How to Grow White Jade Orchid (Michelia alba)? Detailed Guide to Growing Methods and Precautions
White jade orchid has pure white, fragrant flowers that bloom between summer and autumn, with a long flowering period and deep green foliage. It is a famous ornamental garden tree, often planted as a street tree. The flowers can be used to extract essence or scent tea, and can also be processed into a concrete for medicinal use, having effects such as promoting the flow of qi and resolving turbidity, and treating coughs. So what are the growing methods and precautions for the white jade orchid?
Soil
For a potted white jade orchid at home, choose a loose, highly breathable soil rich in humus. Usually, choose a well-ventilated clay pot, purple clay pot (or tub), or a plastic pot with more drainage holes at the bottom. The soil in the pot should preferably contain a certain amount of granular soil of varying sizes, to facilitate water drainage and air permeability.
Repotting
Replace the pot or tub with an appropriately sized one according to the size of the white jade orchid's crown and the length of its age, so as to promote vigorous growth. When doing this, wait until the potting soil is slightly dry, slowly tilt the pot (or tub) (or turn it upside down), support the pot with one hand, grasp the plant firmly with the other, and tip the white jade orchid out into the new pot. A small amount of loose soil should be placed in the new pot (or tub) beforehand, then water thoroughly, and it will be settled once planted.
Light
From March to April each year, move the pot or tub containing the white jade orchid outdoors and place it in a sunny spot. In summer, when temperatures are high, use a shade net or build a simple shade shed as appropriate, so that the white jade orchid can receive the morning sun while avoiding the strong afternoon sunlight of summer (to prevent sunburn damage to the branches and leaves). Move it outdoors around the start of summer, placing it in a sunny, well-ventilated spot, with at least 6 hours of sunlight. Only with sufficient light can it grow well; insufficient light will cause leggy branches and leaves, fewer flowers, or even no flowers. In the hot midsummer season, when sunlight intensity is high, provide a little shade to avoid scorching the leaves and tender stems.
Fertilizing
During the vigorous growth period of the white jade orchid (usually May to June or July to August each year), apply a flower fertilizer about once every half month, or apply a small amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizer at intervals of about 20, 2 grams to 6 grams each time.
The specific operation is: first use a small trowel to draw several vertical and horizontal small furrows in the soil in the pot, then slowly sprinkle the fertilizer into the furrows, cover it with the surface soil in the pot, and water a little. Let the fertilizer gradually seep into the plant's roots with each watering. Never sprinkle fertilizer directly onto the roots, to avoid “burning the roots” caused by excessive fertilizer concentration in the soil around the roots. Apply thin fertilizer frequently, with cake fertilizer being preferable. Do not fertilize in winter. From after new buds sprout until June, water with fertilizer solution once every 3-4 days; from July to September, water with fertilizer solution once every 5-6 days; after applying fertilizer several times, stop applying once.
From the time it is moved outdoors until the end of June, water with alum fertilizer solution once every 7-10 days, to make the soil slightly acidic. During the flowering period, an additional application of quick-acting phosphorus fertilizer can be made, to keep it blooming with fragrance.
Watering
Whether watering is done properly is the key to caring well for the white jade orchid. The white jade orchid should not be watered too frequently or too much. The correct watering method should be: moisten the soil in the pot thoroughly in one go; when the soil in the pot is slightly dry, there is no need to water. Remember not to water every day, but you can often spray the leaves with a small spray bottle. In summer, water thoroughly no fewer than three or four times a month (plus spraying water on the leaves). An easier method to grasp is: as soon as you see the white jade orchid's leaves drooping, it is time to water. In autumn, water thoroughly two or three times a month; in winter, water thoroughly once or twice a month.
Because the root system is fleshy, it fears waterlogging and is not tolerant of dryness. In spring, after bringing it outdoors, water thoroughly once, then water thoroughly once every other day; in summer, water once each in the morning and evening, and in very dry conditions spray water on the leaf surface; in autumn, water once every 2-3 days; in winter, restrict water, as long as the potting soil is slightly moist. After rain, promptly pour off accumulated water. Prevent smoke pollution, keep the leaf surface clean, and when necessary spray-wash the leaf surface, to facilitate the plant's normal development and growth.
Temperature
It is not cold-tolerant. Except in South China, it must be brought indoors for care in winter in all other regions, with the minimum room temperature kept above 5°C. The best time to move it outdoors is from Qingming to Guyu. Do a good job of cold protection and warmth preservation, maintaining the indoor temperature above 12 degrees during the day and no lower than 6 degrees at night, otherwise it is prone to low-temperature cold damage. With air circulation and kept potting soil moist, it can overwinter safely.
Pruning
Before bringing it indoors, cut off dead branches, diseased branches, leggy shoots, and overly dense branches, to minimize the plant's nutrient consumption to the greatest extent; when bringing it outdoors, you can appropriately remove the old leaves on the lower part of the branches, which helps promote new branch growth. In addition, note that aphids and other pests harm the tender branch tips, and must be controlled in time.