The Bush is in bloom. When I opened the back door yesterday evening,
the perfume was there. *So* disappointing to have all this glory
outdoors and no way (in my experience) to bring a few blooms indoors.
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?

Aside: What training program may be applied to make an 8' bush produce
3 blossoms per week (plenty) for the whole summer instead of 200
blooms over 10 days? :-)

Gardenias usually produce flowers in response to a cool temp plunge during
the spring or early summer. To get the flowers you want, you'll have to
arrange with the powers-that-be to supply that temp dip every other week or
so in order to have a summer full of gardenias.
There are some varieties that are less sensitive to temperature including
the dwarf radicans.

"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
The Bush is in bloom. When I opened the back door yesterday evening,
the perfume was there. *So* disappointing to have all this glory
outdoors and no way (in my experience) to bring a few blooms indoors.
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?

Aside: What training program may be applied to make an 8' bush produce
3 blossoms per week (plenty) for the whole summer instead of 200
blooms over 10 days? :-)

Actually, many people find the scent of gardenia blossoms in an enclosed
space quite overpowering - some to the point of becoming nauseated. Maybe
open a window nearest the plant, put a fan on low to draw in the air and
enjoy the scent that way. The same is true for some kinds of lilies - so
much so that most hospitals now ban them. Of course, I realize that if you
are in the south, drawing in fresh sticky warm swamp air to replace your
nice expensive air-conditioned air at this time of year is not a pleasant
thought - but if you delay opening the window until long after sunset, it
may not be too bad......
"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
The Bush is in bloom. When I opened the back door yesterday evening,
the perfume was there. *So* disappointing to have all this glory
outdoors and no way (in my experience) to bring a few blooms indoors.

On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 00:44:51 -0700, "gregpresley"
wrote:
"Frogleg" wrote

The Bush is in bloom. When I opened the back door yesterday evening,
the perfume was there. *So* disappointing to have all this glory
outdoors and no way (in my experience) to bring a few blooms indoors.

Actually, many people find the scent of gardenia blossoms in an enclosed
space quite overpowering - some to the point of becoming nauseated. Maybe
open a window nearest the plant, put a fan on low to draw in the air and
enjoy the scent that way. The same is true for some kinds of lilies - so
much so that most hospitals now ban them. Of course, I realize that if you
are in the south, drawing in fresh sticky warm swamp air to replace your
nice expensive air-conditioned air at this time of year is not a pleasant
thought - but if you delay opening the window until long after sunset, it
may not be too bad......

I *can* bear the scent indoors, and as I mentioned, the scent lasts
even as the blooms droop and brown. I also enjoy paperwhite narcissis,
which some people find awful. I did once bring in some wysteria,
shortly before developing the 'flu. I couldn't stand to go into the
livingroom long enough to pluck it out and throw it away. :-)

My expensive A/C needs expensive work, and is used very sparingly. If
you've never lived in a humid climate, you might not be aware that
"the cool of the evening" is a very elusive phenomenon. If the
temperature is in the 90s during the day, it often may not drop much
below 80 by 5-6am, which is the *coolest* time of day.

"Frogleg" wrote in message My expensive A/C needs
expensive work, and is used very sparingly. If
you've never lived in a humid climate, you might not be aware that
"the cool of the evening" is a very elusive phenomenon. If the
temperature is in the 90s during the day, it often may not drop much
below 80 by 5-6am, which is the *coolest* time of day.

LOL - I spent 12 years in Tallahassee, 4 of those without any AC in my
house, so I've spent many a night swimming around in my bed looking for a
dry (sweat-free) spot........However, in my last house there, I had whole
house fans, and since I kept my AC at 79, there were times when the outside
air was cooler - albeit MUCH moister. Definitely not a climate for the
faint-of-heart in mid-summer (June - September in Tallahassee - April-May
being early summer, and October being late summer).

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 00:02:19 -0700, "gregpresley"
wrote:


"Frogleg" wrote
My expensive A/C needs
expensive work, and is used very sparingly. If
you've never lived in a humid climate, you might not be aware that
"the cool of the evening" is a very elusive phenomenon. If the
temperature is in the 90s during the day, it often may not drop much
below 80 by 5-6am, which is the *coolest* time of day.

LOL - I spent 12 years in Tallahassee, 4 of those without any AC in my
house, so I've spent many a night swimming around in my bed looking for a
dry (sweat-free) spot........However, in my last house there, I had whole
house fans, and since I kept my AC at 79, there were times when the outside
air was cooler - albeit MUCH moister. Definitely not a climate for the
faint-of-heart in mid-summer (June - September in Tallahassee - April-May
being early summer, and October being late summer).

^_^ OK -- you understand. Right now (6:30am) it's 'only' 73F with
94% humidity, making the dewpoint 72, with a forecast for the low 90s
later. One thing that (unhappily) surprised me when I moved here was
that rain could actually *raise* the discomfort level. I remember
growing up in Albuq. without A/C where one could do pretty well by
taking advantage of the 30-degree difference between day and nighttime
temperatures. And shade *meant* something. :-)

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!"

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 22:43:30 GMT, wrote:

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!

Thank you, Karen. This is very comforting to someone who felt she
might be somehow abusing her gardenias. I *never* touch them, heaven
forbid! The idea of hiding a container is an excellent one. The ones I
picked 5-6 days ago and stuck in a glass of water in the kitchen are
still fragrant, 'though brown and drying. It's just an evil trick of
the plant gods -- such a lovely flower that distains human use. I will
do my best to be content with what I have. :-)