Gardenia is an amazingly beautiful evergreen shrub with large, “stuffed” or, in other words, double flowers. Native to the southern hot climes, this beautiful exotic princess comes in 250 species in the wild and is widely available to amateur gardeners in more refined forms.
Appearance of the plant
Gardenia flowers grow in small flowerpots, reaching a maximum height of 50-60 cm. In nature, trees can exceed 180 cm. The leaves are smooth, leathery-glossy, shiny, rich green. The shape is elongated, large - up to 10 cm long. Gardenia often collects its flowers in lush inflorescences of 5-6 cups (less often - 4). They are also single, but then large, from 5 cm or more in circumference. Their virgin white color looks extremely impressive, solemn, elegant, even, one might say, regal. Gardenia flowers complement their charm with a delicate, very pleasant aroma,well felt in the room. You can decorate with a plant both living rooms and a kitchen, glazed, and in warm weather, an open veranda or terrace. The classic combination of juicy greenery and snowy whiteness, a certain element of solemnity, allows gardenia flowers to be used to decorate banquet halls, foyers, and office spaces. For these purposes, large containers for planting and large plant species are taken. Their flowering occurs in the summer-autumn period.
Gardenia: care and growth conditions
As befits true beauties, a rather capricious and demanding flower is gardenia. How to take care of her so that she is he althy and viable? There are secrets and nuances here. We will stop on them. Firstly, with the onset of heat and stuffiness, the princess must be sprayed with water at room temperature, 4-6 times a day. Secondly, so that it does not look like a wilted bush, flowers that have begun to turn yellow should be removed regularly. Just do not cut them off, but carefully cut them with scissors. To make the bush look neat, in the spring, as soon as the active growing season begins, you need to cut the shoots, giving it the desired shape. It is necessary to process with a special polish all large-leaved indoor flowers. Gardenia care in this regard loves the same. She is also afraid of low temperatures, drafts and all sorts of other unfavorable aspects.
Some recommendations
The temperature regime for the plant should be between +16 (minimum) to+ 22 (maximum) degrees. If the air is hot, it is necessary to make it more humid, for example, by placing water containers near the flowerpot. Yes, and the flowerpot itself is better to put in a pan with liquid. He likes gardenia and a lot of light, but not the direct rays of the sun in summer. Its leaves can get serious burns. And in winter, she enjoys soaking up the direct light. The flower prefers water that is not cold, soft, boiled and settled. The soil in the pot should be moist during the hot season, but not waterlogged (the root system will rot). And if the soil is too dry, the plant will wither, dry out. Gardenia does not tolerate high acidity, the norm for it is 5, 5, this must be taken into account when feeding it with fertilizers. From time to time in spring and summer, be sure to fertilize the earth with potassium impurities and preparations containing iron. Just don't overdo it: chemistry is chemistry. Bushes are transplanted, as usual, in early spring. Propagated by cuttings. True, they sprout roots rather difficultly and need additional phytostimulants.
