Gardenia
Scientific name: Gardenia Jasminoides
Other common names: Cape Jasmine
Gardenia is a family of plants that are native to tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia. These are originally outdoor shrubs, in semi shaded spots. Which can be trained to live indoors as well. Gardenias are sought after for their highly aromatic and fragrant flowers. Nonetheless, these plants have dark green leaves, all year round, which make them beautiful indoor plants. Gardenias are moderately difficult to look after, for their peculiarity in their optimum needs.
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Light
Gardenias, originally being outdoor plants, will need very high intensities of direct light indoors. Place plants maximum 1m away from a window or as close as possible. Sunny indoor positions are very much appreciated by these plants.
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Temperature
Cool Egyptian summers, are ideal for these flowering plants. In winter, make sure temperatures do not fall below 15C.
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Water
Do not overwater these plants, specially whenever they have flower buds ready to bloom. When buds or leaves turn black and start dropping is a definite sign of overwatering. Do not overwater these plants. Long droughts will make all buds to fall off as well.
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Feeding
Feed fortnightly during the active growth period from May to late September.
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Helpful instructions
Iron supplements help grow these plants better. Deficiency of iron can cause some leaves to turn yellow.
Flower buds might drop due to: over watering, under watering, low humidity, insufficient light, temperatures lower than 15 C or very high temperatures above 38C. So be attentive to find out which cause being the reason.
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Varieties of the Gardenia available in store