Gardenia jasminoides Fool Proof®

Gardenia jasminoides 'Leesix' Fool Proof® is a recent American variety of Cape Jasmine, selected for its generous flowering, which often repeats in autumn. Its beautiful, satiny dark green foliage forms a superb setting for the pure white flowers in spring and summer. The flowers, whose superb shape recalls certain roses, exude a powerful fragrance close to that of jasmine. Its limited growth (maximum 1.20 m in height) allows it to find a place even in the most compact gardens. And if the climate is too cold, or the soil is lime-bearing, preventing its planting in the garden, it will easily adapt to container cultivation and thus spend the winter under cover, with orangery plants.

Gardenia belongs to the vast Rubiaceae family, which includes about 600 genera and more than 10,000 species distributed worldwide, rarely in cold regions (only six genera in Europe, including Sweet Woodruff) and mostly in tropical zones (notably the Coffee plant). The Gardenia genus itself comprises several dozen species found mainly in tropical and subtropical zones. Among them, Gardenia jasminoides, nicknamed Cape Jasmine, is actually native to China and southern Japan. In its natural environment, it grows as a shrub or small tree that can reach 5 metres in height. It is distinguished by its evergreen foliage and its large flowers, 6 to 10cm in diameter, usually solitary, sometimes grouped in threes, at the ends of the twigs.
Fool Proof is a recent cultivar, introduced to the market in 2020 by the American breeder Robert Edward Lee. At maturity, it forms a compact shrub 1m to 1.20m in height, with a spread of 0.70 to 1m, after relatively slow growth. The numerous thin twigs are clothed in narrow, lanceolate leaves, most often measuring 4 to 8cm long. They are very elegant with a satiny to shiny surface, of a beautiful, true green, darker or lighter depending on the soil and exposure. They are evergreen and decorative all year round. Around May-June, magnificent flowers appear and bloom until July. The August heat marks a pause, then flowering resumes in September, even October. The flowers, which measure 6 to 8 cm in diameter, are double, with one row of petals forming a central cup, surrounded by narrower, spreading petals that open in a star shape. These distinguished flowers are among the most fragrant in the vegetable kingdom, spreading a strong jasmine scent around. This can even become overpowering in summer, so it is not advisable to plant the shrub in front of a bedroom window if you sleep with the windows open in summer.

Cape Jasmine Fool Proof is distinguished by appreciable hardiness: it can occasionally endure temperatures of -7°C to –12 °C when planted in good conditions. However, it is advisable to cover it with a fleece during repeated frosts to preserve its foliage. Furthermore, container cultivation is entirely feasible in regions that are too cold. This Gardenia jasminoides can even be grown indoors, in a bright space without direct sun, with a temperature between 18 and 24 °C and high ambient humidity, ideally above 60%. In western or southern regions (under protective shade), it will add an exotic touch to a border. Plant it for this purpose with other characterful plants, such as Indigofera heterantha, with its purplish flowering in summer, or Caesalpinia gilliesii, nicknamed the Bird of Paradise Bush for its evocative flowers, which will shelter it from overly harsh sun rays.