When the ancient war dogs did battle on Thu, 26 Jun 2003 14:30:17 GMT,
Frogleg did speak the following bit of wisdom:

They *smell* nice enough, but they droop and sulk and are far from
pleasing to the eye. I've tried clipping long stems for a vase, and
short bits to "float" in a shallow container with little success. Are
there any of those "mash the stems", "add asprin", "cut in the dark of
the moon" methods that apply to gardenias?

You've discovered why florists no longer use gardenias in
arrangements. You'll still see them from time to time in bridal
bouquets or as part of a corsage because they just smell soooo good.
It is said that if you continually touch the petals, it makes the
flowers yellow and then brown that much quicker. Don't know whether
that's an old wives tale or what, but the blooms are not long-lasting
under even the best of circumstances. Luckily -- as you discovered --
what IS long-lasting is the fragrance. I've found that the fragrance
remains and even becomes a bit stronger as the flower gets worse and
worse looking (going yellow and to limp brown). If you can cut some
flowers with a short stem and float them in a bowl of water, your best
bet would probably be to hide the bowl somewhere where it can't be
easily seen (top of the fridge or behind some books?) but where the
blooms are free to scent your room. Hope this helps... Cheers!

* * * * *
Karen C.
Southern CT / USDA Zone 6
Spammers be damned! I can't be emailed from this account...

"Gardeners know all the best dirt!"