How to Grow White Jade Orchid (Michelia alba)? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Growing Methods

The white jade orchid (Michelia alba) has an upright, branching form and an elegant, poised appearance. In the south it can be grown outdoors in courtyards and is a backbone tree species in southern gardens. Grown in pots, it can be placed in courtyards, halls and meeting rooms, while small to medium-sized plants can be displayed in living rooms and studies. It has high cultivation value. Let us take a look at how to grow the white jade orchid!

Growth Habits of the White Jade Orchid

1. Habits: The white jade orchid likes light but fears high temperatures and is not cold-tolerant; it is suited to slightly acidic soil. It prefers warmth and humidity, is not tolerant of drought or waterlogging, and is fairly sensitive to toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide and chlorine, with poor resistance.

2. Propagation: Propagation methods for the white jade orchid include grafting, layering, sowing and cuttings. Grafting and layering are used more often, while sowing and cuttings are used less. For home growing, though, grafting and layering are enough.

How to Grow the White Jade Orchid

1. Soil: The white jade orchid likes acidic soil, with a soil pH requirement of 5.5-6.3. It is best to use a fertile, loose, well-draining potting mix. You can prepare it with 5 parts pine needle leaf mold, 2 parts coarse chaff ash, 2 parts coarse sand and 1 part rotted barnyard manure. Avoid fine sandy soil or heavy clay soil with poor air permeability.

2. Sunlight: The white jade orchid is a sun-loving flowering plant and needs ample sunlight. During the growing period it should be kept in a sunny spot with long daylight hours and strong light, especially during flowering. It needs no less than 6 hours of light per day. If kept in a shady place, it will only grow leaves and not bloom, or bloom very little, with thin, elongated branches, pale leaf color, thin leaves and no gloss, which is unfavorable for growth. In summer, however, avoid direct sunlight; provide shade from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and at the same time spray water on the leaves and the ground to increase air humidity.

3. Temperature: The white jade orchid likes warmth and fears cold, so special care must be taken to help it overwinter safely. Generally, move it indoors in late October and place it in a sunny spot, keeping the room temperature at around 10°C, and it must not go below 5°C.

4. Watering: The white jade orchid has fleshy roots. If the potting soil is too wet, the leaves will turn yellow and drop, or even the roots will rot and the plant will die; if too dry, the leaf tips will wither and the leaves will curl. It is a flowering plant that fears both waterlogging and drought. During the flowering period, if the petals open too widely, it means the water is insufficient; when the water is right, the flowers remain in a bud-like state. When the surface of the potting soil looks dry and the soil is hard and cracked, water immediately. The water temperature and soil temperature must be the same; do not suddenly water with cold or hot water. In spring and autumn, watering once a day is generally enough. In hot summer, with high evaporation and vigorous growth, the frequency and amount of watering can be appropriately increased. When moved indoors to overwinter in winter, watering should be restricted.

5. Fertilizing: The white jade orchid has a long flowering period and likes fertilizer. If fertilizer is insufficient, it will bloom less; if fertilizer is not applied at the right time, it will cause excessive growth of branches and leaves and poor flowering. From February to March, before the new buds sprout, apply rotted cake fertilizer as a base fertilizer. During the flowering period, apply diluted human waste, or a liquid fertilizer made from fermented and rotted bean cake, tea seed cake and fish bones, mixed with 9 parts water, once every 3-4 days. Stop fertilizing half a month before moving indoors for the winter.

6. Pruning: During the growth of the white jade orchid, the plant should be shaped and pruned, cutting off diseased, dead and leggy branches and removing some lower leaves, so as to suppress the plant's growth vigor and encourage more flower buds and blooms.

7. Pests and Diseases: The main pests and diseases of the white jade orchid include chlorosis, anthracnose, red spider mites and scale insects. For anthracnose, spray with a 500-fold dilution of 50% carbendazim wettable powder, or a 500-fold dilution of 50% thiophanate wettable powder, once every 5-10 days for control. If red spider mites or scale insects are found, they can be scraped off with a bamboo strip. For red spider mites, spray with a 1000-fold dilution of 20% tetradifon, or a 1000-fold dilution of 50% trithion for control.

Notes on Growing the White Jade Orchid

1. Soil Requirements: It requires a fertile, loose, well-draining potting mix. You can prepare it with 5 parts pine needle leaf mold, 2 parts coarse chaff ash, 2 parts coarse sand and 1 part rotted barnyard manure. Avoid fine sandy soil or heavy clay soil with poor air permeability. For potting, use a breathable clay pot (unglazed pot); avoid glazed pots, porcelain pots, purple clay pots and the like. It is best to use a relatively deep cylindrical flower pot, place an empty flower pot upside down under it and prop it up on bricks to prevent poor drainage; line the bottom of the pot with about 5 cm of cinder and crushed stone.

2. Proper Moisture: The white jade orchid has fleshy roots. If the potting soil is too wet, the leaves will turn yellow and drop, or even the roots will rot and the plant will die; if too dry, the leaf tips will wither and the leaves will curl. It is a flowering plant that fears both waterlogging and drought. During the flowering period, if the petals open too widely, it means the water is insufficient; when the water is right, the flowers remain in a bud-like state. When the surface of the potting soil looks dry and the soil is hard and cracked, water immediately. The water temperature and soil temperature must be the same; do not suddenly water with cold or hot water. Be sure to water thoroughly; frequently giving only a half watering will cause shallow roots. In spring and autumn, the white jade orchid should not be watered much; in midsummer, water daily and be sure to do so in the evening; from late autumn, begin to reduce the amount of watering; in winter, water once every 10 days. In the rainy season, move it to a place sheltered from rain.

3. Likes Acid, Fears Alkali: The white jade orchid likes acidic soil, with a soil pH requirement of 5.5-6.3. In northern regions, the white jade orchid is hard to grow because most of the water and soil there is on the alkaline side, which dissolves the protoplasm of the white jade orchid's cells, causing slow development and poor growth. Watering regularly with fermented rice washing water works well.

4. Do Not Apply Concentrated Fertilizer: The white jade orchid likes phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, but avoid too high a concentration, otherwise reverse osmosis will occur, causing the plant's "physiological drought", with mild cases wilting and severe cases burning to death. The fertilizing principle for the white jade orchid is: "apply diluted, apply often, apply in the evening". Practice has shown that using diluted human waste and bean cake water, mixed with smashed fish scraps, rotten shrimp, chicken innards and the like, after being rotted, in a fertilizer-to-water ratio of 1:9, applied once every 3-5 days, and mixed with calcium sulfate at the time of application, works well and can make the white jade orchid's fragrance stronger.