Gardenia, Cape Jasmine, Gandharaj 'Chuck Hayes'

Have had this gorgeous gardenia growing in front of my house (morning sun) for 7 years now. It is about 42 inches high and somewhat wide...Read Morer. It is a stunning sight in bloom and is just covered with the fully double blossoms. The fragrance is pure gardenia. I have never had any pest or disease problems and Chuck even reblooms for me in the fall.

Chuck Hayes has been growing in my Southern Virginia yard in an eastern exposure for about six years, and it is about three and a half fe...Read Moreet by three and a half feet. It's healthy, the blossoms are pretty and the smell is entrancing. We've had freezing winters and sultry summers, and it has never gotten scrappy looking.
August, 2015: We had an unusually cold winter this last year, with temperatures going down below zero. Chuck Hayes did get frost-burned, and there were few blossoms this year, so far, anyway. It foliage is still not as full and lush as usual. I am going to take it seriously this coming winter, and take steps to protect the branches, if we get such cold temperatures again.
September 8, 2015: I took cuttings in early August, and in three weeks they had rooted. I transferred them to individual pots today. It's a very rewarding plant to propagate.

...that was interesting info in the first post. We are thrilled to have found this gardenia!! We just bought it this season. It is just b...Read Morelooming now for the first time and so far so good. We have two, both planted near the house foundation. The gardenia in the front of our house is a southern exposure, sun all day; the one in the back is on the east side of our house and gets afternoon sun. We plan on mulching well and cross our fingers that they make it through the winter. As for the fragrance, it is really great if you put your nose right up to the blossom. I'm hoping when the plant is more established and with more blooms that the fragrance would carry at least to our front porch :)

Gardenia jasminoides var. "Chuck Hayes" was developed in Virginia Beach in the late 1970's by two researchers who began hybridizing from ...Read Moreseveral stock plants that survived a zero degree freeze. From cold hardy single blooming stock they created a double blooming gardenia that shows cold tolerance similar to, if not superior to "Kleim's Hardy." This cultivar also supposedly demonstrates superior heat tolerance. The zone 6b listing is "with protection", meaning placement in a sheltered location with mulching.

"Chuck Hayes" is also known for its habit of blooming twice per season, producing more blooms than most other gardenia cultivars. Its blooms are listed as "extremely fragrant."