Gardenia

Gardenia is small in size and is a member of the Marenov family. In its natural environment, this plant can be seen growing in Indian, Chinese and Japanese forests. Nowadays, there are more than 250 types of crops that are representatives of this genus of plants. Moreover, most of them are evergreen shrubs, and even small trees.

Gardenia: plant description

Gardenia flower: plant photo

Indoors, they grow only Gardenia jasmine. At home, Gardenia can grow to about half a meter. This gardenia has interesting and very beautiful leaves, shiny and dark green in color. The flowering period of this plant is quite long in time, lasts from about the middle of the summer season to the end of October. With fairly high-quality and timely care for this pride, it will be possible to see on its stems first the buds, and then the flowers themselves, moreover, numerous. The flowers of this plant have a double structure, a rather large size and a snow-white shade. They have a very delicate and stunning scent and are very similar to roses. This flower can become an adornment in absolutely any room, with a different interior, to which it will bring its sophistication and charm. The Gardenia flower is considered a rather capricious plant and requires proper care. Gardenia does not like drafts at all, and grows well with a sufficiently high air humidity in the room where it grows. With proper and high-quality care, this plant will surprise and delight you with its abundant and lush flowering. Very often this plant is presented as a gift, and, accordingly, the one to whom this wonderful flower was presented does not suggest how to care for it. Often, this plant dies due to a change in temperature and a change in the place of growth. But, although it is quite difficult to grow this flower, your efforts will not be in vain.

Gardenia: home care

Gardenia flower: home care video

If you decide to grow this flower at home, then you should have some knowledge about caring for a room gardenia at home. The most important and the first thing to know is that this flower prefers a sufficient amount of light, moisture and warmth. It is also worth noting that this flower is very bad for all changes. Therefore, it is absolutely not worth rearranging the containers with this plant from one place to another, it is absolutely necessary not to allow temperature drops, as well as overdrying or waterlogging of the soil.

Lighting

Gardenia is very sensitive to lighting, so it is very important to provide it with sufficient lighting for the whole day. Although in the midday summer hours, the flower must be protected from exposure to direct sunlight. The best place for this plant would be a window sill, which is located on the west or east side of the room. In the winter season, the window sill located in the southern part of the room will be wonderful. This flower is very sensitive to the change in lighting, especially during the period of time when the buds are forming in the plant. Otherwise, the buds of the plant may simply fall off from the fact that you will be transferring the flower from one place to another place, or you will simply begin to constantly turn it.

Temperature

Gardenia is very fond of warmth, therefore, the temperature regime required by the flower should be constantly maintained in the place of its growth. To do this, in the spring and summer period, you should ensure that the temperature is about 23 degrees, in the winter season the temperature should not drop 16 degrees, but it will be best to maintain the temperature at 19 degrees, and at the time when bud formation begins, the temperature should be observed air at 18 degrees, and the soil should not be cold, but warm. And remember: a sharp change in temperature should not be allowed, this will definitely have a bad effect on the flower.

Air humidity

During the budding period, the flower should be provided with high air humidity, since with rather dry air there is a danger of stopping the growth of buds, or even dropping them altogether. The best solution would be that you put expanded clay on the bottom of the pallet and pour the liquid, and then put a container with this plant on top of that. Although in this case it is worth noting that the bottom of the container should not come into contact with water. During that period of time when the flower begins its intensive growth, its foliage needs to be regularly sprayed with water, since it is at this time that the plant needs rather humidified air. But it should be remembered that the water should not get on the flowers or buds. In the spring and summer, be sure to water the flower regularly and abundantly. Gardenia's soil should always be moist. Do not use cold or hard water for the irrigation procedure; the best option would be boiled or filtered liquid. In winter, the number of watering procedures is reduced. And be sure to make sure that there is no stagnation of water near the root system of the flower.

Gardenia flower: plant photo

Top dressing

During the period of active growth of the plant, from about March to August, it is required to fertilize this plant every two weeks. For such dressings, liquid fertilizers are used for indoor flowering plants. To correctly calculate the dosage for applying such fertilizer to the soil, you need to divide the recommended dosage in the instructions by two.

Transplant features

The transplant procedure is carried out for a given flower with the arrival of the spring period, and this is done mainly after two years. It is better not to touch this flower during the flowering period, otherwise all the buds may fall off. And it is also worth remembering about high-quality drainage.

Soil selection

It is definitely not worth using soil for this plant, which contains lime. The best option would be an acidic soil mixture, with an acidity index of about 5. The soil mixture for this plant consists of such soil as sod, peat, leaf and coniferous, and fine sand is also added. Everything is taken in equal shares. But if you decide to purchase ready-made soil in the store, then the best option for this would be the soil for the azalea.

Pruning

After the end of the flowering period, you need to trim the plant two-thirds of the length of its shoots. During the growing season, it is required to pinch the upper parts of the new shoots. These actions can stimulate the growth of young shoots and make more flower buds. Pruned shoots can be left and used to propagate this flower.

Gardenia: indoor flower propagation

Gardenia flower: plant photo

Often, apical cuttings are used to propagate Gardenia. They should be about 10 centimeters in size, and they should be cut at the end of February, or in March. Their rooting occurs in a warm substrate, and a rooting stimulator is also used. You can also make a miniature greenhouse, and this is not difficult to do. To do this, you just need to cover the cutting with a transparent regular bag or glass jar. The rooting process is quite lengthy and not easy.Before planting the cuttings for rooting in the soil, dip its tip into the stimulant. Cuttings are planted in a soil mixture, which consists of coniferous soil, sand and peat. Occasionally, rooting is carried out in water, but with this option it is not always possible to see the appearance of roots. Rooted cuttings that have reached a height of 15 centimeters should be pinched.

Diseases and pests

Gardenia flower: plant photo

Very often, the gardenia indoor flower is attacked by aphids, spider mites, scale insects and thrips. When these harmful and dangerous insects appear, the flower should be immediately sprayed with an insecticide, such as Intavir or Actellik. With a small number of harmful insects, one treatment can be dispensed with, but with numerous occurrences, such spraying should be done three times, with an interval between these procedures of one week.

Difficulties encountered

Gardenia flower: home care video

If you still decide to grow in your apartment, then get ready to face such difficulties as:

• Slow growth rate of the flower, lack of buds and dull foliage. This may be due to a lack of sunlight or essential nutrients and micronutrients.
• The formation of yellow streaks on the leaves. In this case, it is required to acidify the soil.
• Fall of flowers and buds, wilting of leaves and drooping of the flower itself. Most often, the reason for this is too low air temperature.
• Yellowing and falling of gardenia leaves. The reason is a small amount of moisture in the ground, or the irrigation procedure was performed with cold water, and not warm, as it should. Or maybe the reason is the temperature difference.
• The buds fall off. This may mean that the air humidity is below the norm. And another reason may be in rearranging the container with Gardenia from one place to another.