need to know what to avoid. Some plants, such as begonias, are native to the area and won’t need anything else, but others aren’t. For example, begonias should be planted alongside other plants that are native to your climate, such as lavender. Others, such as hydrangeas, need to be contained in borders so they don’t crowd out other desirable plants. A fence with a screen door in the center will provide that containment.
If you want gardenias that bloom quicker than their counterparts, you need to start flowering earlier in the season. They will flower more quickly in warm, wet weather, which is the best time to start planting them. Gardenias that are planted early in the season will start blooming before many of the other perennials, which helps make them the perfect choice for early blooming, hardy shrubs and herbs. Planting them later in the season, after the insects have had a chance to kill them and the flowers have come out, can sometimes result in slower blooms within the gardenias, which makes it difficult to keep them going.
Some gardenia plants, such as the California poppy, are drought tolerant and do well in low-light environments. The problem is that it takes a lot more light to grow a gardenia with this quality than it does to grow gardenias with full sunlight. It is best to avoid planting them in shady areas and try to place them as close to an open window or a sunny roof as possible. These types of gardenia plants will also grow better if planted in pots, rather than in a large gardenia pot.
When you’re choosing what to plant with gardenias, be sure that you consider your climate, what the flowers will look like when they bloom, and what type of container you’ll use to bring the flowers home. Most gardenias grow well in small containers and with the right care, they’re even suited to hanging baskets. Once you get the hang of planting and taking care of gardenias, you’ll soon discover that they’re one of the most enjoyable backyard plants you can have, as long as you know what to plant with them.
