Post by socal2warm on Jan 20, 2019 16:59:43 GMT -5
I've compiled numerous comments & reviews from other different sites, and have collected them here for you:
Chuck Hayes is supposed to be particularly suited for the PNW. This may be because it tolerates the hot dry summers better, or it may be it is able to grow a bit better in the cooler earlier part of the growing season, perhaps because it's one of the few hardy varieties that's not dwarfed in growing habit.
One person in Alabama commented their Frostproof gardenias did not survive in their zone 7/6b climate. (Perhaps she should have covered them with a bag and mulch to protect them)
I read that hardy gardenias can make it through the Winter in Southern New Jersey, zone 7, if planted in a somewhat protected site close to a wall and out of the wind. Frostproof, Daisy, variegata, and Chuck Hayes have all survived there.
Someone in East Tennessee, zone 6b/7a, said that their Frost Proof had been hit hard by two Winters in a row, wasn't doing well, and from the looks of it he expected it would not survive the next Winter. He claimed it was growing right next to a Mystery which was 8 feet tall, and he also said Daisy and Chuck Hayes did well for him. This could be a fluke because obviously Mystery is not [supposed to be] as hardy as Frost Proof. There are several potential explanations, like maybe it was mislabeled, or maybe what was killing it was the Summer not the Winter.
www.houzz.com/discussions/1914658/newer-gardenias-for-zone-6 (post #4)
These reports are from the South and I haven't read any reports of gardenias surviving in anything less than zone 8 in the cooler PNW.
Some comments said that the wet rainy cold Winters can cause the roots to rot, so they should be planted in a very well drained location. Perhaps covered with a plastic sheet over the Winter to prevent the soil getting too wet.
Someone else commented that they planted a Kleim's Hardy in Tacoma up against a house which was growing fine outside for 5 years.
Someone else in Oregon, zone 8, said they had three Kleim's Hardy gardenias that had survived a Winter outside in pots, and then after being planted in the ground they did great and put out many flowers.
Mark Clipsham commented on Permies.com: "I visited Seattle about two years ago and was surprised to see gardenias that had been hacked back because they had gotten overgrown among other things." Not sure how much truth there could be to that, it does sound a little bit exaggerated, or could be possible he misidentified the plant.
Someone left this comment: " Some of the Gardenias that we use in the Pacific Northwest are the following Kleim’s Hardy, Frost Proof, and Chuck Hayes. ... I have a number of clients growing gardenias successfully in the Seattle area "
davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1429001/#b
Someone else commented he read a post from a member in Garden Forums (Houzz) who has gardenia Veitchii growing in the ground in Bremerton.
forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/pittosporum-tobira.38558/ (post #6)
(Veitchii is not a hardy variety, and if the variety was actually Veitchii it was probably surviving due to luck)
A comment by someone else in Olympia, WA: "Really bad winters only happen about every 5-7 years. I try not to grow anything more than a zone warmer than my location (8a) and I protect plants to made sure they don’t have foliage damage. I don’t get depressed when a plant dies, I look at it as a new opportunity to try a new plant or better variety. I did some experimenting with foliage hardiness this time around. For example its taken me years of trail to finally fine the best gardenia for the PNW and (for the right one to come along). That gardenia is called ‘frost proof’. With just a cardboard box over it I was able to save two flower buds left over from summer."
post by Palm Crazy, Dec 11, 2013, www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/39495-winter-weather/&page=2
'Crown Jewel' and 'Summer Snow' are two other third generation hybrids that should be around equal in hardiness to 'Kleim's Hardy' without the less attractive single petaled flowers.
Chuck Hayes is supposed to be particularly suited for the PNW. This may be because it tolerates the hot dry summers better, or it may be it is able to grow a bit better in the cooler earlier part of the growing season, perhaps because it's one of the few hardy varieties that's not dwarfed in growing habit.
One person in Alabama commented their Frostproof gardenias did not survive in their zone 7/6b climate. (Perhaps she should have covered them with a bag and mulch to protect them)
I read that hardy gardenias can make it through the Winter in Southern New Jersey, zone 7, if planted in a somewhat protected site close to a wall and out of the wind. Frostproof, Daisy, variegata, and Chuck Hayes have all survived there.
Someone in East Tennessee, zone 6b/7a, said that their Frost Proof had been hit hard by two Winters in a row, wasn't doing well, and from the looks of it he expected it would not survive the next Winter. He claimed it was growing right next to a Mystery which was 8 feet tall, and he also said Daisy and Chuck Hayes did well for him. This could be a fluke because obviously Mystery is not [supposed to be] as hardy as Frost Proof. There are several potential explanations, like maybe it was mislabeled, or maybe what was killing it was the Summer not the Winter.
www.houzz.com/discussions/1914658/newer-gardenias-for-zone-6 (post #4)
These reports are from the South and I haven't read any reports of gardenias surviving in anything less than zone 8 in the cooler PNW.
Some comments said that the wet rainy cold Winters can cause the roots to rot, so they should be planted in a very well drained location. Perhaps covered with a plastic sheet over the Winter to prevent the soil getting too wet.
Someone else commented that they planted a Kleim's Hardy in Tacoma up against a house which was growing fine outside for 5 years.
Someone else in Oregon, zone 8, said they had three Kleim's Hardy gardenias that had survived a Winter outside in pots, and then after being planted in the ground they did great and put out many flowers.
Mark Clipsham commented on Permies.com: "I visited Seattle about two years ago and was surprised to see gardenias that had been hacked back because they had gotten overgrown among other things." Not sure how much truth there could be to that, it does sound a little bit exaggerated, or could be possible he misidentified the plant.
Someone left this comment: " Some of the Gardenias that we use in the Pacific Northwest are the following Kleim’s Hardy, Frost Proof, and Chuck Hayes. ... I have a number of clients growing gardenias successfully in the Seattle area "
davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1429001/#b
Someone else commented he read a post from a member in Garden Forums (Houzz) who has gardenia Veitchii growing in the ground in Bremerton.
forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/pittosporum-tobira.38558/ (post #6)
(Veitchii is not a hardy variety, and if the variety was actually Veitchii it was probably surviving due to luck)
A comment by someone else in Olympia, WA: "Really bad winters only happen about every 5-7 years. I try not to grow anything more than a zone warmer than my location (8a) and I protect plants to made sure they don’t have foliage damage. I don’t get depressed when a plant dies, I look at it as a new opportunity to try a new plant or better variety. I did some experimenting with foliage hardiness this time around. For example its taken me years of trail to finally fine the best gardenia for the PNW and (for the right one to come along). That gardenia is called ‘frost proof’. With just a cardboard box over it I was able to save two flower buds left over from summer."
post by Palm Crazy, Dec 11, 2013, www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/39495-winter-weather/&page=2
'Crown Jewel' and 'Summer Snow' are two other third generation hybrids that should be around equal in hardiness to 'Kleim's Hardy' without the less attractive single petaled flowers.