"Gardenia memories"

The beautifully perfumed Gardenia evokes memories of Christmases past.
Sunday, 10 December 2023     

Gardenia jasminoides Florida

The scent of Gardenia flowers always makes me realise that Christmas is approaching. It is said that the sense of smell is the one most powerfully connected to memory. According to neuroscientists, a scent or odor's unique ability to evoke particularly emotional memories is in large part due to the brain's anatomy: the parts of the brain where smell is processed and the regions of the brain responsible for processing emotions and memories are intertwined in the same general structure. Indeed, when I catch a whiff of the Gardenia at my front door, I am instantly transported back 55 years to our Christmas lunches at my aunt's place in Turramurra. A big Gardenia bush grew just outside her back door, and its perfume was inextricably linked with the excitement of the day. I seem to remember in those days that people often wore the blooms as a 'buttonhole' when going out at Christmastime.

Gardenia jasminoides (syn. G. florida, G. angusta), the most common species, is a frost-tender evergreen shrub hailing from south-east China, Taiwan and Japan. The thick waxy petals of the flower are usually formed into a kind of a double rosette, and can vary in size from petite in the prostrate cultivar 'Radicans' (ht 50cm) to large in the cultivar 'Grandiflora' (ht 2m). Medium-sized 'Florida' (ht 1m), the one I grow, is the most well known.

Gardenia are very suited to our Sydney climate, as they enjoy humidity, and have a lush look which fits in well with the semi-tropical plants I grow these days. Unfortunately, the plants have suffered from over-exposure in recent years, being beloved by many landscapers to use as hedging. I have never had a lot of luck growing them in the garden, as I found they became lanky and lacked a good form, so now I grow them in large pots, where they flower for many months from late spring into autumn, most profusely in November and December.

Generally, they enjoy a lightly shaded position with neutral to slightly acid soil which is well drained and rich in humus. Morning sun and afternoon dappled light is the ideal position for them. They don't like to be exposed to the hot afternoon sun in summer, as their small root system cannot cope with the rapid loss of water through the leaves. They do like adequate moisture and regular liquid fertiliser in the growing season to give optimum blooms, but the soil needs to be well drained. I shape mine in early spring (late August or early September) if they look rangy, giving them a complete plant food at the same time. They can become a bit woody and straggly with age and may need to be replaced every so often.

I once grew a more tree-like species, Gardenia thunbergia (ht 3m), which had very fragrant flowers like little pinwheels, but I found it shy to bloom and it took up too much space, so it was eventually axed.

Blog first posted 13 December 2009; updated 10 December 2023.


 Reader Comments

1/16  Jil - 5126 (Zone:10 - Mediteranean) Monday, 14 December 2009

My Mum carried gardenias at her wedding. They have a special place in my family! Merry Christmas Deirdre, and thanks for all the gardening info. Jil

Thanks Jil, a lovely flower for a wedding bouquet. Have a great Christmas! Deirdre


2/16  Jan - 2072 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 14 December 2009

Happy Christmas Deidre and thank you so much for every blog you have posted which has given me endless pleasure throughout the year. I shall look forward to next year and the friendship of gardening with you. Cheers Jan.B.

Thanks, Jan. I appreciated your comments during the year. Deirdre.


3/16  Sue t. - 2566 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 14 December 2009

I have a long suffering Gardenia flowering in a pot but Christmas for me is the blue Agapanthus and NSW Christmas bush my Mum brought us every year. Have a good Christmas and thanks for the blogs.

Yes, the aggies do remind me of Christmas too, as my mother used to use them for flower arrangements in a huge vase on the day. Thanks for your feedback during the year. Deirdre


4/16  Ian - 2119 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Hi Deidre. As a result of your note on Wendy Whiteleys garden at Lavender Bay, I took my Thursday walking gpoup there. We spent an hour chatting to a landscape garden who volunteers maintenance when he is not busy. Our group is now providing struck cuttings and Clivia from Frank who breeds his own.

That is great, Ian!


