Gardenia Cultivar Confusion

I recently purchased 3 Gardenias. The lady at the nursery said (guessed) that they don't get much bigger than 2-3 tall and wide. I said "guessed" because when I asked how big they get she looked at the tag (which didn't say) and then said, "Probably not more than 2-3 wide and tall."

Anyway, I bought the last 3 Gardenias & they are identical looking. When I got home, I researched the type of Gardenia but feel like I am finding conflicting information as to which cultivar I have.

Tags wrapped around one of the branches read: Gardenia Augusta Kleim's Hardy, Kleim's Hardy Gardenia, Blooms White, z 6-9.

In the pots of 2 of them were also plastic tags reading: Daisy Gardenia.

Upon research, I found the following information on Cultivars:

Gardenia augusta 'Kleim's Hardy': 2–3 ft. high and wide, star-shaped flower, full or part sun; zones 7-9

Hardy Daisy Gardenia: Flat-faced, single, fragrant, compact, more cold hardy than double forms. 1-2 feet tall with a spread of 3-4 feet. Zones 8-10

Kleim's Hardy Gardenia; Part to full sun, low mounded form to 2 to 3 ft. tall and wide. Zone: 7 - 11

Another website has this:

Botanical Name: Gardenia jasminoides Kleims Hardy
Common Name: Kleims Hardy or Daisy Gardenia
Mature size: 3-4 foot tall and wide
Flower: Single & White
Light: full sun or lightly dappled shade
Zones: 5-10

Then at WalterReeves.com I read this: Two, ‘Kleim’s Hardy’ and ‘Daisy’, are small (2 – 3 feet) plants reputed to be more cold hardy.

So, I am confused as to the cultivar I have. The sizes are similar on all cultivars as well as the single flower form and hardiness. It seems that ‘Kleim’s Hardy’ and ‘Daisy’ are separate cultivars...or are they? And what's with the "August" on the tags?

Also, when researching Gardenias in general, I find conflicting information on whether or not they want full sun, part sun, or shade. I am hesitant to plant them in full sun because our sun can be quite intense in summer especially between 12pm to 3pm. I have a spot that receives morning sun and late afternoon sun under some oak trees, but it is really sandy in that area and even if I amend the soil, I fear it won't get enough moisture even if I water enough.

I do have a few other spots I could plant them in...one receives full sun off and on throughout the day, but mostly filtered sun. Another spot receives about 3 hours of sun between 9am and 12pm, then dappled sun until about 5, and then receives some full sun for an hour or so. My last spot receives 2-3 hours of morning sun then filtered sun until about 3:00 and then receives full sun for about 2 hours.

Any help is appreciated.

Gardenia jasminoides has been renamed Gardenia augusta.

I do not know all the complexities of the cultivars, but I can guess either of 2 things:
1) The same cultivar may perform a bit different under different conditions.
2) The grower has renamed some cuttings with their own cultivar name.

Any of those locations sound like they could work.
Gardenias are fine in full sun down to about half a day of sun. Optimum is probably closer to full sun in a mild zone like yours. Filtered light all day with some direct light sounds good, as long as the filtered light is still bright.

The only thing around here that is mild is winter (except this year we actually had ice!) Summers are intensely hot & extremely humid especially between 12pm & 4:00pm. Most plants labeled full sun that I have planted in full sun during those hours had a tough time. Even Cosmos 'Sensation' even succumbed to full sun during those hours by mid-summer. However, Yucca "Adam's Needle" really thrives in full sun during those hours.

I am hesitant to plant the Gardenias where they will receive full sun between 1pm and 3pm. I also want to plant them in a sheltered location to protect them from the strong, gusty winds we get at times throughout the year. Such a tough decision lol.

I think what I am going to do is plant the 3 gardenias in pots and put one in 3 separate locations for the spring and summer months. That way I will be able to see which one does best, and then in fall, I will plant them in the ground in best location.

Thank you for your advice and information, Diana!

Very good to protect them from the wind.
It is also good that you know how to modify the USDA zone according to how other plants have responded to your own garden conditions. Knowing which plants thrive and which do not in that location, I will agree that the gardenias will be better out of the full, hot sun in the early afternoon.

Gardenias generally do pretty well in containers. Just watch them in the heat of the summer. In containers they will generally dry out quicker than when they are planted in the soil, and gardenias appreciate the oxygen around their roots, but be careful they do not dry out too much.

