How to grow banana shrubs? Keep these care tips in mind
Banana shrub (Michelia figo) is an evergreen shrub of the genus Michelia in the magnolia family. Because its petals seem half-open, as if smiling, and it has a strong banana-like fragrance that is elegant and pleasant, it is deeply loved by people. If you also grow a banana shrub in your courtyard at home, do you know how it should be cared for?
Banana shrub
Banana shrub is not very demanding about soil. For potted soil, you can mix leaf mold, garden soil, compost soil and sand. When growing it in the north, pay attention to regularly applying some ferrous sulfate to adjust the soil's acidity and alkalinity. Usually repot once a year, preferably after the flowers fade. When repotting, knock the plant out of the old pot, remove some of the old soil and rotten roots, and prune away some overly dense small branches, then place the plant into a new pot and replant it. Watering should alternate between dry and wet. In spring, when it is dry and windy, spray water around it every morning and evening to keep the air humid. In summer, watering should be ample, and in winter watering should be appropriately restricted. Banana shrub does not need excessive or overly concentrated fertilizer; light fertilizer is best. Generally, apply fishy water, soybean cake water or alum fertilizer water 2 times each before flower buds form and after the flowers fade, and apply one dry fertilizer during the dog days. Stop fertilizing in late September. In the north, move it indoors in early October to overwinter. During overwintering, pay attention to strengthening management. In winter, if the room temperature is too high or ventilation is poor, scale insects and sooty mold are very likely to occur, so regularly apply clean water to the leaf surface and keep the indoor air flowing. If scale insects occur, they can be removed with a bristle brush, and for sooty mold, simply wash the leaf surface with clean water or diluted carbendazim.
Besides having high ornamental value, banana shrub flowers can be used to scent tea, extract aromatic oil, and also be used as medicine. Their taste is bitter and astringent, their nature is mild, and they have the effect of removing stagnation and promoting regeneration.
Notes on growing banana shrub in winter
Banana shrub, Latin name: Michelia figo (Lour.) Spreng. Evergreen shrub, 2-3 m tall, bark grayish brown, branches densely numerous; leaves leathery, narrowly elliptic or obovate-elliptic, flowering period March-May, fruiting period July-August. Native to the southern provinces and regions of South China, it grows wild in Dinghu Mountain, Guangdong, in mixed woods on shady slopes. An aromatic flowering tree, with buds as smooth as jade and fragrance as subtle as orchid. In the north, potted banana shrub needs to overwinter indoors, and its care includes the following points:1. Temperature: The minimum temperature for banana shrub overwintering should not be lower than 5°C. Once the temperature is below 5°C, the plant's normal physiological activities will be affected, the root's absorption capacity will weaken, and the plant's tender branches and leaves will wilt. At the same time, the maximum temperature should not exceed 15°C. If the temperature is too high, the plant will consume too much internal nutrients, which is unfavorable for growth the following year. Therefore, in winter, banana shrub is best kept at a room temperature of 5°C to 15°C.
2. Humidity: Banana shrub likes a moist environment, and dry air is unfavorable for its growth. In winter, its relative humidity is generally required to be above 65%. When the air is dry, a sprayer can be used to spray the ground and the plant's leaf surface to increase air humidity, but the temperature of the sprayed water should not differ too much from room temperature, and cold water must absolutely not be used.
3. Watering: Banana shrub roots are fleshy roots, so watering too much in winter can cause root rot or lead to pests and diseases. Generally, watering once a week is enough. Before watering, the water temperature, room temperature and soil temperature should all be nearly the same, and watering should preferably be done at noon when the temperature is higher. It is not advisable to water in the early morning or evening when the temperature is lower, so as to avoid sudden temperature changes that freeze and damage the roots.
4. Ventilation: After banana shrub is brought indoors around the Frost's Descent solar term, the indoor air should be kept fresh. If ventilation is poor, it is easily harmed by pests such as aphids and scale insects. If it is placed in a greenhouse heated by coal in winter, large amounts of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide will cause the plant to be poisoned. Therefore, on sunny and windless noons, open the windows for ventilation and light.
5. Fertilizing: Banana shrub grown in the north is in a dormant or semi-dormant state in winter, and its fertilizer requirement is not large. An appropriate base fertilizer mainly of organic fertilizer should be applied once to help banana shrub bloom the following year.