5/16  Margaret - 2122 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Wednesday, 16 December 2009

love gardenias too, but have not had much success with them. My neighbour has a lovely one, which she does not look after at all, but I enjoy her plant, without the work! Many thanks for your blogs over the year - fantastic! Looking forward to next years efforts!

Thanks, Margaret, and thanks for all your feedback through the year. Deirdre


6/16  Sue - 2074 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Sunday, 20 December 2009

They are very special flowers and my memory is of a grandmother who nurtured one in SA. Thanks for your lovely blogs. Happy Christmas. Sue.


7/16  Kay - 2158 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 11 December 2023

Happy Christmas Deidre I look forward to your Monday blog each week Enjoy your Christmas break Cheers Kay Thanks so much, Kay! Happy Christmas. Deirdre


8/16  Rachelle - 2130 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 11 December 2023

Last year, I took a small cutting of a two-storey-high gardenia tree. The cutting quickly produced roots in water, but is growing very very slowly in its new spot in my garden. Somehow, I dont think Ill still be around to see it reach the height of its parent. Oh I do hope you get to see it flower! They are gorgeous. Deirdre


9/16  Lynne - 2479 (Zone:11A - Sub-tropical) Monday, 11 December 2023

Wishing you and your family an excellent Christmas Deidre and many many thanks for you blog. It is always enjoyable and knowledgeable and I love reading it. Re gardenias, we have lots of the prostrate ones on a bank facing north west. They give us so much pleasure. They can look a bit sad when we have a dry spell but seem to bounce back happily each year. Jus finished flowering now. Thank you, Lynn. Your prostrate gardenias sound lovely. Deirdre


10/16  Shaun - 2075 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 11 December 2023

Deirdre, thanks for the blogs which I've so enjoyed in 2023. Joy health and fun to you and yours for the festive season and into 2024 Shaun Hurley Thanks so much for your interest in the blog. Deirdre


11/16  Janet - 2322 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 11 December 2023

Hi Deirdre, I hope your Christmas & New Year break are enjoyable thanks for all the great informative blogs I am eagerly looking forward to 2024. I wish all our fellow gardeners a very merry Christmas and safe New Year. All the best Jan E. Thanks so much, Janet - have a great Christmas. Deirdre


12/16  Valerie - 2121 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 11 December 2023

I love the scent of gardenias to the point that I've searched for perfumes with that ingredient, so thanks for your blog about them. A neighbour has a long, low hedge of gardenias and the scent of them fills the air, especially in the early morning and evening - bliss. I hope you enjoy the holiday break and some restful pottering in the garden. Too hot for anything else! That's so nice that you love the scent so much. Hope you have a great break too. Deirdre


13/16  Sue - 2074 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 11 December 2023

Thanks for lovely blogs this year Deirdre and best wishes for Christmas and New Year. Thank you, Sue and all the best. Deirdre


14/16  Georgina - 2076 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Tuesday, 12 December 2023

Hi Deirdre, Have a great Christmas and a Happy 2024. Gardenias are wonderful. I carried them on my Wedding day that came from a friends garden. i took cuttings from those and they are still growing and flowering today 38 years later. Georgina How lovely about your wedding bouquet with the gardenias and you have grown them from the cuttings. All the best for Christmas and New Year. Deirdre


15/16  Margaret - 2122 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Tuesday, 12 December 2023

I don't have gardenia growing in my garden, and currently no perfumes to remind me of Christmas. As a child, we had frangipanis providing perfume, with other plants, such as hydrangea, shasta daisy, agapanthus and the first peeping of crepe myrtle flowers which heralded the school hols and Christmas. As we lived close to Bondi Beach, the smell of salt water meant Christmas. All those flowers were used by my mother for Christmas vases in my childhood. The smell of the salt water would have been wonderful! Deirdre


16/16  Betty - 3104 (Zone:10 - Mediteranean) Wednesday, 13 December 2023

Thank you for a great year of gardening advice, Deirdre. Growing up in North Queensland, it was Bouganvillea for summer shade at school, then Brisbane was Jacarandas (Exam time!) and now in Melbourne it's Agapanthus, Gardenias and Hydrangeas. Merry Christmas. A big change of climates for you over the years! Happy Christmas. Deirdre


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