dont recall where you are ...

but all you can do.. is wait and see if the dormant buds break ...

after that we can talk other alternatives ..

here in MI ... after a bad winter.. i have stuff that i know that is alive.. THAT LOOKS A LOT WORSE THAN THAT ... but i dont quite have the fever yet.. so i am not out there worrying about them ... key word: YET ....

ken

Hi Ken,

Sorry I forgot to mention the plant's in North Carolina, zone 7B. It was a rough winter this year for NC and this was it's first winter. Lots of yellow leaves..

MT

MT
you couldn't have picked a worst time to plant that gardenia. December?
I don't know if it will pull through for you, but miracles can happen I guess.
If you ever plant another one, plant it in April, not in the cold month of December.
Good Luck, but don't be surprised if it dies, you plant shrubs in the spring, especailly nursery shrubs. LOL

butterfly4u

Generally, I'm used to fruit trees, and the best time for them is the winter. The camelia I planted at the same time did quite well actually. Oh well, live and learn I guess. At least it was on sale.

Mister,
Don't worry about the yellow leaves, that means nothing.
You will see in the fall alot of the leaves will turn yellow also, this is normal.
The only thing you have to worry about with a gardenia is brown leaves, from the bottom up. That is when it's dying.
Your gardenia will pull through, I was too harsh on you.
Gardenias love the Carolinas, just try to plant in spring or up to September next time.
I found 3 August Beauty gardenia plants at Lowes on sale for .50 each, so for 1.50 I got 3 shrubs! LOL!
THey are 2 years old now and doing fine, but I know what you mean, you can't pass up on a deal like that.

There are many different cultivars of Gardenia ('August Beauty', 'Frostproof', etc). Some will do fine in 7B (maybe even 7A in a perfect location). Others such as Gardenia jasminoides 'Veitchii' will probably need a good microclimate in zone 8.

When you say 'greenhouse-kept' that kind of sends up a red a flag that it might have been a 'Veitchii'.