Gardenia jasminoides seed Gardenia seeds
LATIN NAME: Gardenia jasminoides
COMMON NAME: Gardenia
The gardenia is the glossy, richly scented shrub of the warm gardens, and its waxy, white, heavily fragrant flowers are among the most loved of all the warm-climate blooms. The dark, shiny leaves give the bush a fine, polished look through the year, and the single or double flowers open in flushes from the late spring to the autumn. The scent carries a long way on the warm evening air. It is a fine, showy shrub for the warm, sheltered garden and for the large pot on the patio.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The gardenia has a steady place in the plant science, and the breeding of the many garden forms has been documented in the horticultural journals for a long time. The fragrant compounds that give the flowers their famous scent have been studied closely, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the natural aromatics and the perfumery. The fruit has a long traditional use as a source of a rich yellow dye, and the plant is a quiet subject of the work on the natural colouring and the traditional dyes of the region. The plant is also known for its particular love of the acid, well-drained soil, and the growing advice is well tested.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The 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. The rich yellow fruit has long been used to colour the cloth and the foods in the traditional practice of the region, and the fragrant flowers have been used in the perfumes and the natural scents. Around the garden the shrub makes a fine, glossy, scented presence, and the flowers pull in the bees and the butterflies. It has been written about in the horticultural and the perfumery papers for its scent and its fine form.
The gardenia has a very long history in the gardens and the traditions of the east, where the glossy, scented shrub has been grown for the beauty of its flowers and the value of its fruit. The dried fruit is a traditional source of the rich, golden-yellow colour used for the cloth and the foods, and the fragrant flowers have carried their scent through the ages. The many cultivated forms of the gardenia, from the tall shrubs to the neat, small-leaved plants, come from a long programme of the breeding. It is a plant with a deep, quiet history in the warm gardens of the world.
To grow the gardenia from seed, sow the small seeds on the surface of pots of moist, acid, free-draining soil and press them in lightly, keeping them in a bright, warm, sheltered spot and watering gently so the surface stays damp. The seedlings thread up in good time and grow on into young plants that prefer the cool, humid, well-drained conditions. Pot them on carefully, give them the bright, warm, sheltered position they like, and the glossy, fragrant shrub will reward the patience.
The famous flower used by the floral industry in arrangements and corsages make for wonderful shrubs in frost free zones and lovely fragrant houseplants in colder areas. Gardenia or Cape Jasmine is an evergreen shrub that are highly prized for their profusion of sweetly fragrant double white blooms. Growing to a height of 4 to 6 feet and equal spread in the garden (smaller in containers), many would argue that there are few shrubs so perfect in their properties as a well grown Gardenia. With its low, dense growth, upright habit and its gorgeous bright green glossy leaves, Gardenia is a very attractive evergreen container plant or garden specimen. The real prize of this plant are its highly fragrant 4" double white blooms which turn to creamy yellow as they age. These open over a long period of time, from May through July and make great long lasting cut flowers. Inside they have a powerful, sweet fragrance, and can perfume an entire room. Outside, grow near a patio or in outdoor living area where the fragrance can be enjoyed.