The best-looking ones are in full sun. Otherwise, they're floppy, possibly even sprawling, sparsely foliated, not heavily flowering. Both pics below are of the same shrub, this past June, and a few weeks ago covered with ice. I've never watered this since moving here in '07 except once or twice during summer of '12 when it didn't rain for about 3 months. Hope yours is the same one, it's my fav plant in the whole yard! I've started a bunch of babies from it, but it will be years before they are this size.

Purple - What cultivar do you have? Is it in full sun or partial sun? What hours of the day does it receive direct sun and for how long? Hope the ice didn't do any damage and it looks as beautiful this June as it did last June! I have included 2 pictures of mine. Do you think it is the same cultivar as the one you have? Being relatively new to gardening, sometimes I word myself incorrectly. When I think of "full sun" I think of a plant in unobstructed sunlight for at least 6 hours of the day with most of those hours falling between 12pm to 5pm. In other words, to me, a plant that can take "full sun" is one that can handle unobstructed sun during the majority of those hours without succumbing to the intensity of the heat & humidity.

Of course, I want to give my gardenias as much sun as they need to flourish & thrive and will make sure they do receive at least 6 hours of direct sun a day. I am just scared to place them in an area where they get too much midday sun - 12pm-3pm; however, if they received some of their 6 hours of sun for a short duration during those hours, I would be fine with that. I am just scared to give them ALL of their direct sun during those hours.

Savvy, I think mine is the straight species from which your plant comes, G. jasminoides/augusta. The leaves on your plant look a little more rounded, and I'm not sure how the cultivar named on the tag of your plant is supposed to differ from the plain species. After thinking about it more, it's possible that the cultivar you have has been developed to grow in more shade, which would be important to know, and you could disregard the anecdotes about the shrub in my yard. I don't know anything about cultivar plants except that you buy them at the store, usually surprisingly expensive, and they don't always do as well as the pass-along version you can get from a neighbors' cutting. I don't spend enough on gardening to get into many plants like that, so I wouldn't want to lead you in the wrong direction. Do you know what the special thing about this cultivar is supposed to be? How is it different from the straight species?

Mine was here, already this size when I moved here 8 years ago. The past couple summers, I've been taking a lot of cuttings from it, so it's a little thinner-looking overall lately. It's one of the most common yard plants in this area, an area of all old houses, so not many cultivar/hybrid plants, just older, plain species plants.

The shrub in my pics only gets shade during the last couple hours of the day when the carport makes a shadow as the sun is setting, which is a new thing since we put the carport there 2 years ago. If you happen to have a spot that's shaded for a couple hours during the middle of the day but sunny the rest of the time, I would definitely put Gardenias there - and so many other things!

There are WAY more than 6 hours of sun in the day, with the mid-day rays being the most intense, as you mentioned. I've always wondered about the '6 hour' thing for some plants, that seem to need more, or at least different/more intense hours of it. I don't know the point at which Gardenias start to get floppy, but judging from a couple shrubs at my Mom's house that get sun from about 1-2 PM until sundown, those about-6 hours don't seem enough. Those shrubs look more like a ground cover than a shrub and they do make some flowers, but never a prolific flush covering the whole plant.

About the ice, the Gardenia didn't seem to mind it as much as the people! I'm sure that wasn't the first time that shrub had been covered in ice, though definitely the first time I've seen that since moving to AL. (The main reason I moved to almost-Florida!)

Purple, I think it depends on who you ask & who you want to believe LOL However, most everyone seems to agree that Kleim's Hardy Gardenia is a cultivar of Gardenia augusta which apparently was formally G. jasminoides.

One website that lists the different cultivars of G. jasminoides notes the following:

"Hardy Daisy – A compact rounded plant to 4’ tall and wide with daisy like flowers. Flowers have six petals that are wide, rounded and slightly overlap. USDA Zone 7 and probably 6 hardy.

Kleim’s Hardy – Looks exactly like Hardy Daisy. Some say they are the same plant, some disagree. I believe they are one in the same."

From reading a variety of websites, especially ones directed at my zone and even my state, the care, size, and growing requirements appear to be identical. Basically they need full sun, but to be protected from the hot afternoon sun.

Different books have different measurements for plant sizes. Just give them a go & see

The 'Hardy' in the name means it is more tolerant to cold than many other varieties.
I have seen size notes of 2-3', which is smaller than many Gardenias. Compact, slow growing.