Gardenia

Hi all. Just got a new gardenia plant and not sure what to do with it. Can it be grown and maintained in a container. How much sun does it need? I live in Southern California. Help

Yes you can grow Gardenias in containers. But you should know you have picked one of the more tempermental plants to grow. They can be 'sort of fussy'. They need an 'acid type soil' that drains well. They do not like to be wet all of the time and they do not want to be dry very long in between, so you have to 'pay attenion' to them. They prefer sunny locaions, perhaps a little shade if you are inland where it is warm, but not in full shade all of the time. They should be fed on a timely schedule with an 'acid' type plant food. Something you would use for Camellias and Azales usually works well. Follow the directions on the label for 'potted plants'. If you do all of this right they should grow well and have lots of blooms in warm weather.
Monrovia Nursery has GRAFTED GARDENIAS to help ease the growing pains many have when they try to grow Gardenias. They graft them onto a very strong root of a different Gardenia variety that is more tolearant of poor soils and over and under watering. They are just 'tougher' plants, for those who have had difficulties growing Gardenias on their own root systems. The plant looks pretty much the same in the nurseries, but in the ground or in a contianer a year or so down the road, the grafted ones usuall out perform the others.