My HOA has said I can no longer cover my gardenias during the winter. They thrived last winter when I covered them when the wind chill went below 28-30 degrees. Any ideas how I can keep them alive? Is there any kind is warming apparatus that would work? Can I did them up, plant them in container pots and bring them inside into an enclosed sunroom that has window film covering them meaning the shrubs would not get strong direct sunlight?

Welcome to the forum! Concerning your gardenias, are you in 7a, or 7b? I think that you probably have similar cultural conditions to where I live in Arkansas. I was born and grew up in Little Rock, although I live in Russellville now, slightly northwest of there. In both areas gardenias are left outdoors and not covered for the winter. According to Wilson bros nurseries, an excellent plant website for Southern garden plants that is located in Georgia, most, if not all horticultural gardenias are rated for zones 7-10. The only exception I can think of would possibly be would be a hothouse grown gardenia sometimes sold in stores like Kroger and Wal-mart. The only time I have seen winter damage here on gardenias is when we have rare brief periods of sustained dry cold at night, usually two to five nights of temps below 15 degrees. This produces sometimes severe die back, but it doesn't kill the bushes and they usually recover eventually. We haven't had a cold spell like that in many years now. In this climate gardenias do best planted on the east side of the property, just like hydrangeas, where they get morning sun and afternoon shade. Being on the east side also protects them from the northwest wind in winter. I would not dig them up and take them inside.

Thank you, gardenfish. I just learned Greensboro is in 7B. My Crown Jewel dwarf gardenias are facing SW, under a crepe myrtle tree, and get the afternoon sun. The 1st winter they were planted, 2 yrs ago, was really bad with 1 full week of single digit temps at night. One gardenia was weak to begin with & did not survive. The 2nd one survived but half of it died. Last summer I replaced the one that died & it is thriving.The 2nd one has rebounded well too. They are somewhat protected being in the natural area in front of my enclosed sunporch. I just want to do all I can to keep them alive since they are so pretty & important to me.
The photo below shows them before going into their first winter. I had forgotten the 1st one was in such poor shape to begin with. I had them planted & a poor job was done. Maybe since they are now strong & in excellent condition they will do much better on their own this coming winter. I won't take them inside.

Wow! After seeing your last post, I understand your concerns better now. When I was growing up in Little Rock, my mother and I lived with my grandmother at her house. We had a HUGE gardenia (6 'L x 8'W by 6'T ) and a fig TREE. My grandmother had to use a ladder to climb up to pick the fruit. We had a week of almost zero temps at night one winter and they both froze to the ground. They did come back, but never returned to their former glory. I have gardened now since 1999, and I am a Master Gardener in my state. I have found that the worst cold spells are those that come in mid to late February, often coming after a warm spell that causes new growth. Yes, I cover plants. I have huge elephant ears that are trying to heave themselves out of the ground, ( I need to replant deeper ), rosemary plants in large pots, various mints in pots, and a gloriosa lily that stays in a large pot. I have found that leaves and fleece blankets make good covers to protect them. I also use big pots turned upside down filled with leaves. If you have a long cold spell, use these types of covers at night, they work really well.
happy gardening!

Thank you gardenfish! Glad your plants are thriving! When you use the fleece blankets (lightweight?), do you place them directly on the plants? I've read not to do that but it sure would be easier if I could. The heavy duty stakes I use to keep the sheets off the gardenias don't look that great even though I have painted them green. In the photo, the gardenias are under the burgundy sheets. I only cover the encore azaleas behind them when the wind chill gets to single digits, which is rare. BTW, I can see if dark green sheets might look better but not sure that would help my HOA situation. And in this pic the stakes were almost twice as high as they had to be.

yes, I'm afraid I did the "bad thing" and laid the fleece blankets directly on the plants. For sturdier plants it doesn't seem to hurt them if the cold snap lasts only a few days. On my ele ears, I use an upside down pot and wrap the blanket around the pot. I use lightweight fleece blankets and on a couple of occasions have used stakes in the ground or in the pots to hold up the blankets. Who cares what it looks like, your're saving your prize beauties, right?

