Gardenia is a tropical flower; it is a little moody when grown in a room environment. Its most popular variety is jasmine gardenia, it is easy enough to grow it at home. This article talks about what a gardenia flower is, how to grow it and care for it.
Gardenia in bloom
For the plant to bloom, you need to provide him with good care. Since the flower loves moisture, it is often necessary to spray it with water, but most importantly, do not get a lot of water on the buds themselves, otherwise they will wither. Several times a month, when watering, add a spoonful of lemon juice to the water. Gardenia requires a mixture of coniferous soil, turf, peat and river sand.
What does a flower look like
Attention! The flower is an excellent fertilizer for continuous fertilizing with complex fertilizers. It is especially important to do this in the spring.
Gardenia Flowering Description
To understand what gardenia looks like, you can look at the flowers of peonies. These varieties are very similar. Basically, the plant lives in a subtropical area. The flower is named after the popular botanist, Alexander Garden, who discovered it.
Under natural conditions, a gardenia bush can grow up to 2 m. In a home environment, the plant reaches no higher than 50 cm in height, however, with the help of new breeding species, larger bushes up to 110 cm can be seen.
All varieties of this plant belong to the evergreen crops, although there may be deciduous. Inflorescences of pastel tones of pink, beige, white are monochromatic. The arrangement of flowers is in the axils of the leaves or on top of the stem. The leaves of the plant are leathery, grow in pairs, swamp-green color. The crown is narrow. The peculiarity of the plant is that it blooms for six months.
Interesting! These flowers have a number of useful properties. In folk medicine, gardenia flowers, fruits and roots are happily used. Decoctions and tinctures make them.
Many organs are easily treated with flowers and roots of the plant: lungs, liver, kidneys, heart. You can treat skin problems and infections, mastitis and dysentery. Fruits play the role of anti-inflammatory, choleretic, antiseptic action. The flower has many healing functions.
Wild growth
How white gardenia blooms
From the beginning of summer and until autumn, beautiful large flowers form on the bushes. They are in the axils of the lower leaves, and sometimes on the top of the branches. Flowers grow one at a time or in groups of 5-6 buds.
The diameter of one is about 5-7 cm. It can be simple, semi-double or terry. The color is mainly bright colors in any type of plant. During flowering, they smell very beautiful. The smell resembles a strong shade of citrus and jasmine. In the center of the bud are 5-9 stamens.
After pollination, large pear-shaped or round fruits are formed. There are many small seeds inside them. Ripening, the fruit cracks.
The plant needs a great lighted place, but the shadow of the hot summer sun is also needed. If the sun's rays fall on the flower, then its leaves and buds may fall. After buying a plant, you must immediately choose a good location for it.
Attention! A sharp change of scenery can also lead to the fact that the leaves begin to hurt. Even turning the pot with the plant is not recommended. The best option for this flower is the windowsill of the east or south window.
In cold weather, additional lighting is needed, otherwise winter varieties will not bloom. During cold weather, it is advisable to move the flowerpots with flowers to the southern part of the room so that they receive good lighting. It is recommended to make backlighting using fluorescent lamps.
The plant will feel great if in summer let it stay in the open air. But we must ensure that the sharp rays of the sun do not fall on it, and we must not allow sharp hypothermia of the bush or strong drafts. This will lead to rapid death of the flower.
Pigmentation tincture
Types of Gardenias
Flowers can be designed both for indoor and outdoor use. By shades, all varieties and species have similarities: they range from light white to pale beige.
Gardenia Indoor Flower
Indoor plants, mostly of a dwarf form, usually feel great indoors. All they need is humidity and plenty of light.
Before buying a plant, it is recommended to conduct a full inspection of it. It is better to buy bushes with a well-developed, branched in all directions form. If the flower initially looks sick, it has light, yellow or sluggish leaves - no need to rush to purchase. Sluggish gardenia with crumbling petals will not bring pleasure.
