by Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst

Q: my Gardenias are blooming a lot right now! I even put some of the dead brown flowers back around the plant, like mulch.

That’s the right thing to do, right Heidi?

Mahalo Debbie Azama Park

(Our fave Yoga teacher)

A; Brief answer: the spent flowers are good for mulch if they are pest free. Leafy mulch is also greatly beneficial for Gardenias.

Gardenias are called KIELE in Hawaiian.

They came to us from tropical China. The scientific name is Gardenia chinensis. They are in the RUBIACEAE plant family.

Did you know that there are over 200 species of Gardenias in the world?

Gardenias are easy to grow and bloom if you follow a few basics:

• Grow them in full sun.

• Pick every flower.

• Use soapy water to control ants and other insect pests.

• Cut long stems with blossoms if your plant is tall and flourishing!

• Cut the stems in the right place!

• Water!

• Shoot the undersides of the leaves to rinse off pests.

• Foliar fertilizer

• MirAcid 

The more sun the better, for Gardenias and most flowering plants. Study your sun and shade patterns and try to find the sunniest spot. Wind is good too. Air circulation helps get CO2 to the leaves of the plants and helps reduce insect pests.

You will have way fewer pest insects: thrips, aphids, scale, if you pick every blossom, look for a swirl of white on the green fat kiele bud, that’s the time to get your clippers and cut the bud and some stem.

Put that bud with stem, right into a vase of cool water.

If you see any pests on the buds or flowers, rinse them gently at the sink. If the pests are stubborn or plentiful, squirt some dish soap (1-2 drops) in some water and swirl it around, rinse off the pests.

Soapy water for the plant pests outside one tablespoon per gallon.

You can use a pump sprayer or handheld spray bottle. Spray the soapy solution onto the leaves and young stems, get the undersides of leaves, as that is often where the pests seek shelter and hide.

Leave the soap to sit on the leaves for at least an hour.

You can then rinse the leaves and shoot off the now smothered and dead pests and rinse the sooty mold off of the leaves.  Or you can just leave the soapy residue on the plants.

If you really want clean shiny Gardenia leaves, take a soft rag, dip that in the soapy solution and rub off the sooty mold and any insects or their eggs.

Watering and rinsing, like a strong windy rainstorm would do, is a great way to keep your plants healthy and pest free.

Observing while watering is also good; look for any buds coming along, and think about the best place to cut the stem to enjoy the blooms (and Fragrance!) inside your home.

GARDENIA Basics: THEY LIKE RICH, ACID SOIL, RED DIRT MIXED WITH GOOD LEAFY COMPOST. DIG OUT THE GRASS AND TOPDRESS WITH GOOD SOIL, MAKE AN EDGE TO THE PLANTER BED LIKE FLUSH BRICKS OR STONE, AND THEN JUST MOW AROUND THE BIG EDGE. KEEP THE GARDENIAS WEED FREE.No grass next to the stem.

Make a good soil zone area for the Gardenia roots with no competition from turf grass.

Gardenias also will bloom more if you fertilize with MirAcid. It’s the miracle gro in a blue box. If you fertilize with this each time you water, or at least a month or two before the main blooming season in May in Hawaii, you will get lots of lovely gardenia blossoms.