Gardenia tree might survive in Corrales, just not outside

Q. I purchased a gardenia tree this past spring at a bigbox store. I transplanted it into a larger pot and kept it on the south side of my house. The shock of transplanting and constant heat of this summer caused the flowers and leaves to drop off. It has popped out new leaves and some buds but they fall off without blooming.

I keep the pot watered every 2 to 3 days but it always seems to be in distress. Should I go ahead and plant it in my yard now that the weather is cooling? Or should I keep it in my solarium for the winter? Or all seasons? Is it even suited for the local environment? — C.O., Corrales

A. Boy howdy, first I’m not sure why you didn’t move the potted gardenia the instant you recognized that it was distressed? But that’s spilled milk at this point.

First, no, don’t plant the gardenia in the yard. The gardenia is not zoned to survive here in this clime planted outdoors. I truly doubt that it would even survive if planted way down south either, so no, don’t plant it outdoors.

As far as keeping it in the solarium, that might be the ticket. My thought is “does the solarium freeze?” All my gardenia research says they can take temperatures down to the 20s, but not for long and not often.

Everything I’ve gleaned about them is yes, they do like ample warmth. But standing in full sun, what sounds like all day at this altitude, for the last dreadful season we’ve had, has been quite a trial for sure.

I have to ask, does the pot drain? If not, you should — as soon as possible — retransplant it into a pot that does.

Lastly, how has the gardenia been fertilized? I’ve learned that they require an acidic fertilizer. Any fertilizer that is listed to feed azaleas, rhododendrons and some evergreens will be what you need to offer. Miracle-Gro used to offer an acidic-based fertilizer that was packaged with a blue label and listed azaleas upfront and proud as the fertilizer for them.

But with that, you are sort of out of the loop to fertilize this time of year. Start again in the early spring, mid-to-late March, and offer it every 3 to 4 weeks.

I read that gardenia do not like clay or adobe soils. Your potting soil should be a mix of

finely-milled bark to ⅔ potting soil. That will help keep the soil moist, yet it will drain, keeping the roots from getting too soggy.

So if the solarium is reliably warm, but doesn’t get too cooked by too much sunshine — really bright light would be perfect — then in it the gardenia should go.

Since it’s actually survived this long, I believe that you can grow this gardenia and even successfully get it to come into bloom for you as long as you don’t plant it outdoors and give it some relief from the wicked summer weather.

Maybe next year, if you have a north facing covered patio, you might see if it would like to hang out there if you really want to have it outdoors with you.

Good luck and get a move on! The weather will change and late autumn with its much cooler temperatures will be upon us.

Q. I need to prune a photinia bush that’s gotten out of hand and need to know if I’ll harm it doing that now. — O.H., Albuquerque

A. Now isn’t the best time to prune, but if the photinia is a hazard then you have no choice but to go ahead.

I suggest strongly that when you do prune it back, you don’t take it back to “naked wood.”

There should always be several sets of leaves left on each arm or branch in order for the plant to stay healthy. If you could, take off just enough to gain a bit of control of the photinia, then leave a majority pruning for next spring, in late March. That certainly would be healthier for the plant.

Know that the photinia will wear that blunt, pruned look all winter long. If you do prune it up a bit now consider tying up the clippings, adding a seasonal colored ribbon and creating a festive swag or wreath with them.

Afterwards you can bundle them for the next green-cycling event offered by the city.

I’ve poked around the city’s website, but haven’t found a date for a usually offered autumn green-cycling event yet, but will keep you posted if I discover anything new on that front.

So, if you “need” to prune, go ahead but it’d be best to wait for a big prune next spring.

Also, remember to offer a decent watering afterwards so the plant can go into winter a bit more protected.

Dear readers, it’s gonna get cold tonight, so don’t forget to undo your hoses and cover your faucets. Better safe than sorry later.

Happy Diggin’ In!