Care Guide for Banana Shrub (Michelia figo), a Plant That Can Absorb Chlorine

Banana shrub is an evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves and banana-scented flowers. Because its flowers open without fully spreading, as if smiling but silent, it is much beloved. Its flower language also carries a meaning of reserve and subtlety. Banana shrub is native to the southern provinces and regions of South China, and grows wild on Dinghu Mountain in Guangdong, in shaded slopes among mixed woods. Below, Huinong Net tells you about the environmental benefits and care guide for banana shrub.

1. Environmental Benefits

Banana shrub can absorb chlorine, and the flowers release volatile aromatic oils that can inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis and pneumococcus.

2. Care Guide

(1) Light

Banana shrub likes partial shade and fears strong direct sun. It prefers a warm, humid climate and is relatively cold-tolerant. Indoors as a potted plant, it can be placed in a bright area with plenty of scattered light. In summer, shade it appropriately to avoid direct strong light.

(2) Temperature

In winter, indoor room temperature should preferably be kept at 5-15°C; if the temperature is too low, it is prone to cold damage. After being chilled, you can cover the pot with a plastic bag and place it in a sunny indoor spot for care.

(3) Watering

Normally keep the potting soil moist, but never overly wet. Because its roots are mostly fleshy, too much watering or waterlogging after rain can cause root rot, so in rainy seasons pay attention to controlling humidity.

(4) Fertilizing

Banana shrub likes fertilizer. During the growing season (April-September), apply fertilizer about once every 15 days; stop fertilizing during the flowering period and after October. If the leaves are not bright and deep green, apply one dose of alum fertilizer water.

(5) Soil

Banana shrub likes deep, fertile, slightly acidic soil. For potting soil, mix 6 parts leaf mold with 2 parts garden soil and 2 parts yellow sand to make the growing medium.

(6) Propagation

Banana shrub is commonly propagated by cuttings and layering.

① Cuttings

After the flowers fade, take softwood cuttings. Cut 8-10 cm long branches, keep the upper leaves, insert them into the potting soil, keep the soil moist, and shade them. They root about 4 months after insertion.

② Layering

During the plum rain season, carry out air layering; roots form in about 2 months. Banana shrub is a small to medium-sized indoor potted flowering plant, suitable for placing in the living room or bathroom.

The above is Huinong Net's editor's summary on the environmental benefits and care guide for banana shrub. Banana shrub can absorb chlorine, so growing it at home is also a good choice.

Money Tree and Kalanchoe Are Hard to Grow in Summer? Key Care Tips and Techniques for These Two Plants in Summer

It is currently the hottest time of summer, and many flower growers say that money tree and kalanchoe are not easy to grow. Actually, no matter what flower it is, there are certain care tricks. As long as you master these tricks, growing flowers well is naturally no problem. Next, let's look at the summer care guide for money tree and kalanchoe!

I. Money Tree

1. Control Water at the Roots and Spray the Leaves

For money tree, control water at the roots. Actually, controlling water means controlling watering. Many people kill their money trees by overwatering and causing root rot, so remember that even in summer, do not water too much. Some people see the soil surface in the pot drying quickly in summer, and as soon as the surface soil is dry they hurry to water, not realizing that water is still in the pot. To judge whether the pot is short of water, you can insert a chopstick into the pot and pull it out to check every 2-3 days. Water again when the chopstick is dry, and when you water, water thoroughly.

In summer, leaf surface evaporation is high and leaves dry out easily. Sometimes even if the pot is not short of water, the leaves droop. At this time, spray water to keep them moist. Use a spray bottle to spray water around the money tree leaves, which not only lowers the temperature but also quickly makes the leaves perk up.

2. Increase Ventilation

Money tree likes ventilated environments the most. Places at home near balconies, windowsills, corridors, and so on, which have both ventilation and some scattered light, are all very suitable for growing money tree. If there is no ventilation, the water in the pot cannot evaporate in time, and root rot easily occurs.

3. Fertilize Appropriately

It is said that money tree grows slowly, so you must not miss summer, its growing season. Hurry and add fertilizer appropriately, mainly nitrogen fertilizer: fermented rice-washing water, soybean cake water, or mix slow-release fertilizer or compound fertilizer into the soil. Add fertilizer once every half month, and in one summer there can be a big change!

4. Measures for Yellow Leaves and Root Rot

If the money tree's leaves droop and turn yellow because of too much watering or lack of ventilation, quickly remove the yellow leaves, move the money tree to a ventilated place, pause watering, and wait 3-5 days until the condition improves before watering normally again.

If the condition does not improve after 3-5 days and the leaves continue to turn yellow, then dig it out quickly to take a look; the roots may already have rotted. Use a knife to cut off the rotted parts, and soak them for 20 minutes in carbendazim solution or potassium permanganate solution for disinfection.

After disinfection, insert it directly into water for hydroponics. The water here is best tap water that has been left standing (to remove chlorine). During hydroponics, you can add a little rooting powder or vitamin B or aspirin to speed up rooting.

