Indoor gardenia will always decorate your interior. However, during flowering, it is very fragrant - think, can you calmly transfer its aroma to the room? If such a problem does not stand before you, then feel free to get jasmine gardenia.
About the flower
The homeland of gardenia is the jasmine-like China and Japan. Belongs to the madder family. It grows in nature as a shrub reaching a height of up to 1.5 m. The leaves are bright green, dense up to 10 cm long, the flowers are mostly white, large reaching up to 10 cm in diameter.
Indoor gardenia or jasmine gardenia . Jasmine was named for its delicate and rich aroma, reminiscent of the smell of jasmine.
Gardenia jasmine-like how to care: general information
Caring for jasmine gardenia is not a simple matter - it is a very demanding and capricious flower.
Temperature. Gardenia jasmine does not tolerate a sharp temperature drop. It must be kept in a room with a temperature ranging from 15 to 25 ° C (no less and no more). In summer, it is better not to keep it on the balcony. And in winter, you need to ensure that the roots do not freeze. To do this, it is best to put the pot in the cold on an insulating stand, for this you can use polystyrene.
Air humidity. For normal flowering and gardenia growth, the jasmine-like air should be very humid, for this the flower should be constantly sprayed, however it is better not to direct the spray gun on the flower itself. It will be more correct to spray over the plant. Better yet, put the pot with gardenia on a tray with wet pebbles (sand, peat), but you need to place it so that the roots of the flower do not reach the water. Water, evaporating from the pan, will create the necessary moisture for the plant.
Watering. Gardenia jasmine loves abundant watering, in which the ground should be constantly slightly moist, but not wet. Be sure to drain the water from the pan on time. It is better to water with settled soft water.
Lighting Bright light really like jasmine gardenia, but in the afternoon it is better to shade it from direct sunlight.
Top dressing. It must be remembered that gardenia needs to be fertilized from spring and all summer once a week. In this case, use fertilizers with phosphorus and potassium, but in no case should calcium be included in the fertilizer. The fertilizer solution should be weak, not concentrated.
Earth mix . Of the prepared earth mixes sold in stores, mixtures for roses and azaleas are suitable for gardening. A young plant is transshipped every spring, and an adult transplanted every 3 years.
Gardenia jasmine-like how to care: pruning
In addition to creating ideal conditions, pruning plays an important role in shaping a beautiful gardenia shape. To create a neat bush, pinch the top of a young plant. In an adult, at the end of flowering, weak shoots are removed, and the remaining ones are trimmed to the desired length. Most often, pruning occurs on one third of the shoot length.
If you want to create a standard tree, you need to trim the side shoots for this. Then let the plant grow to the desired height and pinch its top to stop growth. After this, you can crop the shoots to form a beautiful crown.
Gardenia jasmine-like how to care: reproduction
Gardenia propagates in 2 ways: by cuttings and seeds.
Cuttings are carried out as follows: in the spring, upper shoots under the node itself are cut with a sharp knife. Two pairs of leaves are left on the handle, and the rest are removed. Then the cuttings are lowered into a sand-peat mixture, sprayed and covered with either a plastic bag or a bottle - this is at your discretion. These cuttings need to be ventilated daily to water and spray. When they begin to grow, they should be transplanted into the ground.
Gardenia jasmine seed is grown longer, but no less interesting. An important role is played by the quality of purchased seeds. If you already have gardenia in the house, you can take the seeds in a faded flower box.
In spring, seeds need to be sown in the soil the same as for cuttings to a depth of 0.5 cm, pour and cover with a film. Preferably shade the film. But you will enjoy flowering plants grown from seeds, only after two years.
Gardenia jasmine-like how to care for this beauty, you already know. If you are not afraid of difficulties in growing such a wonderful flower, you can safely start. Remember the main rule when growing jasmine gardenia - be moderate in everything.