Gardenia jasminoides Seeds | Gardenia
LATIN NAME: Gardenia jasminoides
COMMON NAME: Gardenia
Plant Profile
Gardenia jasminoides, commonly known as Gardenia, is a fine, showy shrub. Gardenia is glossy, richly scented shrub of warm gardens, and its waxy, white, heavily fragrant flowers are among the most loved of all the warm-climate blooms. Dark, shiny leaves give bush a fine, polished look through year, and single or double flowers open in flushes from late spring to the autumn. Scent carries a long way on warm evening air. Bees find the flowers quickly, and that pollinator traffic is a garden benefit in its own right. Put simply, this is a rewarding species for anyone willing to give it a suitable spot.
Science & Biotechnology
Gardenia jasminoides sits in the Gardenia group, a group that keeps botanists, horticulturists and plant breeders busy with questions of classification, adaptation and ornamental potential. Gardenia has a steady place in plant science, and breeding of many garden forms has been documented in horticultural journals for a long time. Breeders and collectors still work with it, so well-kept seed remains available.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Gardenia has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. Gardenia is one of the most widely grown of the fragrant shrubs, and it is prized in the warm gardens, the conservatories and the pot culture. Rich yellow fruit has long been used to colour cloth and foods in traditional practice of region, and fragrant flowers have been used in perfumes and natural scents. Around garden shrub makes a fine, glossy, scented presence, and flowers pull in bees and the butterflies. Once settled, it thrives on neglect more than on fussing.
Gardenia fruit, Zhi Zi, is a major Chinese herb for clearing heat and calming irritability, yielding crocin pigments shared with saffron; the flower’s fragrance is among the finest in all gardening.
Growing from Seed
Raising Gardenia from seed is straightforward. Sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly into a loose, well-drained seed compost, water in gently, and keep the sowing in bright light with steady moisture. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
As a fine, showy shrub, it settles into a routine quickly once established. It is generous with beginners and their occasional misjudgements.
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