THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406030111
SECTION: HOME PAGE: H1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
DATELINE: 940605 LENGTH: Medium
But a plant rediscovered in Hampton Roads and introduced by the Hampton Roads Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with the Virginia Nurserymen's Association offers hope of an alternative.
{REST} In the late 1970s, Charlie Hayes of the Cavalier Nursery at Hilltop found a single flowering gardenia that survived an exceptionally severe freeze. He crossed the plant with a double-flowering gardenia and gave the seedlings to Experiment Station horticulturist Dan Milbocker.
The plants flowered with single blooms, instead of the more desirable double flowers. So Hayes tried again, then gave the new seeds to Milbocker.
In 1985, from about 450 seedlings, a few produced semi-double flowers. In 1986, the single flowering varieties were eliminated; many of the remaining plants showed frost damage. That left about 50 plants, which were evaluated in the following years.
One plant with double flowers stood out above all others. But how many flowers would the plant produce?
Gardenias on the market today produce about 250 flowers a year. The new plant produced nearly 1,000.
Hayes died before seeing his gardenia reach its potential. In honor of his achievement, the plant has been named ``Chuck Hayes.'' ?
The Chuck Hayes gardenia is winter-hardy, surviving temperatures at least 5 degrees colder than the common gardenia.
Bill Kidd, tree and shrub buyer for the local McDonald Garden Centers, tested the new gardenia in Newport News last winter. Over one eight-day period, temperatures ranged from 1 to 14 degrees; the gardenia survived with only 25 percent damage.
In Hampton Roads, the Chuck Hayes gardenia blooms from the second week of June through the middle of July. In late August, it starts again; blooms often continue up to frost.
The plant also seems to have higher tolerance for heat and grows well in full sun. After eight years of growth, early test plants are about 5 feet high and 7 feet wide. Their flowers have a pleasant fragrance.
A foot-tall plant in a 3-gallon pot costs about $30. Check local garden centers. by CNB