Gardenias are beautiful, fragrant and lovely plants - but they do have some demands when it comes to care. They love high humidity and protection from the hot afternoon sun. They also like a slow release plant food like Osmocote and plenty of water. If you live in the South with a shaded location and soil that holds moisture you are in luck as gardenias will grow more easily. In areas with cold winters gardenias can struggle as they are not as hardy as some other shrubs. A mulch of wood chips on top of the roots will help to conserve moisture and protect the plant in winter. Fertilize in spring and prune only in spring or early summer if the shrub must be pruned. Keep the soil moist but not wet and spray the leaves with a strong jet of water often during dry weather as this will help to dislodge whitefly, aphid and scale insects that all want to infest gardenias. Catering to a rather demanding plant is worth it when those fragrant white blooms appear. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti