How to grow and care for the latest Milan flower? Cultivation methods for the Milan flower

Milan, also known as Four Seasons Milan (Aglaia odorata, commonly called Chinese rice flower), is an evergreen small shrub with golden-yellow flowers and a round, beautiful tree shape. With proper care, it can bloom multiple times a year, and its flowering period is from July to August each year, when it blooms most abundantly and most fragrantly. Milan is a flower plant deeply loved by people, and when it blooms, its fragrance spreads all around. Placed in the living room, porch, or study, wafts of floral fragrance drift over, fresh and elegantly understated, intoxicating.

In the Yangtze River basin region of our country, Milan is a very easy-to-grow flower. Generally, as long as it is placed outdoors in a sunny spot and watered thoroughly once a day, it can bloom fragrantly without special care. But in northern regions it has indeed become one of the most difficult flower varieties to grow, and the key issue is the pH of the water.

This is because Milan likes acidic soil. If it encounters alkaline soil or water with too high an alkali content, it will cause yellow leaves and even wither and die. Therefore, to grow Milan well in the north, it really takes a lot of hard work. So how exactly can Milan be grown well? What care issues need attention? Today let us share together some basic knowledge on how to grow Milan well.

1. Choose acidic loam soil for planting.

Milan is particularly sensitive to the pH of the planting soil and likes to grow in loose, breathable, fertile, well-drained acidic sandy loam. Therefore, for household potted Milan, it is best to choose weakly acidic loam with a pH of 5~6 for planting. Absolutely avoid planting in soil that is heavily alkaline and highly sticky. To grow Milan in the north, a small amount of ferrous sulfate 500-times diluted solution can be applied regularly to the potting soil, or a few drops of rice vinegar can be added when watering, which can improve the alkalinity of the potting soil and make it more acidic.

2. Watering and fertilizing must be appropriate.

Milan likes moisture. During the growing period, watering should be moderate and appropriate. Absolutely avoid overwatering, as water accumulation in the pot will hinder root respiration and over time cause root rot; during the flowering period, do not water too much either, to avoid flower and bud drop, but it also must not be too dry. If watered too little, it will cause the leaf edges to dry up.

Therefore, in the hot summer season, in addition to watering Milan every morning and evening, the branches and leaves should also be misted at irregular intervals, and water should be sprayed on the ground around the plant to increase humidity and lower temperature. Milan likes fertilizer. During the growing season, apply a thin cake fertilizer once a week, and appropriately increase the application of phosphorus fertilizer, which can promote Milan's bud formation and make it bloom abundantly and brilliantly, with an even more captivating fragrance. Stop fertilizing at the end of September.

For the last fertilization, apply 1 time a compound fertilizer mainly based on potassium fertilizer, to supplement Milan's nutrients and enhance Milan's disease resistance and cold resistance. Although Milan likes fertilizer and water, after being brought indoors for overwintering, when the temperature drops to 12 degrees Celsius, Milan enters dormancy, and respiration and transpiration have already decreased. At this time, absolutely do not fertilize again, and also reduce the amount of watering; watering once every 15 days is sufficient.

3. There are requirements for temperature and light.

Milan likes a warm environment with sufficient light. It is not tolerant of cold and is slightly shade-tolerant. The winter temperature must not be lower than 10 degrees; below 10 degrees will cause cold damage. The suitable growing temperature for Milan is around 20~25 degrees. Milan's cold tolerance is relatively poor. Each spring, it is best to move it outdoors for care from the end of April to the beginning of May. Under no circumstances should it be moved outdoors too early, because after overwintering Milan is relatively weak.

Spring temperatures vary greatly. If a late spring cold snap occurs or a northwest wind blows, it is extremely easy for it to suffer cold wind damage, causing leaf drop and even plant death, so it must not be moved outdoors too early for care. Normally, when caring for Milan, it is best to place it in a place with relatively sufficient sunlight, such as a south-facing balcony, south-facing windowsill, courtyard, and so on. But at noon in summer when the sunlight is strong, slight shading is still needed to avoid scorching the plant's leaves and flower buds.

4. Ventilation and air permeability must be ensured.

Milan flowers like a growing environment with good ventilation and strong soil air permeability. Therefore, during ordinary care, windows should be opened frequently for ventilation and air exchange, and if conditions permit, it can be placed outdoors for cultivation. For balcony care, windows should often be opened for ventilation, to avoid the stuffy hot summer, where high temperature and high humidity without ventilation cause Milan to have difficulty breathing, with leaves wilting, turning yellow, and falling off.

5. Timely pruning must be done well.

If Milan has sufficient nutrients and ordinary care and management are in place, it will grow very quickly and vigorously, and can grow new branches 3~5 times each year, and will grow taller and taller; at the same time, it will also grow many side branches, which will also become denser and denser. Especially for household potted Milan, if it grows too tall and too dense, the room has limited space, so timely pruning must be carried out.

The method is: at any time cut off overly long branches to dwarf the plant; at any time cut off inner side branches and side branches growing inward, to make the density more reasonable, which is beneficial for ventilation and air permeability and for increasing light exposure. Pruning branches can be done at any time, with the aim of being beautiful and elegant and having a round plant shape as the best.