Aimee Yoshiba Fragrant Gardenia

Aimee Yoshiba Gardenia (Gardenia augusta 'Aimee Yoshiba') carries the largest flowers of any common gardenia, single white blooms up to 120mm across with the heavy sweet perfume the genus is known for. It makes a rounded evergreen shrub about 1.5m tall and wide, glossy dark green all year, flowering heavily in late spring and repeating into autumn. If you have room for one fragrant plant near a door, this is it.

Why you'll love it

• The biggest flowers of the common gardenias. Larger than Florida or Magnifica, so one plant reads as a feature.
• Perfume that carries. The scent travels several metres on a warm evening, so placement near paths and seating matters.
• Glossy in and out of flower. Thick deep green leaves that hold their colour through summer heat.
• Heat, humidity and coastal air. Salt and humidity tolerant, so it performs where fussier shrubs sulk.
• Toxic to pets. Gardenias cause vomiting and lethargy in cats and dogs, so plant it out of reach of an animal that chews.

Where it works best

Pots and containers. A 40L to 60L pot beside a door puts the perfume where you sit, and lets you control the soil, which decides how a gardenia performs.

Low hedging and mass planting. Plant 80cm apart for a soft flowering hedge around 1.2m to 1.5m high. The plants touch without competing and the row flowers as one band.

Borders and feature planting. A single row along a path gives evergreen structure at knee height, and one plant against a light wall shows the flower size off.

Growing Aimee Yoshiba Gardenia in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade, with four to six hours of direct light. In tropical and subtropical gardens give it morning sun and afternoon shade so the flowers do not scorch. It takes light frost only, so cool inland and southern gardens want a pot you can shift, or a north facing wall.

Soil. Acidic and free draining, ideally pH 5.0 to 6.0. Work compost and aged manure through the bed, and use a mix formulated for acid loving plants in containers.

Water and feed. Keep the root area evenly moist through bud development, because dry spells then are the usual reason buds drop before opening. Mulch 75mm deep, off the stem, and feed with an acid fertiliser in early spring and after the main flush.

Pruning. Prune once, straight after the main flush, taking up to a third off. Pruning later removes the wood carrying next season's buds.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in tube stock, 140mm, 200mm and 250mm pots, singly and in multipacks, and in 45L advanced stock. Tube and 140mm plants are the value option for a hedge run and flower in their second season. The 45L plants arrive as established bushes and can flower in their first year.

Plants are packed to travel upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. Some leaf drop after transit is normal, with new growth in four to six weeks in warm weather. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Compare all our gardenia varieties
• Browse scented plants for entries
• Preparing a garden bed before planting
• See low hedging options

Common questions

Why are the leaves turning yellow?

Almost always soil pH. Gardenias need acidic soil to take up iron, and alkaline conditions lock it away, giving yellow leaves with green veins. Iron chelates correct it quickly; sulfur fixes the cause.

Why do the buds drop before opening?

Uneven watering during bud development is the usual reason, then sudden cold snaps and pruning at the wrong time. Consistent moisture and good mulch solve most cases.

Will it grow in Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth?

In warm temperate coastal parts, yes, in a sheltered sunny spot. In colder inland suburbs with hard frost, use a pot that can move to shelter over winter.