Question
Hi there,

I live in Scotland and have always loved having house plants in my home but have never been terribly successful with regards their longevity!  I have decided that I am keen to start from scratch with one plant to grow it from seed (if possible) and tend to it as a sort of first plant project.  I have chosen the cape jasmine due to it's long flowering season and obviously the beauty and scent of it.
Could you please tell me how to go about planting and caring for it?  I am a complete beginner and haven't found anything very comprehensive on the internet or in books so any recommendations of website/book would also be greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.
Karen

Answer
Karen,

The seed must be fresh and must be planted immediately for good germination. Just slightly cover the seeds with soil. However most CAPE JASMINE, Latin name Gardenia jasminoides, also commonly known as Gardenias are hybrid plants bred to bear lots of flowers that look like what we know as Gardenias. When you grow plants from seeds you can get any of the pre-hybrid ancestors to that plant and they may not have nearly as pretty flowers or as many flowers.

The soil should be a mix of sand and peat moss to make it very acidic which the gardenia needs.

A gardenia plant must never dry out, nor must the soil, which encloses its roots, remain too wet. Between these two conditions lies the happy medium, which spells success. Watering, then disposal of any water left in the saucer is the safest procedure. Foliage should receive a daily spraying. Mealybugs and red spider will probably make their appearance; promptly exterminate them.

Gardenias like sun, but should be kept out of it while the leaves are wet from spraying. When you plunge the plant in the garden during the summer and give it the light shade it needs, place it where trees and bushes will not drip rain on it, as the foliage spots badly. An occasional bud will form during the summer. Remove it as soon as it is detected. Desultory summer flowers will only lessen the chances of winter bloom. Return the gardenia to the house sometime in August before a light, early frost transforms a thing of beauty into a blackened denuded skeleton.

Indoors the humidity around the plant must be kept near 50%. Theis can be done by keeping it in the middle of several other houseplants or setting a humidifier near it or set it on top of a humidity tray. A humidity tray is a larger tray of water set under the drain tray of the plant so the plant is not sitting down in the water but the water in the humidity tray is constantly evaporating around the gardenia.

This is a difficult plant to grow and you must follow all the above instructions precisely and consistantly or the plant will drop leaves and flowers or buds easily. If you want to verify my info you will find more detailed info on the web if you look it up under Gardenia jasminoides or just Gardenia. Good luck.

Darlene