A Guide To 11 Different Gardenia Flowers

The gardenia is a beloved shrub, famous for its deeply fragrant scent and beautiful, elegant white flowers. While most of us recognise the classic gardenia, there are actually many different varieties available. Each type has its own unique size, flower shape, and growing style. This guide will help you discover the wonderful world of gardenias and find the perfect one to grow in Singapore’s warm, tropical climate.

Understanding Gardenia Types

Most of the popular gardenias you see today come from one main species called Gardenia jasminoides. From this single species, growers have developed hundreds of different cultivars, each with special traits. Understanding these differences will help you choose the best plant for your home.

The main ways gardenias differ are in their size. Some grow into large shrubs that are perfect for a garden, while others are small, dwarf types that stay compact enough for a pot. The flowers can also look different. Some have a classic, rose-like shape with many petals, which are called double blooms. Others have a simpler, more open look with just a single layer of petals. 

Finally, some gardenias bloom only once a year, while others are known as repeat-bloomers, offering flowers several times throughout the year.

Large Gardenia Types

These gardenias grow into substantial shrubs and are perfect for creating a statement in a garden. They are best suited for landed properties or homes with larger outdoor spaces where they have room to flourish and release their wonderful fragrance.

1. August Beauty

'August Beauty' is one of the most popular and dependable gardenias you can grow. It is known for its lovely, velvety double flowers that look like small white roses. This variety is a favourite because it has a long blooming season, producing flowers for many months. 

Its classic, strong gardenia fragrance will easily fill a garden. It typically grows into a full, rounded shrub about 1.2 to 1.8 metres tall, making it perfect for creating a fragrant hedge or as a beautiful standalone plant.

2. Mystery

The 'Mystery' gardenia is famous for its incredibly large flowers. The pure white, double blooms can grow up to 12 centimetres across, making them a real showstopper. The fragrance is just as impressive as the size, with a very intense and sweet scent. 

This is a strong, vigorous plant that can grow quite large, often reaching up to 2.5 metres in both height and width. Because of its size, 'Mystery' is best used as a stunning feature plant in a spacious garden where its magnificent blooms can be fully appreciated.

3. Aimee

Similar to 'Mystery', the 'Aimee' gardenia is another variety celebrated for its enormous flowers. Many gardeners consider its blooms to be among the largest of all gardenias. It tends to flower a bit earlier in the season, producing lush, picture-perfect double blossoms with a powerful fragrance. 

This shrub has an upright growth habit and can reach a height of 1.8 to 2.4 metres. It is an excellent choice for anyone wanting to make a dramatic statement with exceptionally large and beautiful flowers.

Small and Dwarf Gardenias

For those living in apartments or homes with limited outdoor space, dwarf gardenias are the perfect solution. These compact varieties thrive in pots and containers, allowing anyone to enjoy their fragrance and beauty on a balcony, patio, or in a small garden bed.

4. Radicans

'Radicans' is a true dwarf gardenia that stays very low to the ground and has a spreading, creeping habit. It produces small but beautifully formed double white flowers that have the same classic fragrance as their larger relatives. 

This plant is a slow grower, reaching only about 30 to 60 centimetres in height while spreading outwards. Its small size makes it ideal for container gardening, and it looks wonderful on a balcony. It can also be used as a fragrant groundcover in a garden bed.

5. Buttons

The 'Buttons' gardenia is a delightful little shrub that stays naturally neat and rounded. It gets its name from the charming, button-like double flowers it produces in abundance. It is a prolific bloomer and maintains its tidy shape with very little need for pruning. 

This variety grows to a very manageable 60 centimetres tall and wide, making it a perfect choice for small pots. It is also well-suited for planting along the front of a garden border or as a tiny, fragrant hedge.

6. Crown Jewel

'Crown Jewel' is a fantastic modern hybrid that combines two desirable traits: it is a low, spreading grower and is also quite hardy. It produces a heavy flush of fragrant, double white flowers in the early summer and is known for its good disease resistance. This variety grows about 60 centimetres tall but can spread to over a metre wide. It is an excellent choice for a resilient groundcover or for planting in a container where it can gracefully spill over the edges.

Gardenias That Bloom Repeatedly

In Singapore’s year-round growing climate, having a plant that flowers repeatedly is a huge bonus. These "everblooming" or repeat-blooming gardenias will produce waves of flowers throughout the year, ensuring you almost always have something beautiful and fragrant to enjoy.

7. Veitchii

Often called the 'Everblooming Gardenia', 'Veitchii' is one of the oldest and most trusted repeat-blooming varieties. It is a true performer, producing an abundance of medium-sized, double flowers from spring right through to autumn. It is considered one of the most prolific bloomers available. 

