This is how it all started:

A friend gave me cuttings from her gorgeous, healthy gardenia bush. She was about to bring it inside for the winter and said sure, you can take some cuttings. So I researched the best way to **try** to get them to take root and actually grow.

gardenia cuttings

You can read ALL ABOUT the process in my post of October, 2015:
How to Root Gardenias: Friday Flowers

I even have a video there to show you the way.

 

And here, my friends, is one of those cuttings two years later!
Yes, it takes quite a while. After about six months, when there were roots showing in the glass bottle, I transplanted the gardenia to a small pot with potting soil. It grew…slowly. I put it outside for the summers and brought it inside for the winters.

This past summer, when the plant was about 15 months old, it really took off.
As you can see, it is happy!

 

This second plant was difficult to photograph with the green pot in the background. But you can see it is taller and not as full as above, but still doing very well.

This one is in a large outdoor planter (see the Acuba on lower right?) so I may try it outside for the winter. I can always cover it on very cold nights. And I’ll report back here!

I am, as they say, “tickled pink” that this actually worked! If you live near me and want a cutting, I’ll be happy to supply you with one. Actually, the original plant has had some problems with the leaves turning yellow at the end of the summer season. So this year I gave it Iron Chelate and it absolutely cured it!! So if you are having the same problem, I highly recommend investigating this solution.