topiary are always high sustenance , and gardenia topiary are no exception . While some topiary are sliced and dice into complex conformation , a gardenia topiary is usually just a gardenia shrub that has been clip to be a small tree diagram with a clear trunk and a rounded , pleasing top .
This nominate sense because a gardenia ’s raw shape is somewhat more open and aeriform , and its leaves are much large than the typical boxwood that are pruned into precise figures .
Whether your gardenia ( Gardeniaspp.)was given to you as a gift and has not yet been planted in the landscape , or you are training an exist gardenia topiary already gracing your yard , the basic principle of cut and caring for gardenia topiaries are the same .
Basic Gardenia Care and Pruning
Gardenias usually need niggling pruning , but they are picky about their environs , so whether yours is a topiary or maintained in its innate shrub anatomy , take maintenance to furnish the environment a gardenia needs to thrive .
Tip
You face some challenges if you have a potted gardenia and it ’s still too cold to plant it out in the landscape painting . Gardenias require some humidness , which is hard to exert indoors . Consider running a humidifier or set the gardenia hatful on a tray filled with wet pebble . However , do n’t take into account the pot to pose in standing water ; monitor the H2O level carefully . Fertilize with a formula for acid - love plants . Before constitute your gardenia in the landscape painting , ensure a position with well - draining grease andlots of constituent matter .
Sun, Water and Soil
Gardenias can reconcile full sun or fond shade , but too much spectre will reduce efflorescence . Avoid pee with a high salt opus , such as body of water that has been treated with water softener .
Ensure a localization with well - draining soil and a lot of constitutive matter . Gardenias choose a somewhat acidic environment , with apH between 5.0 and 6.5 ; outside of this range , their leaves turn over lily-livered .
Fertilizer Requirements
Gardenias apprise even fertilization , about two to three times per class , ideally in late winter , summer and early fall . Choose a fertilizer formulate for acid - loving plants , such as azalea and blueberry bush — these are readily uncommitted at any garden store .
General Pruning Tips
As a woody , broad - leave behind evergreen plant shrub , a gardenia requires small pruning . get rid of honest-to-goodness or frail stems in the summerafter the gardenia bloomsto further young , leafy increase . fend off hard pruning in the downslope , which will leave in less growth the next yr .
If the plant becomes misshapen or too long-legged , prune it in the springiness , cutting it within 6 to 8 inches of the land to encourage new increase . Take charge , however , to delay any pruning until your surface area ’s last killing frost because raw , greenish emergence can be kill by dusty , which will set the plant life back .
Maintaining a Gardenia Topiary
Your gardenia was pruned by expert into a lovely tree diagram shape , called a " criterion " in the nursery trade , and you do n’t desire it to revert to a George Herbert Walker Bush .
So first things first : Prune off any raw growth emerging from the trunk as soon as you see it ; if it ’s make novel , you might be able-bodied to itch it off with your fingers . Otherwise , use sharp , sterilized pruners to crop off new growth at a 45 ° angle so that water runs off the baseball swing .
Warning
Avoid pruning about six week before your area ’s last frost so that you do n’t boost new outgrowth just before cold sets in .
For the crown , perform a lightsome pruning . First , take the metre to see the gardenia ’s figure , and then start by cut away anything dead or damage .
If your gardenia has develop fleshy growth in its interior , prune out a few branch , cutting about 1/4 inch from the parent leg , to put up circulation , which will help avoid disease . The oecumenical rule of thumb is to crop off no more than 1/3 of the leafage each year , as harder prunings can stress the plant .
Most experts commend using sharpbypass hired man prunersfor topiary rather than hedgerow trimmers or hedge shears , which are less forgiving when you ’re examine to achieve a certain shape .
rationalize off any offshoot that impair the shape , snipping to just above a leafy node . Most topiary experts recommend leave plants to put on at least some maturation . For instance , if your topiary began as a low tree with a leafy crown of about a 2 - foot circumference , do n’t endeavor to exert that size indefinitely .
