Contents
Magnolia is an evergreen (deciduous) plant. The flowers are very fragrant white, pink or cream in color with large leaves. The flower belongs to poisonous plants, but contains a lot of useful substances: essential oils, flavone glycosides, routines and alkaloids. Growing magnolia flower at home has been gaining popularity in recent years. There are decorative species bred specifically for home cultivation.
Is it possible to grow magnolia in an apartment or at home
There are several types of magnolia bred specifically for growing in a pot at home. They are characterized by small size, bright leaves and colorful blooms.
How an indoor magnolia flower blooms
In its natural habitat, magnolia blooms throughout the growing season. When flowering ends, the petals fall off and this phenomenon is called “magnolia rain”. Then, in place of the former flowers, fruits with large seeds are formed, in appearance similar to a pine cone.
Under favorable conditions, magnolias bloom for the first time 8 years after planting, and some species even earlier.
The color of the flowers is varied: white, pink, lilac, purple. There are species that first form flowers, and then leaves, and some bloom already with existing leaves.
A photo of a magnolia flower grown at home is presented below.
A photo of a blooming magnolia in a pot proves that a seedling can be grown at home.
In what conditions does a home magnolia flower grow
Indoor magnolia flower prefers sunny, well-lit places, but can grow in partial shade.
While the plant is small, it is placed on a window located in the east, since the south side is too bright and burns may occur. Adult plants with a wide crown are placed on a stand near the window.
Indoor magnolia (pictured) prefers fresh air and in summer it is better to take it outside.
Magnolias in the apartment are comfortable at a temperature of +20÷24 °C. But in winter, in order to form flower buds, it is moved to a room where the air temperature is not higher than + 15 ° and not lower than + 7 ° and there are no drafts.
Types of magnolia for growing at home
For growing home magnolia, breeders bred the following varieties:
- Breckens Brown Beauty;
- Figo;
- Coco;
- George Henry Kern;
- Burial.
Also, some amateur flower growers grow the following varieties at home: Sulanga Lenny, Little Jam, Sensation.
Breckens Brown Beauty
Evergreen, broad-leaved shrub with large oval dark green leaves. The outer side of the leaves is smooth, and the reverse side is covered with a small fluff of a brownish hue. The flowers are white with a pleasant aroma.
Figo
An ideal variety for home cultivation. An adult shrub grows up to 1,5 m in height.
The flowers of the Figo variety are small (up to 4 cm in diameter), cream, white, yellow or lilac in color, with a sharp aroma, which is especially noticeable early in the morning. The aroma resembles the smell of a banana, for which the shrub is often called the “banana tree”. The leaves are green, oblong in shape.
It is preferable to plant in slightly acidic, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. The shrub can grow both in the sun and in partial shade. Bushes grown in conditions of periodic shading are loose and spreading, and in the sun – compact, dense. The culture loves moderate watering and does not tolerate transplanting well.
Coco
The variety is actively grown at home. The leaves are broad, green or dark green, pointed towards the apex and wedge-shaped at the base. The flowers are white, creamy in color with a delicate aroma.
George Henry Kern
Slow-growing (15 cm per year), deciduous, hybrid shrub with a spherical crown. It is characterized by abundant flowering and frost resistance.
The flowers are purple on the outside and white on the inside. Blooms until leaves appear. The foliage is dark green in summer and brown-bronze in autumn. Prefers partial shade and acidic to neutral soils.
Daphne
Low growing shrub with late flowering. The flowers are bright yellow, up to 10 cm in diameter. The leaves are green, wide, medium in size.
Soulange Lenny
The variety was bred at the beginning of the 3th century in France. Frost-resistant slow-growing deciduous shrub reaches a height of about XNUMX m.
The leaves are large, green, and in autumn – from yellow to light brown. The flowers are large white in color, shaped like tulips, and when fully blooming they look like lotus flowers. They have a strongly pronounced aroma.
The shrub grows in sun and partial shade. Prefers chernozem, acidic or slightly acidic soil.
Sensation
The variety begins flowering in the first years after planting. It grows up to 3 m in height and up to 1,5 m in width. Intense yellow flowers, tulip-like in shape, up to 20 cm in diameter.
How to grow magnolia at home
Caring for magnolia grown at home is quite easy, you must follow certain rules.
How to choose a pot for a magnolia flower
Home magnolia is a low-growing shrub that requires growing in a spacious and deep flowerpot. This is a prerequisite for growing a plant that has a highly developed root system in the form of a rod.
