Sweet Tea™ Gardenia

With massive white blooms standing out over rich, deep green foliage, this is the sort of formal–looking, impressive shrub you'd expect to find at event venues. Especially at venues where a small plant would get easily overlooked, as this is no small gardenia. The plant is 4–5' when full–grown, which even outpaces the popular Double Mint. The blooms are about the size of tennis balls, and as double blooms they're petal packed. But you don't need to bring in the professional landscaper to get it settled into your garden. It is unprecedentedly hardy for a typically zone 9–11 plant—we've had this variety of warm–weather loving gardenia survive in a container down to 4–6°F, and containers don't protect roots like planting in the ground can. It isn't reliably hardy past zone 7, but we're trialing it in zone 6 right now. You'll love Sweet Tea's dark foliage as a year–round backdrop in a border. You should also snip some of these gigantic blooms for a modern indoor arrangement, they're deliciously scented. Gardenia jasminoides 'PIIGA–II' PP27258