Content
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 a 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 potting at home. They are characterized by small size, bright leaves and colorful blooms.
How the 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, similar in appearance 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 with existing leaves.
A photo of a home-grown magnolia flower is presented below.
A photo of a blooming magnolia in a pot proves that the seedling can be grown at home.
Under what conditions does a home flower of magnolia grow
The indoor magnolia flower prefers sunny, well-lit places, but can grow in partial shade conditions.
While the plant is small, it is placed on a window located to the east, since the south side is too bright and burns may appear. Adult plants with a wide crown are placed on a stand near the window.
Indoor magnolia (pictured) prefers fresh air and it is better to take it outside in summer.
Magnolias in the apartment are comfortable at a temperature of + 20 ÷ 24 ° C. But in winter, in order for flower buds to form, it is rearranged into a room where the air temperature is not higher than + 15 ° and not lower than + 7 ° and there are no drafts.
Types of magnolias for growing at home
For growing homemade magnolia, breeders have bred the following varieties:
- Breckens Brown Beauty;
- Figo;
- Coco;
- George Henry Kern;
- Daphne.
Also, some amateur flower growers grow the following varieties at home: Sulange Lenny, Little Jam, Sensation.
Breckens Brown Beauty
Evergreen, broadleaf shrub with large oval dark green leaves. The outer side of the leaves is smooth, and the reverse side is covered with a small brownish fluff. The flowers are white with a pleasant aroma.
Figo
Ideal 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 shade, with a pungent aroma, which is especially noticeable in the early morning. The aroma resembles the smell of a banana, for which the shrub is often called the "banana tree". Leaves are green, oblong.
It is preferable to plant in slightly acidic, drained soil with a lot of organic additives. 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 they are compact, dense. The culture loves moderate watering and does not tolerate transplanting well.
Coco
The variety is actively grown at home. The leaves are wide, green or dark green, pointed towards the top and wedge-shaped at the base. The flowers are white, cream 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 lilac 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 acid to neutral soils.
Daphne
Low-growing shrub with late flowering. Flowers are bright yellow up to 10 cm in diameter. Leaves are green, broad and medium in size.
Soulange Lenny
The variety was developed at the beginning of the 19th century in France. Frost-resistant, slow-growing deciduous shrub reaches a height of about 3 m.
The leaves are large, green, and in the fall - from yellow to light brown. The flowers are large, white in color, similar in shape to tulips, and when fully blooming into lotus flowers. They have a strong aroma.
The shrub grows in full sun and partial shade. Prefers black soil, acidic or slightly acidic soil.
Sensation
The variety starts flowering in the first years after planting. It grows up to 3m in height and up to 1.5m in width. Flowers are rich yellow, shaped like a tulip, up to 20 cm in diameter.
How to grow magnolia at home
It is quite easy to care for home-grown magnolia, you must adhere to certain rules.
How to find a pot for a magnolia flower
Home magnolia is a low-growing shrub that needs to be grown in a spacious and deep flowerpot. This is a prerequisite for growing a plant with 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 summer.
Preparing the soil for growing magnolia at home
Growing homemade magnolia requires a light, nutritious soil with sufficient organic matter in the form of peat and humus. The optimum acidity of the soil should be in the range from 7 to 7.5 units.
Landing algorithm
To prepare the soil, they take sod land, leaf humus, peat and manure in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 0.5. A drainage consisting of charcoal and moss is placed at the bottom of the pot. Carefully place the magnolia sapling and cover it with earth. Then the soil is tamped and watered abundantly with water. After that, the land is fluffed 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 stagnation or drying out of the soil be allowed.
In cold periods, the frequency of watering is reduced, the moistening is carried out no earlier than the earth dries out by half. After each watering, to maintain moisture, the soil is loosened and mulched, covered with bark or sawdust.
If the air in the room is dry, then you can spray the plant with water, which will have a beneficial effect on the well-being of the magnolia, or place the pot on a tray with damp pebbles.
From the beginning of the growing season until the onset of autumn, magnolia is fed twice a month with special fertilizers. Also, feeding is carried out in winter, but not more often 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 respond worse to pruning.
Homemade magnolia reproduces in three ways:
- when breeding with seeds planting material is poured with water for three days, then the shell is removed from the seeds, washed thoroughly and treated with fungicides. They are planted in a prepared container, it is advisable to choose a container with opening valves (for airing and creating a greenhouse effect) or covered with a piece of polyethylene. Place 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-lignified 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 cutting is transplanted to a permanent place;
- layering... A container with prepared soil is placed next to the magnolia and the lower part of the branch is added to it. Secure with a hairpin or wire. After two months, roots should appear, then the layers are separated from the mother plant.
Transplant frequency and rules
Early spring before flowering is the best time to transplant potted magnolia.
The pot should be wide and spacious as the magnolia has a strong root system. The plant does not tolerate a full transplant, so they transplant it, leaving the earth on the roots. Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the pot.
The transplanting 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, therefore, the top layer is changed once a year, filling in a fresh substrate.
In order not to disturb the root system of an adult plant, the transfer method is used when transplanting.
Pests and diseases
Due to the inexperience of flower growers, the following diseases may appear in homemade magnolia:
- With excessive application of fertilizers, the plant stops growth and increases the salinity of the soil around the plant, while the leaves dry out. In order to fix everything, water the seedling abundantly with warm water once a week.
- With an excess of lime content in the soil, the roots and leaves get sick. The pathology is called chlorosis. To eliminate the problem, change the ground under the plant.
- In the heat, a spider mite can attack a magnolia. To combat it, the plant and the ground are sprayed with Aktellik.
- Magnolia can develop spotting, which is fungal in nature. For treatment, copper-containing drugs are used, for example, copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid.
- Young, frozen shoots can suffer from gray rot. For treatment, drugs based on bacteria are used, for example, Fitosporin or Baktofit.
- Another disease is powdery mildew.For treatment, sulfur preparations are used, for example, Tiovit.
- If there are small rounded specks on the leaves, this is a black spot 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 magnolias at home and taking proper care of the seedling make for a beautiful, lush and fragrant bush.