If you find it troublesome, you can also cut a thin branch for hydroponics. As long as it is a healthy, vigorous one-year-old branch, the success rate of hydroponics is very high.

II. Kalanchoe

1. Kalanchoe Can Also Bloom During Its Dormant Period

When the temperature exceeds 35 degrees, kalanchoe begins to enter dormancy, but some people's kalanchoe is blooming right now. What is going on? The factor affecting whether kalanchoe goes dormant is temperature. If you move kalanchoe into an air-conditioned room, or keep it on a cool balcony, and the temperature is around 23-30 degrees, it will not enter dormancy and will continue to grow normally. Above this temperature range, it will enter dormancy.

Light also affects kalanchoe. If you shorten the light period, with 4 hours of mild sunlight during the day and the rest of the time in a cool place, then with an 8-10 degree temperature difference between cold and warm, kalanchoe mistakenly thinks the flowering period has arrived, and so it blooms.

Of course, if your kalanchoe has already entered dormancy, do not mess with it like this. Better to learn how to help it safely through the summer!

2. How to Judge Whether Kalanchoe Is Dormant

Most kalanchoe goes dormant in July and August. If kalanchoe's growth rate clearly slows, and it looks like it is not growing taller, not blooming, and the leaves are either yellowing or black-rotting, it means it has already gone dormant.

3. How to Get Dormant Kalanchoe Through Summer

If your kalanchoe has already gone dormant, start watering less, move it to a cool, ventilated place, and prune off all the yellow leaves to reduce nutrient consumption. Do not fertilize or repot for now; wait until after September.

4. Kalanchoe Needs Pruning

If kalanchoe is in its dormant period, it grows easily, so those of you growing kalanchoe must pay attention to this problem. If you find kalanchoe becoming leggy, prune it quickly; otherwise, if it grows until autumn, pruning will be too late. Kalanchoe pruning can follow the principle of "remove two, keep four": for a branch with 6 pairs of leaves, cut off the length of 2 pairs of leaves and keep the stem with 4 pairs of leaves.

The pruned kalanchoe branch tips can also be used for cuttings again. Even though it is summer now, this can still be done. Insert the flowering branches into breathable sandy soil, water thoroughly, place them on a cool, ventilated north-facing windowsill, and spray water daily to keep them moist. They can root in about 1-2 weeks.

In summer, temperatures are high and light is strong, so no matter what flower you grow, you must do a good job with watering and other management. The summer care guide for money tree and kalanchoe is introduced here. Here the editor emphasizes that during the intense heat, you should pay more attention to your own plants, and you definitely will not go wrong.

Cultivation Methods and Care Techniques for Household Potted Azaleas

How do you grow potted azaleas? Azalea is also called the beauty of flowers and is one of the common potted varieties in many homes. But in the north, because indoor air is dry, how to improve the ornamental value of azaleas and extend the duration of flowering is especially important for indoor home cultivation.

1 Ecological Habits

Azaleas mostly prefer cool climates, dislike intense heat and dryness, and like fertile, loose soil. The most suitable temperature for azalea growth is 12-25°C. When the temperature exceeds 35°C, growth slows and the plant enters a semi-dormant state. Pay attention to sun protection and shading in summer, and cold protection and warmth in winter.

2 Cultivation and Care Techniques

2.1 Choosing Pots

For potted flowers, suitable pots should be chosen according to the type, size, and habits of the flowers. There are many kinds of flower pots, rich in forms and different in size, and different pot types have different characteristics. By texture, there are clay pots, cement pots, tile pots, bamboo and wooden pots, ceramic pots, glazed pots, and so on. Common flower pots are shown in Table 1. For planting azaleas, it is best to choose unglazed fired pots with good water permeability and air permeability. If you choose other pots with poor water permeability and air permeability, soil moisture cannot drain for a long time after watering, which easily causes root rot and even death. Whenever planting in purple clay pots, porcelain pots, glazed pots, and other pots with poor drainage and air permeability, use the double-pot method or place more tiles over the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot to ensure good drainage and air permeability.

Table 1 Common Flower Pot Types and Characteristics

2.2 Soil

The choice of soil is crucial to azalea growth. They usually grow vigorously in loose, well-drained, breathable, slightly acidic soil. Soil in northern China is neutral or slightly alkaline, and needs improvement before use.

For home flower growing, you can choose decomposed pine needle soil, leaf mold under woodpiles, garden soil, chicken manure, river sand, coal cinders, sawdust, composted wood chips, and other easily obtained substrates. If conditions permit, you can buy vermiculite, peat soil, perlite, orchid mud, special azalea substrate, and other higher-requirement substrates from flower markets or online stores. Common azalea substrate formulas are shown in Table 2. Mix them evenly according to the corresponding proportions, appropriately add oil residue, chicken manure, and so on, or add a 1:2 mixture of beer and water to increase soil acidity. Peat soil, pine needle soil, and leaf mold need to be soaked at room temperature for more than 2 hours before use. Only after they are fully soaked can they be mixed with other substrates, to ensure the substrate has moisture absorption and avoid the "false wet" phenomenon.

