How Fast Do Gardenias Grow?

The gardenia is a favorite plant amongst keen gardeners, and it’s not hard to see why! They are eye-catching plants that produce beautiful flowers, smell gorgeous, and are considered to be pretty easy to maintain.

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However, if you’re new to growing gardenias, you likely have questions regarding their growth.

How fast do they grow? How quickly do they flower? Is there anything specific I need to do to help my gardenias grow? If these questions (and more) are currently circling your mind, don’t worry! We’ve got some answers for you.

The growth of a plant, such as the gardenia, is affected by many factors, including temperature, humidity, light, and nutrition.

To learn about the average growth rate of the gardenia, and how to provide your gardenia with the most optimal growing conditions, take a look at our info-packed article below.

What Are Gardenias?

Gardenia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Africa. The name comes from the Spanish word for “garden” or “Jardin” (gardens).

There are about 300 species in this genus with about 50 of them being cultivated as ornamental plants.

Gardenias have been grown since ancient times and were used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes. They are now popular garden flowers known for their beauty and wonderful fragrance.

The most common type of gardenia is G. Grandiflora, which has large, fragrant flowers that bloom from spring through summer.

Other types include G. coccinea, G. jasminoides, G. florida, G. hondurensis, G. luteola, G. spectabilis, G. thymifolia, G. tigrina, and G. wilsonii.

How Fast Do Gardenias Grow?

Generally, Gardenias grow quite slowly. They tend to grow up to about 12 inches per year. Some gardenias take longer to bloom than others.

For gardenias with slow growth rates, you can expect them to add about 1-2 feet each year.

For those with moderate growth rates, they tend to add 1-2 feet each season. For those with fast growth rates, you can expect to get 2-3 feet per season.

How Fast Do Gardenias Flower?

Gardenias produce wonderfully fragrant blooms. They typically begin blooming around April and continue until September.

However, some varieties may not bloom until May or June. If you want your gardenias to grow and bloom quicker, take a look at our growing tips and tricks below.

Gardenia Growing Tips And Tricks

If you’re struggling to get your Gardenias to thrive, not to worry. We’ve put together a list of growing and care tips to help you on your way.

Temperature And Humidity

Some Gardenia cultivars are more cold-tolerant than others. Generally speaking, Gardenias are hardy shrubs, but the majority of them do prefer warmer climates and they are quite sensitive to drastic changes in temperature.

It is also important to note that Gardenias are frost-intolerant plants.

Gardenias will grow optimally in day temperatures of between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and night temperatures of around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

If your area is a little warmer than this, don’t worry, it won’t harm your plants. It just means that they won’t grow at an optimal rate.

Gardenias enjoy environments with high humidity. If your area is particularly dry, we recommend misting your gardenias with some water using a spray bottle.

This will increase the moisture in the air available to them and will encourage them to grow quicker.

Sunlight

Your gardenias will need plenty of light to grow properly. However, it is important to remember that too much access to direct bright light might cause damage to your gardenias.

In such cases, it is likely that the leaves of the plant will burn. In turn, this will affect the growth rate of your plant.

We recommend planting your gardenias in partial shade. This way, your plants should get enough warmth and sunlight without risking their health.

If you keep gardenias inside, we recommend placing them by a west-facing window or using artificial lighting.

Growing Location

Unfortunately, moving gardenias once they have been planted is pretty tricky. In general, they really don’t like being repotted or replanted.

Therefore, it is incredibly important that you chose a good growing location the first time around.

In addition to growing them in a shaded, warm spot as described above, it is also necessary to prevent nutrient competition.

If you can, we recommend growing your gardenias a fair distance away from tree roots (or roots of other large plants) if you’re growing your plants outside.

If you have a larger variety of gardenia, we recommend growing them as a large hedge or even a screen. This way, your gorgeous plants are on show for everyone to see!

We also like growing our gardenias near the patio because they smell so divine.

Watering

The rules for watering gardenias are fairly simple. Generally speaking, you should be watering your gardenias every other day or so during the growing period.

Watering once a week or less is sufficient if you live in a humid climate.

However, you need to be careful as to not over-water your gardenias. Over-watering can lead to root rot. Root rot is very difficult to treat and could ultimately kill your plant.

As such, it is important to pay attention to the weather and check the dryness of the soil regularly.

Fertilizing And Soil

Gardenias are acid-loving plants. They love well-drained acidic soil. Soil with a pH level of 5.6 or lower is ideal for them. To grow more flowers, apply an acidic fertilizer in March and June.

Fertilizer that contains cottonseed meal, blood meals, fish emulsions, and other similar materials are good for gardenia plants. To avoid encouraging growth during the frost, do not fertilize your gardenias in the Fall.

Look Out For Pests And Health Conditions

To ensure that you are giving your gardenias the best chance, it is important to keep an eye out for pests or health conditions that may cause your plants damage.

Whilst gardenias are generally pest-free, they are vulnerable to particular infestations and diseases.

For instance, gardenias are vulnerable to whitefly infestations. Whiteflies penetrate the cells of a gardenia leaf and suck out the sap.

You will be able to tell if your plant has a whitefly infestation by looking at the leaves. Leaves that have been infested by whiteflies appear paler, spotted, or become yellowish-green.

Whiteflies can be controlled by spraying insecticide solutions to the lower surfaces of the leaves. If you notice a whitefly infestation, it is important that you act quickly.

Be sure to spray insecticidal soaps every few days until whitefly populations are under control.

Gardenias are also quite susceptible to fungal diseases. Some of these diseases include black spot, powdery mildew, rust, anthracnose, and leaf curl.

Generally, these diseases can be prevented by following the proper watering guidelines and keeping your plant clean.

Fungal diseases can arise as a consequence of both underwatering and overwatering. However, overwatering is particularly dangerous, as this can also cause root rot.

To avoid these conditions, be sure to check that the soil is dry before watering your gardenias again. You can also use fungicide sprays to control fungal diseases.