A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Help w/ Gardenia

I acidentally posted this in the wrong place earlier...sorry!

Hi! I need some help with my (usually) beautiful gardenia...

It does wonderfully well when not in bloom, but as soon as the blooms start to form, all the branches bend down from the weight. It's over 5 feet tall, and I just love how well it flowers (half a dozen blooms per end branch!), but the way it just falls over really takes away from the look. Any ideas on what I can do to help it out? It's so big, I don't think staking is much of an option. It also only "puts out" this well every other year. Would that have something to do with the problem?

Thanks,
Ann

It just needs to be pruned back.

I'm having the same problem. But should we wait until after it's finished blooming to prune? Or can it be pruned now? Is there an ideal place to prune back to on a branch?

Thanks!