Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis

Gardenia

Shrub

Perennial

Vascular

This species is commonly grown as an ornamental. Most cultivars are sterile as the flower parts are doubled. Cape Jasmine or Gardenia is an introduced evergreen shrub in the Coffee family (Rubisaceae). It is native to parts of Asia including Vietnam, Southern China, Taiwan, Japan, Myanmar, and India. It is commonly cultivated and sometimes persists around old home sites or rubbish dumps. It is a multi-trunked shrub reaching heights of 6-12 feet. The older stems have dark gray bark that flakes in large squares. Young branches are pubescent and flattened. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, oblong to oblanceolate in outline, with entire margins. The leaves are thick and leathery and a dark green color. The upper surface of the leaf is shiny and glabrous, the lower side of the leaf is lighter green in color and pubescent or glabrous. Flowers are solitary and terminal. The corolla is white and doubled in cultivated forms. The flowers turn yellow as they age. Flowers are extremely fragrant. The fruit is an orange and yellow ellipsoid berry with longitudinal ridges and persistent calyx lobes. Double forms do not form seed. Cape Jasmine is a popular ornamental and is readily available in the nursery trade. Numerous forms are available including double and single flowered plants, dwarf plants, plants with variegated foliage, and forms that are more cold hardy. Plants prefer an acidic, well-draining soil with full to partial sun. Plants in northern areas require some cold protection, and small forms can be grown in containers and brought indoors for the winter. Plants should be pruned after flowering to promote dense growth and control plant height. Plants are subject to whitefly infestations. These insects secrete large amounts of a sugary waste called “honeydew” which is quickly colonized by a black sooty mold. They can be controlled by regular spraying of an insecticidal soap solution or a horticultural oil mix.--A. Diamond

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Not Native

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