Should i remove buds from gardenia that failed to open before winter?

Question

I live in Rome (zone 9 I believe) and usually my gardenia bush is on our small back balcony that receives about 4 hours of hot direct sunlight during the summer mornings and reflected light the rest of the day. It is now winter and from what I have read it is too cold for it to stay outside. I have moved it inside to a spot where it is near the heating pipes in the floor (not excessively hot) and near a glass door were it receives only an hour or 2 of direct sunlight and some reflected light the rest of the day. I want to make sure it flowers again when the time is right so I want to make sure I am doing the right things. There are some small buds that never opened before winter. Do I remove these?

Answer 1

Since you’re interested in overwintering indoors and then moving outdoors for flowering, rather than producing flowers indoors, it would be a good idea to cut off the flower buds. You don’t really have enough light there for the plant to develop its flowers anyway. You can lightly prune most of the branches by 2 or 3″ to encourage a fuller plant in the spring. Here are some more tips for overwintering gardenia: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/gardenia/gardenia-winter-care-tips.htm