Uh-oh. Does your outdoor gardenia have brittle branches and brown leaves following a bout of freezing temperatures?
If you’re left wondering whether the ornamental shrub, Gardenia jasminoides, could come back from that damage, my answer is a definite, “Maybe.”
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Let’s look further into the reasons some gardenias might incur winter damage, how you can tell if there’s hope for your frost-damaged plant, and ways to protect your plants ahead of a cold snap.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Can Gardenias Survive Cold Damage?I’ve lived in two Southern states, among many gardeners devoted to growing these fragrant shrubs outdoors.
But don’t let that regional affinity give you the wrong idea. All types of G. jasminoides are cold-hardy as far north as Zone 8, an area with 10 to 20°F average minimum temperatures.
A few newer hybrids can sustain the lower wintertime temperatures in Zone 7, where you’ll find an average minimum range of 0 to 10°F.
The daisy-bloom ‘Kleim’s Hardy,’ for example, is cold hardy in Zone 7. It is available from Home Depot in 2.5-gallon containers.
‘Kleim’s Hardy’
A couple of hybrids are even considered hardy in -5 to 0°F temperatures like what you’ll find in USDA Hardiness Zone 6b.
So, it’s not a given that a gardenia will succumb to the cold.
But if your evergreen shrub has brown leaves and brittle stems in the aftermath of a prolonged hard freeze or an unexpected snowstorm, that’s a sure sign it has sustained cold damage.
Will it survive? This depends on whether the plant was healthy ahead of the freeze and how much damage it incurred. Keep reading for tips on assessing the
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