Gardenia jasminoides Sweetheart

The Sweetheart Gardenia is a recent variety that will seduce with its vigour and long-lasting flowering with a sweet fragrance. While this hybrid gardenia is not the hardiest, it proves to be more vigorous and more floriferous than usual compact varieties. Its wonderful flowering, with single, creamy-white, star-shaped flowers, lasts from mid-spring to the end of summer. Hardy down to -8/-10 °C (17.6/14 °F) in well-drained soil, this evergreen shrub thrives in the ground away from scorching sun or in partial shade, in lime-poor, fertile soil that remains moist in summer. While it prefers mild and humid oceanic climates, it performs very well even in more continental areas. It deserves a prominent place on the terrace or close to the house.

Gardenia jasminoides is a shrub of the Rubiaceae family, native to Asia. It is commonly found in the wild in Vietnam, southern China, Taiwan, Japan, and India, in mild and humid, subtropical to tropical climates. Its cultivation in China dates back at least a thousand years, and in recent years numerous American cultivars of varying hardiness have been produced. 'Sweetheart', from which it originates, slowly forms a small shrub with a fairly dense habit, reaching 70 cm (27.6 in) in all directions in pots and 1 m (3 ft 4 in) in the ground under suitable conditions. Its white flowers, with 6 waxy petals and a powerful fragrance, bloom abundantly from May to July, and then more sporadically until September. They appear solitary in the axils of the leaves, at the top of the branches, measuring 5 cm (2 in) in diameter and fading to pale yellow. The flowers stand out well against its elegant leaves, which are slightly thinner than those of usual varieties. They are entire, shiny and dark green, with very prominent veins. The bark is grayish. Gardenias have a very long lifespan and are more floriferous in their young age.

Despite their somewhat demanding nature, Gardenias are among the most coveted shrubs by plant enthusiasts. It is undeniable that when the conditions are met, in a humid and mild climate and in fertile, lime-poor soil, sheltered from scorching sun and frost, the gardenia proves to be one of the most beautiful plant species. The hardiness of certain varieties like Sweetheart, often questioned, should be moderated according to the duration of frost and the water content of the soil. In mild and humid climates, and even in more continental areas, in well-sheltered locations, the cultivation of gardenias in the ground can be perfectly successful, as long as they are protected from draughts that they dislike. Elsewhere, it is preferable to grow them in pots that can be taken inside, in a cold greenhouse during winter. In the garden, camellias, rhododendrons, pieris, and kalmias will make excellent companions for this delightful shrub.