Many people dream of having beautiful plants in their home, bringing comfort to their home, reminiscent of a blooming summer in the cold, and pleasing to the eye. One of these wonderful plants is the gardenia jasmine. Who would not want to see on his window-sill an amazing creamy flower with large double petals and smooth emerald leaves, which exudes a delicious delicate fragrance?
Jasmine-shaped gardenia: a brief description
A beautiful plant of the Mirenov family, when living in room conditions, is a low bush 45-50 cm in height, and wild species living in the forests of Japan, India and China reach approximately 180 centimeters.
Particular attention gardenia jasmine deserves during flowering. The flowers of this beauty grow to 5-7 cm, have a dense structure and a delicate white color. Their magic and gentle smell can easily compete with the scent of roses.
Did you know? This smell is used in well-known perfume brands: Dior Addict Shine, Nina Ricci Premier jour, Dior Miss Dior, Estee Lauder Intuition, Chanel Gardenia, Guerlain Cruel Gardenia, Agent Provocateur.
Optimal conditions for growing
Jasmine-shaped gardenia is a capricious and demanding plant, it needs special care at home. If you do everything right, to fulfill all the recommendations for its content, then it will continuously bloom fluently throughout the year.
Usually a picky flower is presented to someone as a gift, and most often the person who received the gift does not even know how to find the right approach to the evergreen beauty so that she does not die.
Did you know? It is believed that the energy of gardenia helps to create friendly feelings and win love.
Lighting
Gardenia is very light-loving, and it needs a full-fledged source of light throughout the day. However, protect the evergreen from direct sunlight at noon, at which time it is better if the lighting is scattered.
Therefore, western or eastern windows will be an excellent option for placing the pot.
Important! Never rearrange or turn the pot on the windowsill during the laying and development of the kidneys, as the buds may fall off.And then you will not have to wonder why jasmine-shaped gardenia does not bloom in any way.
Temperature
The optimum temperature in residential premises in the spring-summer period is + 22 ... +24 ° C, and in winter it is 4 degrees lower. Sharp temperature fluctuations can lead to unpleasant changes in the appearance of the flower.
How to care at home
Not every lover can do all the whims of gardenia jasmine-like, so grow it as a usual unpretentious houseplant experienced flower growers do not recommend.
But as mentioned above, the main thing is a great desire, perseverance and effort to do everything right, following the suggested recommendations.
Watering and humidity
I propose to consider in detail the issue of how to water the gardenia jasminoid, because almost every flower needs moisture to grow properly in order to remain beautiful and maintain a decorative appearance.
The soil of the plant should always be slightly wettherefore, abundant watering is welcomed in spring and summer, and in winter - moderate. The idea of the harmonious existence of a gardenia in a pot is to absolutely not allow the earthen clod to dry out, while there should not be watery stagnation in the roots either.
At any time of the year, water for irrigation should be used soft and not cold (to soften it, add 2 drops of lemon juice to a liter of liquid). It is better not to experiment with tap water, but to give preference to filtered rainwater.
It should be watered through the top of the pot, and the water formed in the pan should be drained 20 minutes after the procedure. High humidity of this flower is especially necessary when budding, otherwise inflorescences can simply stop their development and fall off.
It is recommended to place the pot in a container with wet sphagnum or expanded clay, which will provide drainage - so that the bottom does not touch the water. Be sure to daily moisten the leaves, in the summer should be sprayed several times a day, in the winter - it will be enough once. The procedure should be carried out mainly in the morning and afternoon, so that before the twilight the crown can dry.
Important! A direct indicator of the wrong watering of gardenia jasmine is that its leaves turn black. But such an attack can develop against the background of dry or long-wet ground.
Soil and dressing
This beautiful flower is also very fastidious to the composition of the earth. Since he has a slightly sour soil in priority, and he does not tolerate lime, the land for Azaleas can be used for planting.
But to prepare their own soil for gardenia jasminoid is also quite realistic. For this, it is necessary to combine sand, parts of sod, coniferous peat and leafy land in equal quantities. For feeding plants it is better to use liquid types of fertilizers.
The use of mineral fertilizers will help to improve it and keep it always in shape, but when choosing a fertilizer for gardenia jasminoid, preference should be given to preparations without the addition of calcium, otherwise the effect may be reversed.
Experienced growers also advise some “folk” methods of feeding the soil. For example, in order to keep the flower healthy, add half a teaspoon of Aktiferrin (the drug is sold at the pharmacy) in half a glass of water and water the growing gardenia once every two weeks. But for an adult flower it is better to give such liquid weekly.
By folk methods can also be attributed fertilizer from yeast and nettle.
