Growing gardenia from seed at home

The content of whimsical exotic gardenia is within the power of experienced flower growers and motivated amateurs who are ready to learn proper plant care. Enthusiasts start by growing their own gardenia seed from home.

This exciting process requires effort and compliance. It is difficult to grow an ornamental shrub, you will need to create and maintain the microclimate necessary for a capricious plant.

Gardenia is an evergreen shrub from tropical countries in Asia and Africa. The plant belongs to the Marenov family. Among the numerous species in temperate latitudes, Gardenia Jasmine has taken root (for the types and popular varieties of gardenia, read here).

Houseplant differs large white flowers with a delicate aroma. Flowering lasts several months, filling the room with an exotic scent reminiscent of jasmine. Thanks to the glossy dense leaves of bright green color, the plant looks attractive all year round.

Features plant care

At home - Japan, China, India and other hot countries with a tropical and subtropical climate. The shrub is accustomed to an abundance of sun, moisture and heat. These conditions he will require in the apartment:

• The plant needs good lighting, but you can not substitute it under direct rays.
• The temperature in summer should be + 22-25 ° C, in winter + 16 ° C.
• Abundant watering with soft warm water and spraying.
• For fertilizing, complex fertilizers are used 2 times a month (except for the winter season).
• The plant needs a loose acid soil, suitable soil for azaleas. Over time, the acidity indicators fall; watering with acidified water will help restore them - 3 drops of lemon juice per 1 liter of liquid.

Information. Check the acidity of the soil can be litmus test. Red color - high acidity pH 4.0-5.0, orange - average pH 5.5. This type is optimal for gardenia.

The ornamental shrub is especially whimsical during flowering. It can not be moved and rotated, otherwise the buds will fall off. With a lack of natural lighting will have to turn on the backlight - fluorescent or LED. Gardenia reacts negatively to changes in temperature, dryness and excess moisture.

In detail about the rules of garden care at home, what to do with it after purchase, you can find here.

Breeding methods

Gardenia propagated by cuttings and seeds. The first option is easier and gives you a quicker understanding of how to grow a new healthy plant at home. The optimal time to start the breeding process is the end of winter, the beginning of spring.

If the time of active vegetation is missed, then you can take a process later. The deadline is July, before flowering begins. When growing gardenia from seeds, the main difficulty lies in the acquisition of quality seed.

Good germination provide only fresh seeds. Buying them in the store, you should pay attention to the date of manufacture. Planting time - early spring.

Vegetative

The cuttings are taken, the tip of which is still green, and the lower part is woody. They are called semi-woody. The shoot is selected in the upper part of the plant. Preferably young shoots about 10 cm long.

Take a sharp knife for trimming, this will provide a smooth cut. Experienced flower growers have a small secret; for better rooting, they leave a “heel” - a piece of old bark. Most of the leaves are removed from the cutting, 2-3 pieces remain in the upper part. These leaves will give rise to new growth buds.

Before planting in the ground with a cutting, one of the following procedures is carried out:

1. lower for a few seconds into the phytohormone solution;
2. incubated for 2 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
3. immersed for 5-6 hours in diluted epin - growth regulator, stimulator of the plant's immune system, concentration: 0.15 cu. cm per 250 ml of water.

Rooting for rooting is placed in a special substrate of peat and sand 1: 1 or in water with a weak solution of root stimulator. Fluid should be replaced every 3 days. Before immersion in the soil, the tip of the cutting is dipped in Kornevin (growth stimulator).

The shoot is introduced to a depth of 2 cm, the remaining leaves should not come into contact with the ground surface. Rooting requires 100% moisture and enough light. The provision of these conditions will allow the creation of greenhouse conditions.

A pot of seedlings covered with plastic wrap or glass container. It is placed in a warm, well-lit place. The temperature should not fall below + 24 ° C. If necessary, use lower heating and moisture from the pallet.

Attention. Do not allow overheating, leaving seedlings in the sun.

