In Memoriam

My gardenia.



It belongs on the fail blog.

(Seriously, I don't know what happened. I watered it before I left last week and then put it outside. It rained the third day I was gone and I came home to it looking like that. I've been watering it the last few days, hoping to bring it back to life, but I don't think it's going to happen. It's crispy.)

Gardenia Question

I read that if the soil is damp, then I shouldn't water it. But the soil's been damp for two days, so I haven't watered it in two days, and now the flowers are browning. This might be normal—they're not going to last forever—but I just don't want to kill it.


Thoughts?

My Gardenia

I'm not taking credit for this because my gardenia was ready to bloom when I got it, but look what happened last night!


A flower! Yay!

Now, a couple of things regarding this little bugger...

Dayna... You told me to re pot it so I'm going to do that as soon as I find some dirt. I don't want to buy a big bag of it because I don't need a lot (and then I'll be all worried about wasting dirt, which is totally weird, I know), so I need to find a little bag somewhere or bum some off someone. (How funny would that conversation be... "Do you think I could have some of your dirt?")

Karen... I will not touch the buds when they open, I promise. I will smell them, though.

Caryn, Ms. E.... I will make sure to keep it high on a shelf when it's inside so Elvis doesn't eat it and get sick.

Marisol, Frank... I thought about naming her, but I haven't yet. Suggestions?

Aimee, Lizziebell, TTQ, Erin... Thank you for your encouraging words! I can do it!

Ms.... I Googled it again and there seems to be some conflicting ideas on how to best care for gardenias. I read this on HGTV's website...

Enjoy them as houseplants in the winter and set them outside for the warmer months.

They usually perform best in full sun but may appreciate shade during the hottest part of the day in the warmest parts of their hardiness range.

Gardeners in the humid South seem to have the best luck with gardenias planted outdoors where they're basically left alone. Those kept in pots often don't thrive for long, even in the hot and humid climates they prefer.

My Plant

I bought a plant for my apartment yesterday. I've been wanting to get one for a while now, but I wasn't sure what kind to get. I ended up getting a gardenia. Here it is:


Elvis wants to eat it:


I've never really had a plant before and wanted one that's easy to care for, but every time I'd go somewhere to buy one and tell the sales person this, they'd try to sell me a cactus. I don't want a cactus. A cactus isn't a plant to me. I want a pretty plant, one with leaves.

So anyway, the sales person at the place I bought this from yesterday tried to sell me a million different kinds of easy-to-care-for plants, but when I saw the gardenias with their pretty flowers, I decided that that's the kind that I wanted.

As it turns out, gardenias aren't the easiest thing to care for, but I'm going to do it. I'm going to get this puppy blooming year after year. I did a little bit of internet research and learned that they like the heat and need a lot of sun, so I put the little bugger on the fire escape for now:


I'll keep you posted on her progress. (I decided it's a girl.)

She has about three or four buds on her right now; I'll take pictures when they bloom.