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Making sure the August Beauty is for You
Gardenias come in several shapes and sizes, the August Beauty being the
taller variety reaching up to 6 feet tall and equally wide. The August
Beauty is an evergreen shrub with waxy dark green leaves and blooms a
beautiful, fragrant, double-flowered bloom several times a year
starting in late Spring. Growing in zones 7-9 this shrub is a Southern
Favorite but can be grown in Nantucket or even Seattle. Other than
needing an acidic soil the August Beauty Gardenia has few pests and is
relatively easy to grow. Many use this shrub as a specimen, background,
or mass plant as a hedge. If this fits for you then read on!
Location Location Location
When deciding where to plant this lovely bush, keep in mind that
the fragrance is overwhelming to some. Try planting near a deck or
walkway where the smell can waft around and be pleasing to everyone. I
personally have a hedge of these across the front of the house and love
spending evenings on the porch smelling the sweet breeze.
These plants
love the sun but can take partial shade whether it be half in the
morning or half in the evening. However, the more Sun they soak up the
more blooms you will end up with come late Spring and early Summer.
So
be sure to choose a location that is personally pleasing and has
functional value as well. Keep in mind you can plant anywhere from 4
feet apart for a hedge up to 8 feet to end up with a space in between.
Also, if it gets hot like it does in the South you want to plant where
your gardenia gets shade during the hottest part of the day. This could
be in the later part of the day as your house casts a shadow on the
gardenia or some similar scenario. Just so you don't put un-needed
stress on the plant.
Soil and the Benefits of a Raised Bed
Many people might not realize it but most plants and their roots,
including the August Beauty, are within the top 6 inches of soil.
Herein lies the importance and reasoning behind a raised bed and the
soil contained within. There's a local nursery I visit that has a
flower bed out front that they re-plant throughout the year. Upon
investigation you notice that underneath the bed is nothing but asphalt
and concrete. What they've done is what all raised beds are about. Good
soil. Or I should say the right soil and only 6-8 inches of it. All you
need is an acidic, well draining soil that is moist but not totally wet
like a low spot in your yard might be.
You can use landscape timbers with a weed guard liner or what I do is
till a 3-4 foot wide section across the front or back of the house and
add topsoil, ground pine bark, and oak leaves. Plant your gardenias 4-8
feet wide and add liberal amounts of pine straw and you are ready to
go.
Pine straw, bark and oak leaves make an excellent humus mix that your
gardenia will love and in return give you plenty of buds for those
greatly anticipated blooms. If all you have is red clay you can always
amend it with a good bag of soil topped off with leaves and pine straw.
So don't give up if all you have is the rock hard red stuff.
Compost piles are excellent ways to produce your own acidic soil. Just
add the above mentioned pine straw and leaves along with everything
else you normally compost and wa-la.
Pruning and Fertilizing
The August Beauty blooms in late Spring and continues until late
Summer. It's also a compact grower to 6 ft tall and wide. Unless it
starts getting leggy or too open there's not much need for pruning. If you do need
to take off some height or pinch back to fill in a spot, do your trimming in early Spring as your
gardenia starts to put on vigorous bright green new growth or in Fall
after the blooming cycle.
You want to avoid pruning in the late Spring to avoid cutting off buds
that will become blooms. The same goes for the Winter but for different
reasons. The main being your gardenia will be dormant and storing food
for the next bloom season. Pruning in the Winter would likely kill the
pruned branch and possibly the whole plant depending on the severity of
the prune.
Fertilizing should be done before the bloom in early Spring to get your
gardenia ready for the blooming cycle. You should also fertilize in Fall after the blooming cycle to help store food for the next season.
The best and lowest maintenance fertilizer would be something like
Osmocote slow release fertilizer for acid loving plants. This slow
release fertilizer can be sprinkled all around the base of the plant
and watered in. Each time you water a little more is released and there
are zero chances of burning your plant up with too much fertilizer when
you use this slow release type.
Also note that any pruning should be done just before you fertilize.
Pests and Remedies
The August Beauty has very few pests and for the most part are easy to
get rid of. The main being aphids and white flies. If you get a black
sooty mold on your leaves you likely have aphids or white flies. You
can turn the leaf over and see the mess they leave behind.
White flies like it moist, warm and humid. So if you plant with some space the open air and heat should keep them away.
As for aphids, pay attention not to plant near pecan trees. Pecan trees
drop branches all the time and usually get a healthy dose of aphids
throughout the year. They can easily blow a family into your gardenia
if not drop a branch in the middle of it with a colony of the pests.
There are several insecticidal soaps that are organic and get rid of
the problem. The one I like to use would be Safer brand organic
insecticidal soap. Obviously its organic but it also takes care of most
of your other problems should they arise. Just follow the application
instructions on the bottle and you should be fine.
But for the most part if you follow the guidelines I've laid out you
won't have much in the way of pests as your plant will be growing
vigorously and have a strong natural defense of its own.
The Fruits of Your Labor
It's pretty simple to have beautiful August Beauty Gardenias when you think about it.
All you really need is a few inches of well draining soil full of
organic matter containing pine straw, oak leaves, and pine bark or any
other coniferous by-products.
Add Sun and some shade during the hottest part of the day along with a
dose of Osmocote slow release fertilizer for acid-loving plants in the
early spring and another in the fall.
Prune if necessary right before fertilizing in early spring and fall.
Just add water and you are ready to go.
Any insect problems can be easily taken care of with the organic insecticidal soap.
All in all you have a pretty painless way of making your gardenias true beauties!
Good luck and Green Thumbs!
If you are trying to find the August Beauty Gardenia in this article try Provence Nursery
Those guys ship for free and even send a goodie bag with every order.
» left by sue Johnson from Clinton, Mississippi (182 days 2 hours ago.)
Thank you for a VERY helpful article on the August Beauty gardenia. We recently lost a huge, old oak tree in a storm. The oak grew in the center of a large oval flower bed where I have 24 hollies and other plants. Three of the hollies were destroyed when the tree fell, and re replaced them with four August Beauty gardenias. Unfortunately, they get morning shade and late, late afternoon shade (5 P.M.), but are in the hot Southern sun from around noon until 4 or 5 P.M. I hope this will not be too hot. At the present time, they look beautiful, have been in the bed for about a week, and have several blooms already. I would like to know what to do with the blooms and/or leaves that turn a little yellow. Pinch them off? I would really appreciate any help you could send me RE: this. Thank you, Sue Johnson, Clinton, Mississippi
» left by Neal (179 days ago.)
Usually the yellowing of leaves means there is a lack of Iron. It's called Iron Chlorosis.
Iron chlorosis may occur as a result of one or a combination of causes. The condition is often due to high pH, which makes it possible for other elements to interfere with the absorption of iron, rather than to a lack of iron in the soil. This occurs in neutral to alkaline soils when the pH is above 6.5.
Chlorosis may be caused by an actual deficiency of iron or by application of excessive amounts of lime or phosphate to certain soils. It may be caused by over-watering, poor drainage or high levels of certain mineral elements in the soil such as manganese, copper or zinc.
It might be a good idea to take a soil sample to figure out the pH of your soil as well as high levels of other elements that might be affecting the intake of iron.
You can usually get a soil sample kit from your local extension office that will give you instructions on how and when to do your soil sample.
Just be sure to figure out what is causing the problem before adding Iron to the soil.
In the meantime you can pinch the leaves off. You can do the same with the blooms but they usually stay fragrant until they dry up and fall off.
Also August beauties like full sun so that shouldn't be a problem. The fact that it has morning and afternoon shade is also a good thing. It gives the plant a break from the extreme heat in the afternoon.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
