Gardenias are an excellent choice for any garden. The gardenia is characterized by having white flowers and being a medium-sized plant. Many enthusiasts when buying the plant or propagating from the seeds ask, When do gardenias bloom? This plant usually won’t bloom if it doesn’t have the right conditions of light and humidity. But in general, Gardenia blooms from late spring to early summer, even early fall depending on the type of gardenia variety. Also, consider it depends on how is propagated, they take 2-3 years to flower from seed and about a year when grown from cuttings.
If you want to deepen your knowledge regarding when the gardenia blooms and what factors to consider, continue reading this article.
Knowing the plant
Before starting, as I always say, we must get to know the plant to understand what to expect and how to solve possible problems in development. The best gardener is the gardener with knowledge, as he achieves the best results. And definitely, this information will help you understand when do gardenias bloom and under what conditions.
When we are thinking about planting the Gardenia this plant prefers deep, acidic soils. It should not be planted in saline and calcareous soils. Most varieties are sensitive to frost, which is why we must protect them from the direct cold. The Gardenia prefers humid environments, which is why we must have a constant irrigation regimen. Watering and spraying 4-5 days a week in the summer is recommended, the intensity can be lowered in winter. If we can collect rainwater even better! Beware of spraying when the plant already has buds.
As for the light, we must locate it where it receives good light but is sheltered from the direct sun, ideally under trees or under mesh with partial shade. Regarding fertilizing, it is recommended 2 to 3 times a year (autumn, spring, and summer) with fertilizers rich in nitrogen (growth) and potassium (flowering).
When do Gardenias bloom?
Now that we know the main points about development, in the next section, we will go deeper into ¿when do gardenias bloom?
Season and Light
Gardenias bloom from late spring to early summer, even early fall, depending on the type of gardenia variety. The key is to plant them in the right location and carefully maintain the environment around them so that the plants are in a constant growth cycle and never in a dormant cycle.
Despite being plants that like outdoors, places where they receive direct sun should be avoided. They are short-day plants, which means that they usually make buds when there are 10-12 hours of light and 12-14 hours of darkness. In other words, if you find yourself in autumn or winter and you don’t see it blooming, don’t worry! It’s normal, the optimal flowering period is towards the end of spring and summer.
Temperatures
Regarding the ideal window temperature for the gardenias to bloom we should consider two, at the night at 15 degrees Celsius and about 23 degrees at daytime temperature. We must control the temperature of the gardenia since they stop blooming once the temperature during the day reaches 30 ° C. Similarly, gardenias do not like cold temperatures. Keep the temperature above 10° C to prevent the plant from entering a dormant stage.
Fertilizing
As mentioned before, fertilize the gardenia at least 2 or 3 times a year. You can use any liquid or granular fertilizer that is made for blooming plants and flowers.
Blooming is also affected by the method of growing. In the case of having been sown by seed, its flowering can take up to 3 years. This could be shorter if you used cuttings to grow.
Recommendation: Do not prune the old branches. Since gardenias produce buds on both new and old branches, any pruning can remove the buds that will become flowers.
Problems when blooming?
Now, let’s detail the main problems of poor flowering in a gardenia.
Water problems: The PH is inadequate or is with many salts.
Fertilizing problems: Do not forget that fertilizing the plant at least 3 times a year is important. Do it once in the fall, once in the spring, and once in the summer.
Growing problems: The typical blooming cycle of a gardenia that has been planted with seed and not by cutting is about 2 to 3 years. If during this course you do not get flowers, do not worry, it falls within normality.
Problems with insects or some diseases: You have to make sure that the plant is healthy, and if it has caught a “bug” there are usually signs on its leaves that indicate it.
Frost problems: A very cold winter can kill or leave our gardenia very weak. This is another of the common issues as to why it might not bloom. If you open the flower bud and find a brown color inside this would indicate frost problems.
Light problems: Avoid very dark places or places with excessive exposure to the sun.
Little or excessive watering: Many people who want the plant not to die to tend to irrigate excessively. This can drown the roots and/or rot them in the worst case. Recovering a rotten root is difficult. On the contrary, a dry root can still recover somewhat. To know when it is time to water look at the soil in the pot if it is dry in the first 3 centimeters you could choose to water it a little.
Wrapping up on when do gardenias bloom
Let’s wrap up this topic on when do gardenias bloom. Let’s consider the main takeaways. Gardenias bloom almost all year, but in general from late spring to early summer, even early fall. Temperatures are critical, temps above 30° C tend to stop the blooming phase, also temps below 10° C. Avoid direct sunlight. Fertilizing 2 times at least is critical for correct development and blooming, and let’s not forget the watering regimen, 4 to 5 days in the summer and 2 to 3 days in winter. If you see the pot damp give it a day or two to dry up.
Hope you found helpful this article! see you at the next one.