Flower bud in first shot very characteristic of a gardenia.

Also, that bud in the first pic looks to have white bumps on it. May be aphids or whiteflies and warrants a closer look.

tj

and start turning it every other weeks or so.. so it grows upright instead of leaning away from the corner ... or what i think is a corner

even better if you can move it out of the corner a little bit ore ... its starving in that dark corner ,... and therfore growing out to more light ...

you might need to prune it if turning it doesnt work ...

ken

wait.. its in the house ... trees do rather poorly indoors ... long term ...

any chance you bought the house in winter.. and they had dragged it indoors for such ... or didnt want it stolen???

but they may have moved it back outdoors for summer ...????

thats one way to make a tree last as an indoor plant over the years ...

give us big city location if you want to know about moving it outdoors in late spring .. and btw ... DO NOT move it out to full sun if and when it goes out.. you will have to harden it off to direct sunlight ...

ken

OP states the gardenia was found outside and had already survived some frosts. Until we have a location nobody can say whether it should be brought inside for the winter. I agree there seem to be cast aphid skins visible on it.

wow, somehow i missed all of these comments! so sorry! Thank you all.
I live in WI. My sister bought the house a few weeks ago and i asked to take the tree, lol, as her thumb is black. It was outside and had already frosted at night. The little decorative plants on the side i thought were goners but they came back!
I do think it is a gardenia! updated pic with some flowers almost open. I did notice some bug skins so treated and washed as best i could. It is currently indoors in south facing window.
I'd love any suggestions for how to make sure she get through the winter in WI and back outside in Spring!

Keep the gardenia in as cool a room as possible. Many varieties of gardenia are hardy down to 10-20 degrees F and appreciate cool winters -- think zones 8 and warmer. Cool winter temps help keep bugs at bay and you don't have to worry so much about adding extra humidity. If you have a three-season room that stays above freezing, that would be ideal! Of course some varieties and species are less hardy and tend to be more tropical. Nevertheless, it is not hardy in WI!

Dave - So i should take it out of my south facing window, probably the warmest spot in the house? i can put it in unfinished basement that stays about 50-60. it can get sun there too. If it won't hurt it I'd like to keep it upstairs but i will move to basement if i must.