Magnolia is also planted in tubs so that it is convenient to take it outside in the summer.
Soil preparation for growing magnolia at home
Growing home magnolia requires a light, nutritious soil with a sufficient content of organic matter in it in the form of peat and humus. The optimal acidity of the soil should be in the range from 7 to 7,5 units.
Landing algorithm
To prepare the soil, take soddy land, leaf humus, peat and manure in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 0,5. Drainage consisting of charcoal and moss is placed at the bottom of the pot. Gently place a magnolia sapling and sprinkle it with earth. Then the soil is rammed and watered abundantly. After that, the earth is fluffed up and mulched.
How to grow magnolia at home
Caring for room magnolia is to follow certain growing rules.
During the growing season, it is better to water home magnolia with rain or settled (filtered) water. The plant reacts poorly to chlorine and lime in tap water. In no case should moisture be allowed to stagnate or the soil to dry out.
In cold periods, the frequency of watering is reduced, moistening is carried out no earlier than the ground dries out by half. After each watering, to maintain moisture, the soil is loosened and mulched, falling asleep with bark or sawdust.
If the air in the room is dry, then you can spray the plant with water, which will favorably affect the health of the magnolia, or place the pot on a pallet with wet pebbles.
From the beginning of the growing season until the onset of autumn, magnolia is fed twice a month with special fertilizers. Also, top dressing is carried out in winter, but not more than once a month.
To form a beautiful shrub, it is necessary to prune the plant at a young age. Pruning is carried out in early spring or after flowering. In adult magnolias, only dry and weak shoots are removed, since in adulthood they react worse to pruning.
Home magnolia reproduces in three ways:
- when propagated by seeds planting material is poured for three days with water, then the shell is removed from the seeds, washed thoroughly and treated with fungicides. Planted in a prepared container, it is advisable to choose a container with opening valves (for ventilation and creating a greenhouse effect) or cover with a piece of polyethylene. Put in a room with a temperature of + 20 ÷ 25 ° C. When the first shoots appear, the film is removed. When two leaves appear on the plant, it is transplanted to a permanent place. With the seed method of reproduction, the varietal characteristics of the plant are not preserved, therefore, for ornamental plants, it is better to use other methods of breeding;
- cuttings. A two-year-old semi-woody cutting up to 20 cm long is separated from the shrub, on which 2 leaves are left. The cuttings are treated with a root-forming preparation and planted in peat. The optimum temperature for cuttings is from 18 to 25 ° C. Within 8 weeks, the root system should form and the stalk is transplanted to a permanent place;
- layers. A container with prepared soil is placed next to the magnolia and the lower part of the branch is dug into it. Secure with a hairpin or wire. After two months, roots should appear, then the layers are separated from the mother plant.
Frequency and rules of transplantation
Early spring before flowering is the best time to transplant magnolia grown at home in a pot.
The pot should be wide and spacious, as the magnolia has a powerful root system. The plant does not tolerate a full transplant, so it is transplanted, leaving the ground on the roots. Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the pot.
The transplant process is carried out every year, using a pot 10 cm larger in diameter than the previous one.
An adult home magnolia is large and transplanting becomes difficult, so once a year they change the top layer, falling asleep with a fresh substrate.
In order not to disturb the root system of an adult plant, the transshipment method is used during transplantation.
Pests and diseases
Due to the inexperience of flower growers, the following diseases may appear in home magnolia:
- With excessive fertilization, the plant stops growing and increases the salinity of the soil around the plant, while the leaves dry out. In order to fix everything, the seedling is abundantly watered with warm water once a week.
- With an excess of lime in the soil, the roots and leaves get sick. The pathology is called chlorosis. To eliminate the problem, they change the ground under the plant.
- In the heat, a spider mite can attack a magnolia. To combat it, the plant and the earth are sprayed with Aktellik.
- Magnolia can get spotted, which is fungal in nature. For treatment, copper-containing preparations are used, for example, copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.
- Young, frozen shoots may suffer from gray rot. For treatment, drugs based on bacteria are used, for example, Fitosporin or Bactofit.
- Another disease is powdery mildew. For treatment, sulfur preparations are used, for example, Thiovit.
- If there are small round spots on the leaves, this is a black spot, which is caused by phytopathogenic fungi. For treatment, the drug Skor is used.
Conclusion
Growing a magnolia flower at home is not difficult if you follow certain rules. Before planting a plant, it is imperative to make sure that household members are not allergic to it. Growing magnolia at home and proper care of the seedling allow you to get a beautiful, lush and fragrant bush.