Gardenia Guy

By Paige Lanham

“Gardenia question in the store,” The call goes out over the radio at the nursery and everyone looks at each other, frozen. Who will field the dreaded gardenia question? It is a notoriously tricky plant to grow for so many people and even the most experienced gardener can feel a little daunted.

“Roger, gardenia question,” Aaron Martin steps up to the plate. 

Aaron has been gardening for about 12 years and has worked at Garden Spot Nursery for the last 5 years. 

“Starting out in gardening was really intimidating for me, especially when it comes to things like watering and tropical care,” he says. “It’s easy to overcomplicate plant care, but you can trust your intuition more than you think. Plants will tell you what they need if you pay attention.”

The last several years, he has tried to challenge himself with some trickier plants, like the gardenia. Every winter, the nursery has a handful of plants that struggle, defoliate, and are in need of rescue. Many of these come home with Aaron and become his passion projects. He has rescued 3 gardenias from the brink of death over the last few years and is enjoying a summer of success. He beams at every new bloom they produce. 

“I love the fragrance,” he says. “I like to put them in doorways so I can enjoy them as I go by. I think the foliage is really underrated too. Their shape and compact habit make them so versatile.”

Aaron’s top tip for taking care of gardenias is all about overwintering. “They like to stay between 55-30 degrees so that they can go into dormancy, but not defoliate too much.” He keeps his in pots so that he can move them into a protected space when the weather turns. He recommends lots of sun, watering a couple of times a week, fertilizing with an organic acid fertilizer every 2 weeks during the growing season, and consistent deadheading. 

“Setbacks can take a while to recover from. You need to be patient, but you can gain so much confidence when it works.” He says it’s important to set your own standards, build your own routine, and try trickier plants even if it’s scary. “Other plants will seem easy to care for if you try some that require more attention.”

His next project will be overwintering canna lilies, hibiscus, and princess flowers. He recommends overwintering tropicals to help cut costs in the spring. His parting advice for other new gardeners is: “If I can do it, anyone else can!”