Gardenia jasmine
Family of Maroon. The genus of gardenia.
Natural climatic conditions: subtropics of China and Japan.
Gardenia - an evergreen shrub, reaching 2 m and more in open ground conditions and about one and a half meters in room conditions. Leaves oval or obovate with pointed at the tip, opposite, reach up to 8 cm in length, green, shiny. Flowers, as a rule, are solitary( less often in small-flowered inflorescences), apical( almost sessile) or axillary, large( up to 7-8 cm in diameter), terry with uncombed petals, white or light cream. Blooms in autumn, but it is possible to achieve flowering from April to July, in specimens older than three years old - in winter.
Moisture requirement: moderate, but stable, regular watering - gardenia loves the consistency of the environment. During the period of active growth, spraying is necessary: excessive dryness of the air causes the buds to fall off.
Temperature regime: a heat-loving plant that can withstand winter and lower temperatures( about 14 ° C), provided that the transition to them will be gradual. He does not like sharp changes. Flowering can occur only at a temperature of not less than 18 ° C in the daytime and 16 ° C at night. A prolonged too high temperature( about 24 ° C and more) leads to an increased shoot growth also at the expense of flowering.
Light mode: light-loving plant, flowers open only in sunny weather or with special reinforcement of artificial lighting.
The requirement for soil: the optimal substrate is an equal proportion of soil mixture from sod, humus and peat land with sand, with acidity the leaves of gardenia turn yellow. Sensitive to the lack of iron, specialized additional fertilizing with this element is desirable. For young plants, alternating top dressing with solutions of Mullein and mineral fertilizers is also required.
Reproduction: green and semi-aged cuttings in spring and in winter( they are rooted in sweep peat and sand with mandatory heating at a temperature of 25-28 ° C), less often - seeds.
Features: for most contraindicated turning to light. Slowly taking root. It often gets sick, so for gardenia, hygiene is especially important. After flowering pruning and transplantation to fresh land is mandatory. Young shoots it is desirable to pinch to strengthen the branching. It likes fresh air, therefore it is desirable to ventilate the room frequently.