You would think so but my HOA wants everything "uniform" and has said I cannot cover them. My neighbors enjoy them too. I'm very upset since I've put so much TLC into them and for them to be in such good shape. I'm just hoping we don't have a bad winter and they can survive. My church, a 10 min walk away, has quite a few and has only lost a few over the past 2 winters so I'm hoping mine will make it, especially since they are well established now. Keep your fingers crossed for us and thanks for your support!

Wow, am I brain dead! I just realized what HOA stood for! Maybe you can talk to them and explain what the covers are for and tell them that it is only temporary? lets hope we have a mild winter! Post a picture in the spring to let everyone know how they made it.

Already did that, to no avail, when they made me take down the "fence", which was actually tomato cages spread out, I had to keep deer away from my hibiscus plants that I cherish even more than the gardenias. The fence was in the yard and the bylaws do say nothing is to be in the yard. The gardenia covers are in the natural area when the wind chill is below 30 degrees and I've found nothing that indicates they aren't allowed. I've had the hibiscus plants for over 20 years and brought cuttings from the original when I moved to Greensboro 3 years ago. Don't worry. I've not given up the fight for the gardenias. The HOA threw the coverings in at the end of the email where they told me of the final decision about the hibiscus. BTW, the ultrasonic deer "repellers" I put out appear to be working. 3 weeks and so far no sign the deer have bothered them and this is the blooming season. The neighbors love watching them grow each summer.

I've never dealt with an HOA before.
What will they do if you continue winterize?

A family put a skateboard ramp - big wooden U shaped structure.
The noise was worse than the unsightliness.
After the second summer, the boys lost interest.
No more all hours of the day and night noise.
My friend, who lived next door to the ????? died.
The ramp is still there.
Glad I live in the country .

from Gardenfish, WOW! the hibiscus is stunning! I give you the Green Thumb Award. Good Luck this winter.

Tisha, be glad you haven't had to deal with an HOA. I'm really sorry I bought into one 3 years ago. I'm pretty sure they would have fined me as a next step if I had not taken down the deer barrier. In the decision email about the "fence", they added a sentence at the end saying the same rule applied to any coverings. No formal procedure/process was done so I'm not finished fighting for the gardenias, yet. Bottom line, if residents don't abide by HOA's decisions, fines can be issued. Beyond that, legal action is an option. Funny, they would do that but they won't even consider trying to change any of the rules because that takes an attorney too.

I just noticed you are new!
There's lots of info. and helpful gardeners on this site!

Sooo... here's what I would consider.
If HOA allows large pots, invest in beautiful planter pots. 3?
Pot'em up.
Handcart the pots into garage for overwinter.

Find out if allowed.

hey, considering you are fighting the "establishment", maybe what Tisha suggested is the only way to go. If you do this it will stunt the growth, but maybe this is the only way. I can't imagine they would object if you left them outdoors and maybe had to cover them for a couple of nights.

Thank you, Tisha & gardenfish, for your ideas & suggestions. I've never had large potted plants & with the size of the gardenias & their root system I'm not sure I could handle them. I had researched Gardenia care on this & other sites and was trying to find any "out of the box" ideas. Warming sticks? I'll play it by ear & hope we have a mild winter. I'll let you know how it goes.

I am in hillsborough and have had gardenias with no issues ..no covers

Hi Missingrosie. Hillsborough is typically warmer than Greensboro. I lived in Burlington for many years & it was usually 2 degrees warmer than GSO so I'm guessing HBO is a degree or 2 warmer than Burl. So glad you don't have any trouble with your gardenias. You are very fortunate.

We live in the rural buffer ... 7/10 of a mile down a private rosd.not a wooded lot. There is usually several degree differences on all our homesites as compared to up on the main road. Yesterday, we went to dinner.. the sun was setting on the property.. up on the main road still sunny.. the temp drops fast and itscis always cooler ( nice in summer but forvthe skeeters)
Greensboro tends to get more snow when we get ice.

Missingrosie, you are right! One Christmas when I drove home to Madison, 20 miles north of GSO, it was raining in Burlington, sleeting in Greensboro & snowing in Madison.

Its nutz!! We have many micro climates

I cant suggest you do it, but when I lived in a PUD .. the HOA wrote me and told me my birdbath was yard art. It was asian styling....very lean and spare... no curves or carvings.. i told them to bite it. What they gonna do...... you have a right to protect your property from climate damage... they taping their windows and boarding up when the hurricane rolls through?