Indoor plants decorate our houses and apartments. Not only women, but also many men treat the flowers on the windowsills with awe and care. With the help of plants, you can give certain notes to the entire interior. Flowers are often planted in pots of bizarre shapes. Plants are known to maintain indoor humidity and purify the air.
Home gardenia flower
Gardenia is one of the most beautiful plants that many lovers of indoor flowers have enjoyed. It belongs to the class of tropical madder flowers and has about two hundred and fifty varieties. Only one type of gardenia has adapted to home conditions - jasmine, it is also called Cape jasmine or August. This flower is very capricious in content and requires special care. But the evergreen, rich green petals and very beautiful flowering of this plant are worth the effort and care in growing it. The aroma emanating from the flowers invariably gives a feelingfreshness and spring harmony.
Description
Gardenia moved to apartments from the forests of Japan, India or China. This flower is extremely beautiful. It belongs to climbing shrubs, in nature it reaches two meters in height. The bark of this plant has scales. Its petals are hard, green in color with a glossy sheen and lancet shape. Gardenia flowers are quite large - 8-10 cm, usually white, somewhat reminiscent of a tea rose. The color of the buds can be pale yellow, pink or cream. This plant has bright yellow fruits that are even suitable for eating. The jasmine gardenia flower usually does not reach a size of more than 50 cm, but in rare cases its height can be one meter or more. This houseplant, unlike most of its counterparts, has a delicate persistent aroma and blooms for a fairly long period of time, about four months. Flowering gardenia begins in mid-summer and lasts until mid-autumn. Although an already adapted flower may bloom at other times of the year, in winter it can also please with its lush buds, which are located at the tip of the stem singly or in pairs, which creates an unusually beautiful plant appearance. White large flowers are in lush greenery.
The main types of indoor gardenia
There are several types of gardenia flowers (photo attached to the article):
- jasminoid (G. Jasminoides ellis);
- gold, yellow (Gardenia carinata, kuta);
- citriodora (G. Citiodora).
The varieties of this plant include the following varieties: Flore Pleno, First Love, Variegate, Veitchii, Fortuneana, Kleim's Hardy, Radicans. These species have proved to be excellent as an indoor flower.
Types of garden gardenia
Among the garden flowers of gardenias, there are also quite a few varieties:
- Radicans - flowers are white, double, lanceolate leaves and glossy.
- Kleim's Hardy - white flowers are small in size, bloom in summer and spring.
- Four Seasons - bloom all year round with proper care.
- Fortuniana - large camellia-shaped double flowers.
- Veitchii variety - has delicate double double flowers, dark foliage.
- First Love - Creamy double flowers may appear 2 times a year.
- Variegata - light yellow speckled leaves, white and double flowers.
- White Gem - small dark colored oval leaves and star-shaped five-petalled flowers.
- Mystery - blooms with large flowers for quite a long time.
Gardia flower: home care
As already mentioned, this flower is quite capricious and requires increased attention. By observing the following rules in caring for gardenia, you can keep this plant as a home decoration for a long time. To do this, you must follow some rules for care:
- monitor the temperature so that there are no sudden changes in it, the only waythe plant will successfully grow and delight with its magnificent flowering;
- the soil should be moist but not overly wet;
- Acidic soil is the ideal environment for plant he alth and rapid growth;
- lighting should be sufficient, but avoid exposure to sunlight;
- suitable for rooms with high humidity, provided there is access to daylight;
- in no case should you change the location of the flower during the formation of buds or flowering, as this can lead to shedding of formed buds;
- gardenia is a heat-loving flower, the ideal temperature for its growth will be 20 degrees Celsius;
- you need to water only with settled water or rainwater and always warm.
The trick to growing gardenia flowers is plenty of water in summer and moderate water in winter.
Lighting, temperature and humidity
The lighting in the room where the gardenia flower is located should be sufficient. Moreover, in order to achieve year-round flowering, it must be present around the clock. The ideal location for a gardenia pot is a window that faces west or east. It should also be remembered that the flower is very susceptible to drafts. In winter, it is strictly forbidden to change the location of the plant in the house. It is better to postpone the flower move until spring.
The temperature needed by the plant in the warm season should be about twenty-two degrees. In winter, gardenia is overgrown with buds forwintering, and the temperature during this process should not exceed twenty-one degrees Celsius.
The temperature of the soil and the room should be at the same level. No sharp jumps. If you reduce or, conversely, raise the temperature of the soil too much, then you can interrupt the processes of bud formation and never see the flowering of the plant.