The process of rooting takes from one to two months. Not all cuttings take root, some of them dry out. Signal successful reproduction will be light-green leaves, which appeared on the seedlings.

About the secrets and difficulties of cutting gardenia at home, we told in this article.

How to get the grain?

Growing an exotic shrub from seeds is a complicated and painstaking procedure that takes a lot of time. One of the success factors is fresh and high-quality seed.

Gardenia blooming age - 5 years, sometimes with good care, it blooms earlier. Fragrant petals open in July and delight the eye until September. After flowering buds appear dry seed boxes.

The diameter of the seed - 4-5 mm, in shape it looks like a lemon. One tip is sharp, and the second is dull, the surface is ribbed. The color of the seeds is light and dark brown.

If you buy seeds from flower growers, then you should consider them, they should be whole, without damage and signs of rotting. When purchasing material in a specialized store, it remains to hope for good luck. There are cases when from 5 seeds put in a bag, 1-2 are growing.

Growing at home

To enjoy the beauty of an ornamental plant, you can do differently: buy it in a store or grow it from seed. The first option is attractive, but it is not always possible to keep a capricious shrub in the new conditions.

Gentle plant due to improper care may wither and die. And the price of an adult gardenia and a bag of seeds differs tenfold. Armed with recommendations on soil selection and agrotechnical measures, it is worth trying to grow it yourself at home.

1. The first thing you need to do before planting, prepare the soil and capacity. It will take a wide pot or container. As a substrate, you can use a ready-made mixture for azaleas or make a suitable soil (what kind of soil mixture is needed for gardenia, read here).

   Would need:

   • peat;
   • sand;
   • coniferous land.

   All ingredients are mixed in equal proportions. The day before planting, seeds are soaked in warm boiled water. 1-3 drops of growth stimulants per 100 ml of water are added to it. Seeds are planted to a depth equal to their diameter - 4-5 mm, the distance between them is 3-4 cm.

   At the bottom of the pot drainage is filled up, for example, expanded clay. Layer height - 1/3 capacity. From above the prepared soil is poured. Seeds are laid out on the surface, sprinkled with top soil and moistened.

2. The pot is covered with a plastic bottle or bag.so that greenhouse conditions are formed and maintained. The container needs to be warm (21-25 ° C), if necessary, preheating of the soil is organized. Humidity is maintained by spraying.
3. Sprout shoots with different speeds, the first appear after a week, and another takes 2 months.

   Information. Sprouts should receive enough coverage. From the rays of the sun sprouts protect paper or white cloth.

   For watering is taken soft drinking water, always warm.

Some germs remain seed coat. It does not allow the plant to develop. Florists in various ways try to get rid of it. High humidity helps the separation, it is worth wrapping the casing with wet cotton and then carefully removing it.

Picks

After the appearance of the second pair of leaves, the seedlings are distributed into separate pots. The container should be 2-3 cm more than the coma of the earth with which the plant is transplanted.

Young sprouts are not yet ready for indoor conditions, they are covered with cut plastic bottles to maintain the microclimate.

After a month they will have to be transplanted again and perform the first feeding (you can read here about how to carry out gardenia transplant at home). Fertilizer is taken for azaleas, but is diluted in a concentration half as indicated.

Iron deficiency occurs when alkalization of the soil. It can be prevented by adding citric acid to the water for irrigation.

To the bush developed in breadth, pinch the upper shoots. Further care is similar to the content of an adult plant. Change his residence is enough 1 time in 2 years. The most difficult and exciting moments behind, it remains to wait for the first flowering.

Cultivation and maintenance of gardenia requires adherence to a set of rules. At the slightest deterioration in the optimal microclimate, it responds with a deterioration in appearance. But beautiful fragrant flowers, reminiscent of roses, become the reward of diligence and patience florist.

Watch the video: How to Grow Healthy Gardenias : Garden Savvy (November 2024).