Introduction to the key care points of banana shrub
Banana shrub
Except for the flower shape, banana shrub is very similar to plumeria in other respects including color proportions, with the flower center like an egg yolk and the petals like egg white, hence the similarity to plumeria, and it is an evergreen shrub. Its upright figure can be seen on many university campuses and in landscape scenic areas, and it is now also an excellent plant for many families to beautify their home environment. So what issues need to be understood when caring for banana shrub at home?
1. The growing environment of banana shrub
It grows in mixed woods on shady slopes, and is especially lush along stream valleys. Banana shrub likes fertilizer and prefers semi-shade, growing best under weak shade, and it dislikes strong direct sunlight, so attention should be paid to shading in summer. Move it into a greenhouse before frost in late autumn, and overwinter it at a temperature of around 10°C.
Banana shrub is a woody flowering shrub of warm regions and is not very cold-resistant. South of the Yangtze River, it can overwinter outdoors in a sheltered, sunny spot. It is not tolerant of dry, barren conditions, but it also fears waterlogging, and requires well-drained, fertile, slightly acidic loam; it can also adapt to neutral soil.
2. Fertilizing methods for banana shrub
For banana shrub, it is suitable for growing in a weakly shaded environment and cannot be exposed to strong direct sunlight. Therefore, for fertilizing banana shrub, decomposed fertilizer mixed with bone meal and water is often used. During the growing season of banana shrub, which is roughly from April to September, it is best to fertilize once every half month, but note that after the flowering period, do not fertilize. If afterward you find that the leaf color of banana shrub is not bright and deep green enough, then you can appropriately apply one application of alum fertilizer water.
3. Watering methods for banana shrub
Of course, no flower or plant can be grown without water, so for banana shrub, you should usually maintain a growing environment with moist potting soil. Because its roots are mostly fleshy in nature, if too much water is given and water accumulates, it will cause root rot in banana shrub. Therefore, in rainy seasons, humidity especially needs to be controlled. During the growing period and flowering period, it is best to water once a day, and in summer sprinkle water on the leaf surface to maintain
4. Sunlight requirements of banana shrub
In summer, banana shrub plants should not be exposed to the sun and need 30% shading to avoid strong light burning the leaves. They can be placed at an east-facing indoor window or balcony, while outdoors they should be placed under tree shade or a shade shed. After the weather cools in autumn, they can receive more sunlight. In winter, place them in a sunny, ventilated spot indoors.
5. Temperature requirements of banana shrub
The minimum temperature for banana shrub overwintering should not be lower than 5°C. Once the temperature is below 5°C, the plant's normal physiological activities will be affected, the root's absorption capacity will weaken, and the plant's tender branches and leaves will wilt. At the same time, the maximum temperature should not exceed 15°C. If the temperature is too high, the plant will consume too much internal nutrients, which is unfavorable for growth the following year. Therefore, in winter, banana shrub is best kept at a room temperature of 5°C to 15°C.
Banana shrub
6. Pruning techniques for banana shrub
Many friends may like to prune it frequently, but this is unfavorable for banana shrub. Proper pruning can be done after flowering when leggy branches that affect the tree shape, diseased or weak branches, or overly overlapping branches appear, thereby reducing nutrient consumption. In spring, appropriately prune away some old leaves to trigger the growth of new branches and leaves, and in combination with repotting, remove an appropriate portion of old soil and replace it with fertile, loose culture soil so that it can grow better.
7. Ventilation management for banana shrub
When growing banana shrub, the indoor ventilation environment is also very important, so an environment with fresh indoor air should be maintained at all times. If ventilation is poor, it can easily lead to harm from some pests. At the same time, everyone should note that it cannot be placed in a greenhouse heated by burning coal, because the large amount of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide produced will cause banana shrub to be poisoned.
8. Pest and disease control for banana shrub
Banana shrub commonly suffers from scale insect damage, which can also induce sooty mold. Scale insects can be brushed off with a small brush, or killed by spraying No. 20 petroleum emulsion diluted 150 times with water; sooty mold can be prevented and controlled by wiping with clean water or spraying a carbendazim aqueous solution diluted 500-1000 times with water.
In fact, the growing methods for flowers and plants are roughly the same, only the growth habits of each flower and plant are different. So after understanding the growth habits of banana shrub, if you give it what it needs at the right time, then it will certainly grow healthily and vigorously.