A healthy flower looks gorgeous and is quite expensive at the same time, but you do not need to save money by purchasing a sick plant, albeit with a huge discount. A fresh plant with good care will delight its owner for a very long time.
Attention! It is important to follow all the rules and requirements, be sure to consult with the seller about the rules of care.
Immediately it is recommended to purchase the entire set of necessary fertilizing and fertilizers, as well as a convenient, spacious pot or planter. Roots need a lot of space to grow quickly.
Dwarf variety
Gardenia Jasmine
Gorgeous flower gardenia from the genus Jasmine, when grown indoors, looks like a small bush 50-55 cm tall. Wild varieties growing in the forests of Japan, Asia and India grow to about 190 centimeters. In China, they love this plant so much that they released a drama series called Gardenia in Bloom.
Attention! This plant stands out from the rest of the plants when it begins to bloom. Flowers usually grow up to 5-8 cm, have a strong structure and a beautiful snow color. Their pleasant and delicate smell can not be compared even with the most beautiful roses.
Gardenia Jasmine Fortune
This type of plant has double flowers, they look like camellia, the size reaches 12 cm.
They are sometimes called Fortuneana. It has a rather bright aroma, similar to perfume. Many French brands use this particular variety in the manufacture of perfumes.
Gardenia Jasmine-like First Love
This species is distinguished by large flowers, up to about 15 cm in diameter. Terry petals, their color is light cream. They smell very much. Flowering begins in spring and continues throughout the summer. Basically, the variety blooms twice a year.
Jasmine variety
Gardenia Jasmine Variegate
Variegated appearance with small-sized smelling flowers (9 cm). A small, slowly growing shrub is great for rearing in flower pots. The leaves are round, light green in color, sometimes with brown spots.
Gardenia Vietnamese
Evergreen, multi-stemmed bushes with small shoots up to half a meter tall grow very quickly. The leaves are oval, swamp green, whole-edge. The flowers have a cream color, single, with narrow, long leaves, have a sweet aroma that is exacerbated in the evening and night.
Gardenia Citriodora
The large bush of this plant has very branched shoots with round shiny leaves. Its flowering takes place with a large number of small, not more than 3 cm in diameter, snowy terry flowers. Gardenia also boasts a strong and vibrant scent.
Fortune
Gardenia street
Such species are usually grown in gardens and courtyards. They need a lot of free space and sunlight.
Gardenia Regal
This is a fairly rare variety with an amazingly shaped cream-beige inflorescences. Sometimes it is grown as a houseplant. It can be planted in open soil, but when frozen, it is necessary to bring it into the room.
Gardenia Ternifolia
The plant is popular with flower growers due to its interwoven branches. Large fragrant white flowers grow on them. The view is decorative and resistant to chlorosis. Mostly grows in Thailand.
Diseases and problems in growing
All of these plant varieties are very susceptible to aphid and spider mite diseases. To check if there are pests on the leaves, you need to inspect them carefully with a magnifying glass.
Attention! Very often, due to a lack of fertilizing and minerals, flowers begin to get sick with chlorosis. In this case, their leaves turn yellow and fall.
When growing, there may be some problems:
- The flower grows very slowly, there are no buds, and the leaves are very light - a small amount of light or lack of nutrients and minerals.
- Yellow spots form on the leaves - you need to acidify the soil.
- The buds wither and crumble, the leaves deteriorate, and the flower itself fades away - perhaps the temperature is too low.
- Yellow and brown blotches appear on the leaves - lack of water in the ground or watering occurs not with warm water as needed, but with cold water. It can also be due to strong drafts.
- Falling colors - the air humidity is very low, or the flower was constantly rearranged, which caused stress.
How is chlorosis manifested?
Gardenia flower is very popular among gardeners. It does not require particularly complicated care, but it impresses with its beauty and floral aroma. If you follow all the rules for cultivation and care, the plant will live for many years. Gardenias can be planted in pots with various other bushy plants, creating picturesque compositions.