Pruning
A large role in the successful cultivation and care of sanitary pruning plays a jasmine-shaped gardenia after each flowering. This procedure perfectly stimulates the growth of the flower and maintains its decorative state.
Sick and weak leaf cuttings, as well as cuttings with fading flowers, should be removed immediately. The remaining shoots after pruning can be used to propagate the plant.
Features care in the winter
The main enemy of gardenia in the winter time is drafts. It is also necessary to adhere to the minimum allowable temperature regime of not less than +16 ° C, as the plant, suffering from an excess of moisture, may begin to fade, the leaves will begin to lose its unique tone, and the buds will fall off without opening. In winter, the window sills facing the south side will be good for plant placement.
How to transplant gardenia at home
It is advisable to perform transplantation of jasmine-shaped gardenia every couple of years, but in no case during flowering, otherwise buds may fall off. A transplant of a plant occurs this way:
- First you need to remove the gardenia from the pot and, gently brushing off the roots of the old soil, place it in the solution (room temperature) of the biostimulator for the time specified on the package.
- At the bottom of the pot should be placed steamed drainage, then add sand, then a layer of charcoal, and then add soil above.
- During the preparation of the soil for transplanting, gardenia was well fed, being in solution. Now it should be carefully, trying not to damage the root system, divided into several shoots, distribute the roots and place in a pot, slightly sprinkling the soil.
- After the flower has successfully “migrated” back to the pot, the rest of the biostimulator should be poured into it and placed in a warm place where the direct rays of the sun and drafts will not disturb it.
- After planting should not be watered very often, but rather give the plant a "drink" only when the earth dries out a little, about 2 centimeters deep.
Reproduction: rooting cuttings
In gardenia jasminoid reproduction is carried out mainly by the apical cuttings. Usually, for this purpose, semi-woody cuttings of about 10 centimeters in length are selected.
Cut them in the spring or early fall. A kind of greenhouse is created: the cut stalk takes root immediately into the ground, and then it is covered with a glass jar. And when he, grown up and strong, releases roots, he is transplanted into a permanent pot. To make the plant more beautiful and better to bush, after adaptation in a pot, the stem is lightly pinned to the top.
With the help of cuttings, many plants are propagated: laurel, plumeria, brugmans, clematis, rose, chrysanthemum, thuja, grapes, plum.
Rooting recommendations:
- Rooting gardenia is best carried out in a substrate consisting of river sand and peat (in a 1: 1 ratio).
- Before planting the cuttings in the substrate, they must be kept in a very weak solution of potassium permanganate and, preferably, dipped in "Kornevin" (root formation stimulator).
- The teplichka can be built both from a can, and from a plastic bag.
- Rooting cuttings should be at a temperature of +25 ° C.
- The greenhouse needs to be ventilated every evening, and the substrate should be kept wet.
- To care for cuttings should be exactly the same as for the flower itself.
Gardenia at home can try to grow with seeds, but it is very difficult, given that they quickly lose their germination, besides you need to be able to choose them in the store.
In the spring, seeds are sown in the right soil (the mixture is the same as for the cuttings), covered with a layer of earth from 3 to 5 mm thick, and then gently pressed and moistened with a spray bottle.
Then the seed pot is covered with a greenhouse and placed on the southern window-sill. About a month later, some of the seeds should come up (approximately 2/3). Now they are removed a little further from the sun and continue to grow, first in the total capacity, and then separately.
How to deal with pests and diseases
Diseases of gardenia jasminoida bring its owners a lot of trouble. The insects are very fond of the flower, and the most dangerous pests:
- spider mite,
- scythe,
- mealybug.
Fighting them is easy, especially if the plant as often as possible to spray.
Why leaves turn yellow and fall
There are many other troubles that amateur gardeners may encounter, such as yellowing leaves. I propose to analyze the possible reasons why the gardenia jasminoid.
The fact is that the yellowing symptoms of the leaves are caused by various factors, the first of which is improper transplantation. Small roots, which are responsible for the nutrition of the whole plant, are damaged when replacing the soil. As a result, frightening yellowness appears in gardenia jasminoid and leaves quickly fall down (several per day).
Otherwise, the flower may be sick with a shield. This is an unpleasant infection, which also causes yellowing of the leaf plate. On its reverse side are brown spots, which are easily removed without damaging the sheet.
Another reason for the poor condition of the plant is its irrigation with too hard water, as a result of which the acidity of the soil is disturbed and the plant ceases to absorb iron correctly.
You will not regret for a second about your decision to bring this wonderful plant with intoxicating aroma into the house. The main thing is to adhere to all the advice and satisfy all the whims of the naughty gardenia and then the care for her and her originality will bring you the most positive emotions.