What are the hydroponic and care methods for gardenia?
How to grow and care for gardenia hydroponically?
Gardenia, also known by the names Zhizi, Shuihengzhi, Yuetao, Mudan, Linlan, Xianzhi, Xiaohuangzhi, Huangzhihua, Shanhuangzhi, Huangzhihua, Baichanhua, Baichan, and Shanzhizi. Rubiaceae, Gardenia genus. It is cultivated in both northern and southern China, especially commonly in the Yangtze River basin and the provinces of Jiangnan.
The gardenia's leaves are emerald green, smooth and glossy, and it can absorb harmful gases such as sulfur dioxide and chlorine. The flowers are pure white like jade hairpins. Before the petals open they overlap like curved roof tiles, and after opening they spread flat like a tray, with a distinctive form and a rich fragrance.
Gardenia is an evergreen shrub, 1-3 m tall, with gray stems and green branchlets. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of 3, oblong, broadly wedge-shaped at the base, tapering to a pointed tip, entire, leathery, smooth and glossy on the surface. The flowers are solitary, terminal or in leaf axils. The corolla is salverform, white, strongly fragrant. The flowering period is from May to August. The fruit is red, ovate, with longitudinal ridges.
1. Hydroponic method
' (1) Method one During the growing season, cut healthy gardenia branch tips 8-10 cm long, remove the leaves at the base, insert them directly into a transparent container,' pour in clean water up to 1/3 of the branch, and change the clean water once every 2-3 days; they root very easily. The picture shows hydroponic gardenia.
(2) Method two During the growing season, choose a healthy soil-grown gardenia seedling, dig up the whole plant, thin out overly dense branches, remove the soil, dead leaves, and rotten roots by the root-washing method, soak in a 0.1% potassium permanganate solution for 10 min to disinfect, plant it in a transparent container, pour in clean water up to 2/3 of the root system, and place it in a somewhat shaded spot. Change the clean water once every 2-3 days and mist the leaves. After about 10 days, new roots can sprout from the old roots or the base of the stem.
2. Care guide
(1) Light Gardenia likes a warm, humid environment and plenty of sunlight, but it cannot tolerate strong light exposure. The growing season is 18-22°C, the overwintering period is 5-10°C, and below -10°C it is prone to freezing damage.
(2) Watering For hydroponic gardenia, pay attention to watering at the seedling stage, keep the potting soil moist, and frequently apply diluted decomposed fertilizer; during the growing season, water once every 10-15 days with 0.22% ferrous sulfate water or alum fertilizer water to prevent the leaves from turning yellow. In summer, mist the leaves once in the morning and once in the evening; in winter, control watering, and you can often mist the leaves with clean water.