Jasmine gardenia is called a "capricious beauty". Growing a plant and achieving its lush flowering at home is quite difficult, but when you consider all the conditions necessary for the growth of a gardenia, it will thank you with charming flowers and fill your home with a delicate enchanting scent.
Transplant and substrate
To transplant young plants, a pot is needed, a few centimeters larger than the previous one. If you are going to transplant an old gardenia, then there is no need to take a new container, the plant must be planted in the same pot, completely replacing the substrate. When choosing a container, keep in mind that gardenia does not need a too large pot; it will simply stop blooming in a spacious container.
Remove the flower from the old pot along with the clod of earth. Shake it gently and rinse the roots under running water. In an adult plant, trim them by 1/3, lightly sprinkle the slices with crushed activated carbon.
To plant your gardenia, you need acidic soil. You can use ready-made soil for azaleas, but it is best to mix the soil yourself. The most ideal substrate for planting gardenia is a mixture of turf, coniferous soil, coarse sand and peat. Take all the ingredients in equal parts and mix. For greater moisture permeability and lightness, you can add grated sphagnum moss to the substrate.
Place a layer of drainage on the bottom of the prepared pot. It can be expanded clay or coarse sand. Then add the substrate to 2/3 of the container volume, moisten it. Position the plant, carefully spread the roots and cover with soil. Slightly compact and moisturize the surface.
Watering
Use room temperature soft water to water your gardenia. It needs to be boiled and then allowed to stand for 2-3 days. Add a couple of drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the water each time you water. This will help maintain the required level of soil acidity. In summer, the plant requires abundant watering as the top layer of the potted substrate dries, in winter the procedure should be shortened.
Top dressing
Top dressing every 2 weeks during active growth, starting in March. Any complex fertilizer for flowering plants is suitable for this. After pruning and pinching the bush, water it with a weak solution of organic fertilizers. Remove the topsoil about once a year and add new substrate. This technique will help prevent soil salinity, which leads to the death of the plant.
Conditions of keeping gardenia
Gardenia is very responsive to containment conditions. She needs a bright place, but she does not like direct sunlight. It is desirable that in summer the temperature does not exceed + 25-26 ° C, and in winter it does not fall below +16.
When the plant has gained color, the pot must not be turned. Otherwise, the gardenia will shed all the buds and may not bloom again.
If there is a central heating battery under the windowsill, put expanded clay in the pallet, moisten it and place a pot of gardenia on top. If the windowsill is cold, place the container with the flower on a wooden or foam support.
