A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum gardenia plant in winter

We have a Gardenia Plant (in a pot)in our balcony. We live in New York and it is getting cold.the plant is very healthy and bloomed very well this year (we bought it this year).Now it is getting colder. The leaves started to get yellow. Will anyone let me know how can I take care of it now?

I have to protect my gardenias from frost even in southern Cal. I imagine You will have to bring yours indoors there.
Welcome to the forum.

They can be really picky. I would try a south facing exposure where it can get bright light but not direct sun. It will go through a period of leaf drop but should settle down. It may need to be fertilized with Miracid. When you water it, don't keep it constantly soaked. They don't like their "feet" wet all the time.
I have quite a large on that winters over in the house. Right now I am watering it thouroughly as it is still blooming but when it stops I will cut back so it is not constantly soaked. Actually I give it a couple of gallons of water every couple of days,but as I said mine is huge. I also sprayed it with insecticidal soap before I brought it in. Beware the whitefly. Good luck and keep us posted. They are such a beautiful flowering plant and there is NOTHING like the fragrance.

I have a gardenia that wintered outdoors (in a garden bed), and it was okay, but we probably had only 5 or 6 frosts this year. I bought a spray from the nursery that protects leaves from extremes of cold and heat; I think it's a polymer coating. One other trick if you want to keep it outside is those little plastic 'greenhouse' type arrangements you can get from the hardware stores. I used plastic sleeves around 3 tropical plants in my front garden, and they were okay through the Melbourne winter (admittedly not as cold as yours). The American gardeners probably know better than I do- maybe you should listen to them! But these are some options if you want to keep it outdoors.

Can I plant my gardenia outside at hartwick,ny and will it die completly?Will it still be able to bloom like it should?I bought it at florida and it was kind of dying and by the next day in the afternoon it was ok.By the first day I took it here it started to die and now its hard and crispy.I dont understand why my other plant didnt die its a pitcher plant and their in the same room its not outside at this moment.What can I do to bring it back to life like how I did in florida? Should I wait to it gets warmer and leave it outside for the rest of the spring to summer?I need some help ASAP I cant see it die more!!!

If it is hard and crispy, I doubt it can ever recover. And they are certainly not zoned for NY.