gardenia taitensis....

[epicure3]

Hey folks:

Does anybody have experience growing this plant in SoCal? I am about to plant a 3 gallon plant and want to make sure that I plant it in the correct place. The place I want to put it is in partial shade (1/2 day sun). Any feedback on this beauty would be helpful.

Thanks

[mnorell]

When I lived in Hawai'i I became very enamored of this shrub, which thrives there in hot, dry areas (e.g., leeward Honolulu/Waikiki) with no additional irrigation, in parking-lot margins, beach areas, etc. I used to grow this in L.A. (Hollywood area) successfully in a window-box in a south-facing position, with concrete below. It did all right if not spectacularly...now that I'm growing this plant in the Gulf region with its warm springs, hot summers, warm falls and cold (a la parts of northern California) winters, and comparing it with other Gardenia species, I can say that this plant LOVES the heat and is most susceptible to poor drainage and cold, wet soil. It can recover from a certain amount of frost (mid-20s) when grown under some overhead cover with a thick, protective winter mulch, but the certainty is that if it's grown in cold, wet heavy soil it is a goner. It will rot very quickly.

The solution is to grow it in the hottest possible position, in very sandy soil, preferably in a raised, south- or west-facing bed. It is extraordinarily drought-tolerant as far as Gardenias go. Put one of these plants in a small pot next to an identically-potted Gardenia jasminoides in the hot sun and you'll see the jasminoides use up its water, wilt and die while the taitensis remains perky and strong far longer. Treat this plant as you would Plumeria and it will probably be happy. But stay away from the fogbelt, it will be pretty miserable there to be sure. It must have heat to do well. If you can supply that, it will flower pretty well and grow slowly but surely. Coastal San Diego's pretty chilly most of the year. It really would need Escondido/El Cajon-type heat to do really well, I think, certainly if you were to do 1/2-day sun. It would thrive in nearly frostless low-desert areas. Closer to the coast it would be imperative to give it maximum sun and reflected heat. Perhaps you can rig up some sort of reflected-heat area near walls and concrete, with a black-rock mulch, and it may do the trick. As I say, Plumeria would be a good gauge-plant for locating this species, as would Allamanda cathartica, Adenium obesum, the various Jatrophas, and most of the real heat-loving lowland tropicals. it's good that you've got a three-gallon specimen, that will help. Good luck, it's a wonderful plant and worth the extra effort!

[epicure3]

Great! Thanks very much for the tips.