The shrub itself is compact and tidy, typically growing to about 1.2 metres tall and wide. 'Veitchii' is a superb choice for anyone who wants a consistent supply of flowers and fragrance for most of the year. It does well both in gardens and in large pots.

8. Four Seasons

As its name suggests, the 'Four Seasons' gardenia is known for its ability to bloom again and again throughout the year. It produces fragrant, star-shaped double flowers. While it has its strongest bloom in the spring, it will continue to produce successive flushes of flowers in the following months. 

It is a compact plant that grows to about 90 to 120 centimetres tall, making it another great option for container gardening where you can enjoy its continuous performance up close.

9. Jubilation™

'Jubilation' is a popular modern variety that offers excellent repeat-blooming performance on a manageable, compact shrub. It produces fragrant, beautiful white double blooms in the spring and then re-blooms through the summer and into autumn. 

It grows to a neat size of about 90 to 120 centimetres tall and wide. This makes it a wonderful, low-maintenance choice for gardeners looking for a reliable and attractive plant that provides flowers for many months of the year.

Gardenias with Unique Flowers

While the classic multi-petaled gardenia is what most people picture, some varieties offer a different kind of beauty. These types have simpler, single-layered flowers that have a delicate and charming appeal all their own.

10. Daisy

The 'Daisy' gardenia stands out because it features lovely, single flowers with five petals that look very much like daisies. While the flowers are simpler in form compared to the double varieties, they are still wonderfully fragrant. 

This shrub is known for being very hardy and reliable, with a low, mounding growth habit. It grows to about 90 to 120 centimetres tall, making it a great choice for gardeners who appreciate a more delicate, informal, and natural look in their plants.

11. Kleim's Hardy

'Kleim's Hardy' is another variety that features beautiful single flowers. Its blooms are distinctly star-shaped, with six petals surrounding a bright yellow centre. They release the same classic, sweet gardenia fragrance. Although it is known for being more cold-tolerant, it grows beautifully in warm climates like Singapore's. 

The plant stays compact and mounded, reaching about 60 to 90 centimetres in height and width. It is an excellent choice for pots and small gardens, where its unique, star-like flowers can be admired up close.

Conclusion On Choosing Your Gardenia

The world of gardenias is wonderfully diverse, offering a perfect match for almost any space. Whether you desire a large, fragrant hedge from an 'August Beauty', a compact 'Radicans' for your HDB balcony, or the year-round blooms of a 'Veitchii', there is a gardenia for you. 

Consider your available space, sunlight, and how you wish to enjoy its iconic fragrance. By choosing the right variety, you can successfully bring the timeless elegance of this flower into your Singapore home.

At Singapore Florist, we are all about flowers and would love to help you out pick the best bouquet. 

Contact us today. We would love to help you out.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gardenia Varieties

What Is the Most Common Type of Gardenia?

The most common and widely planted type of gardenia is Gardenia jasminoides 'August Beauty'. It is popular because it is a reliable bloomer, has classic double flowers with a strong fragrance, and grows into a lush, well-shaped shrub suitable for many gardens.

How Many Different Types of Gardenias Are There?

There are over 200 different species and cultivated varieties of gardenias. Most of the popular ornamental types grown in gardens are cultivars of the species Gardenia jasminoides, which has been bred to create a wide range of sizes, flower forms, and blooming habits.

What Is the Most Fragrant Gardenia?

While fragrance can be subjective, varieties like 'Mystery' and 'Aimee' are often cited as being among the most fragrant due to their exceptionally large flowers. However, classic varieties like 'August Beauty' and 'Veitchii' are also known for their powerful and iconic gardenia scent.

What Is the Hardiest Type of Gardenia?

For general resilience and ease of care, varieties like 'August Beauty' are considered very hardy and reliable in warm climates. For gardeners in cooler regions, newer hybrids like 'Crown Jewel' and 'Kleim's Hardy' have been specifically bred for better cold tolerance.

Is There a Gardenia That Blooms All Year?

In tropical climates like Singapore, some varieties known as "repeat-bloomers" can flower almost continuously. 'Veitchii' and 'Four Seasons' are two of the best-known types that will produce flushes of blooms throughout the year, rather than just in one single season.

What Is the Easiest Gardenia to Grow?

For beginners, a compact and robust variety like 'August Beauty' or a dwarf type like 'Radicans' can be easier to manage. Newer hybrids like 'Jubilation'™ are also bred for better disease resistance and reliability, making them a good choice for those new to growing gardenias.