Viewing post #2021848 by gardenfish

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.