Water conditions for plants
The above temperature and light conditions are not the most important for he althy flower growth. Capricious gardenia is called precisely because of the peculiarities of its watering.
When the plant is growing, it should be watered abundantly, but only if the top layers of the soil in the pot are completely dry. During transitional periods (spring and autumn), watering is reduced to 3 times a week. But in winter, watering should be minimal. Water for irrigation is taken warm and always settled. You can maintain soil acidity by adding citric acid or lemon juice to the water for irrigation. But with the addition of acidity to the soil, the main thing is not to overdo it, because this will instantly affect the size of the leaves and their color. They will turn yellow and decrease in size. A few grains of acid or drops of juice per 1 liter of water will be enough.
During budding and flowering, the humidity in the room should be increased. This problem can be solved by constantly spraying the plant while the buds remain closed. After opening the flowers, spraying should be stopped. But the humidity should be maintained further, so next to the gardenia pot you needput a container of water.
During the period of active flower growth, it is necessary to actively fertilize the soil with liquid fertilizer additives. Suitable universal fertilizer for flowering houseplants. But when using them, you need to halve the recommended amount for watering.
During the formation of buds, it is better to reduce the acidity of the soil. This can be achieved by watering and fertilizing with a high content of iron levels. Twice watering during the budding period is enough.
The root system of gardenia grows throughout the pot and quickly absorbs moisture in case it lacks minerals. It is during this period that you can apply top dressing, both mineral and organic, alternating it alternately.
Transplanting this plant requires extreme care and is best done only when absolutely necessary. When transplanting, you need to be very careful with the horses, they are thin and very fragile. Trim them to a minimum. In the new soil, they will soon grow again.
Transfer
The gardenia flower, the care of which we consider in this article, has certain transplant rules:
- flower pot one third filled with drainage;
- fill it with a substrate for indoor and flowering plants or special soil for gardenias or azaleas;
- calcareous soil is prohibited, only a substrate with an acidity of at least pH 4.0.
- when self-preparing the soil, it must be present in equal parts sand, soddy soil, coniferous, leafy and peat.
Pruning and propagation
Pruning a gardenia flower is a must, while removing weak shoots and dried flowers. If the plant is too abundantly covered with leaves, then it can be thinned out. You can form the growth of foliage both to the sides and up, while cutting off unnecessary branches. They can be used to propagate a plant by simply rooting them into the soil.
Also, the gardenia flower (see photo in the review) propagates by seeds. But at home, this is a rarity. Cutting young shoots 10 cm in size is the best way to grow a new flower. It is recommended that cuttings be made in the winter months or early spring, while the branch should be placed in water or in a soil mixture. Over time, the stem will begin to grow roots. A growth stimulator should be added to the mixture or water. So the plant will take root much faster. For fast growth, you can also cover the cutting and potting mix with film or glass, ensuring the same temperature of the substrate and the plant.
It is necessary to transplant a grown gardenia flower at home when its height reaches 10-12 cm. A lush crown should be formed initially by cutting off the upper shoots. If everything is done correctly and in the future to observe all the nuances in caring for the plant, the shoot will bloom in a year.
Diseases and pests
There are a number of symptoms of indoor gardenia flower diseases. Below is a list and the reasons for their occurrence:
Falling buds
The reason may be the drying of the soil, improper watering, insufficient lighting, lowroom temperature, changing the pot, using cold water when watering.
Falling yellow leaves
The main reasons for falling leaves and changing their color to yellow can be: lowering the temperature, cold water when watering.
Foliage color fades
Inadequate lighting, lack of nutrition or too high humidity are the main causes of loss of color in the foliage.
Buds do not open
Non-acidic soil and lack of light can cause buds to fail to open.
Yellow stains on the leaves
Requires soil acidification or chlorosis disease.
Slow growth
The plant stops growing if pests (scale insects, mites or aphids) appear on it.
Special preparations are used to control pests, about once every seven days. Symptoms of pests include leaf stickiness, cobwebs on the foliage and its twisting, gray stripes or brown spots on the surface of the stem and leaves.
Healing properties
Gardenia flower (we discussed home care in the article) is not only a beautiful ornamental plant, but also a medicinal one. Known for its effectiveness in the treatment of stomatitis, dysentery and mastitis. Also, decoctions from its petals successfully help fight diseases of the lungs, kidneys, and intestines.
Compliance with the recommendations of experts when growing this beautiful plant will allow you to admire its magnificent appearance and flowering. Thanks to its amazing beauty, gardenia can be a great decoration for absolutely any home.