Table 2 Common Substrate Formulas

2.3 Potting and Repotting

There are generally 3 situations for potting and repotting azaleas: first, newly purchased azaleas are mostly planted in nutrient bags or simple pots, and placing them indoors affects appearance, so they need to be potted; second, after the plant grows for 2-3 years, the root system expands and fills the potting soil, so a larger pot is needed to expand the nutritional area; third, after 2-3 years, the nutrients in the pot are exhausted and the plant grows poorly, so repotting is done to improve the soil and supplement nutrients. Repotting is usually carried out in autumn, once every 2-3 years.

When potting, cover the drainage hole with a tile, put 1/3 coarse soil particles at the bottom of the pot as a drainage layer, and add a little growing medium. Place the azalea into the pot, hold it upright with one hand, control its depth so the root system hangs down and the root crown is 3-5 cm below the pot rim, and with the other hand fill the pot with the prepared growing medium until it is 1-2 cm below the pot rim, then firm the potting soil. When repotting, pay attention to removing old roots, rotten roots, and damaged roots, appropriately remove dead leaves, and prune.

2.4 Watering

Home flower growing mostly uses tap water or well water for watering. Usually it should be left standing for 1-2 days in advance to raise the water temperature and at the same time dissipate chlorine from tap water, so as not to harm the plant. Rainwater can also be stored for watering flowers. Watering time should preferably be before 8:00 in the morning and from 4:00-6:00 in the afternoon. In hot summer, never water at noon. During the growing period and bud stage, water supply must be sufficient. During the flowering period, do not water too much, especially do not spray water on flower buds, so as to avoid making the flowers fade early.

Usually, in spring and autumn, water once every 2-3 days. The amount of watering should be such that water droplets appear at the bottom of the pot and the pot color becomes darker. In summer, water once a day. You can also judge by the degree of soil dryness: insert a chopstick into the potting soil, and if the soil brought out after pulling it out is moist, there is no need to water; when the soil below the surface of the potting soil in the lower 1/3 is dry, water immediately. You can also judge by the color of the flower pot: if the pot wall is dark, the potting soil is moist; if the pot wall is whitish, it is short of water. Or if the leaves are slightly soft and drooping, water immediately. You can apply 0.5%-1% vinegar solution every half month to improve soil acidity.

2.5 Fertilizing

Azaleas do not like heavy fertilizer. The fertilizing principle is light fertilizer applied frequently. For household potted azaleas, it is usually suitable to apply fermented offal, broad bean water, meat-washing water, soybean cake water, rice-washing water, fish meal water, melon and fruit peels, vegetable leaves, and so on. Appropriately add certain N, P, and K fertilizers. During the growing period, apply alum fertilizer water or other dilute fertilizer once every 2-3 weeks; during the bud stage, apply more P and K fertilizer so the flowers are large and brightly colored. In spring and autumn, apply 20 g cake fertilizer each time to promote plant growth and bud formation.

In July-August, azalea growth stalls, so it is not suitable to fertilize. If excessive fertilization causes leaf yellowing, stop fertilizing immediately, remove the dry fertilizer already applied, and water to wash away the accumulated fertilizer in the soil, then move it to a ventilated place for care.

2.6 Light

Azaleas like light, but avoid direct sunlight and prefer a semi-shaded environment. Long-term placement in a dark indoor spot is not conducive to flower bud differentiation and easily causes flower and fruit drop. They should be placed on a balcony or near a window for cultivation, with appropriate shading around noon in summer. To make azaleas grow evenly, you can rotate the pot once a week.

2.7 Temperature and Humidity

The most suitable temperature for azaleas is 12-25°C. If the temperature is too high, they enter a dormant state. In spring and autumn, they can be moved outdoors for cultivation. In northern winters, they need to overwinter indoors, and indoor temperature must be kept no lower than 5°C to avoid freezing. During high summer temperatures, place them in a cool, ventilated place.

Azaleas like a humid air environment. When air humidity is around 70%, they grow well. When it is below 50%, leaves easily wilt, and in severe cases develop scorched edges or even fall off. To keep the air humid, from May to November (the growing period), spray water on the leaf surfaces and surrounding air or ground. In spring, winter, and the flowering period, do not spray water on the leaf surfaces.

2.8 Shaping and Pruning

Pruning is done to maintain a good shape, remove dense branches, residual branches, dead branches, crossing branches, leggy branches, diseased branches, and weak branches, improve ventilation and light transmission conditions, promote growth, and improve ornamental effect. Azaleas are usually pruned after flowering. Remove spent flowers promptly after flowering to avoid consuming plant nutrients, and complete this by the end of May. Pruned tree shapes include umbrella shape, pagoda shape, round shape, semicircular shape, and so on, pruned according to personal preference.

The above are the key technical points for indoor potted cultivation and daily care management of azaleas. We hope this can help everyone with the care and management of household potted azaleas, and we also welcome experienced flower friends to provide more valuable suggestions!