When Does the Banana Shrub Bloom? A Full Guide to Its Flower Language and Symbolism
The banana shrub (Michelia figo) is a plant grown for both its flowers and its foliage. Its fragrance is rich and enchanting, making it an excellent plant for home decor. Do you know when the banana shrub blooms? What is its flower language?
When Does the Banana Shrub Bloom?
April and May each year is the season when the banana shrub blooms abundantly. If you prune the shoot tips regularly, you can have flowers in three seasons of the year. It does not bloom in winter unless it is grown in a greenhouse. Although the flowers in summer and autumn are not as plentiful as those in April and May, the fragrance remains the same.
What Is the Flower Language of the Banana Shrub?
Banana shrub flower language: reserve and modesty!
If flowers were used to describe a girl, which flower could describe a girl like this: seemingly unremarkable, yet after spending time with her you discover she carries a refreshing fragrance; she speaks little and looks a little shy, but every frown and smile is full of lively spirit. As a floral emblem, none but the banana shrub fits!
Next, let us learn about the propagation methods of the banana shrub and its effects and benefits.
Banana Shrub Propagation Methods:
1. Banana shrub grafting propagation method
For banana shrub grafting propagation, Yulan magnolia (Magnolia denudata) and Tianmu magnolia (Magnolia amoena) are often used as rootstock for branch grafting, which also roots easily. As for grafting time, spring grafting should be done from late March to early April, before the banana shrub sprouts. Autumn grafting should be done from late September to early October. Seedlings from autumn grafting need extra care, while spring grafting is easier to manage; the grafting survival rate generally reaches 85%. Grafting usually adopts the cut-grafting method. Select vigorous one-year-old branches from the middle and upper parts of the mother tree as scions, 1-2 nodes long, without leaves, and follow the usual cut-grafting procedure. After cut grafting, to prevent water from seeping into the wound, cover with rice straw, leaving the top shoot exposed. After about 25 days, the scion will heal and begin to sprout; at this point remove the straw cover and promptly remove the sprouts on the rootstock.
2. Banana shrub cutting propagation method
Banana shrub cutting propagation can produce more plants in a short time, but the growth is slower than that of grafted seedlings. Spring and summer are suitable times for cutting. For spring cutting, do it in late March; select 1-2 year old shoots, 10-15 cm long, remove the lower leaves, and insert them into a seedbed using yellow soil mixed with river sand (6:4) as the substrate. After insertion, shade is required (light transmittance about 30%), and the bed surface must be kept moist frequently. Once rooted, pot them for planting. For summer cutting, select semi-lignified branches of the current year, about 8 cm long, using the same method as spring cutting. Note that summer has high temperatures and high air humidity, conditions that favor the breeding of various diseases. Therefore, the cutting substrate must be sterilized. In addition, if you can soak the base of the cuttings in 200 ppm indolebutyric acid for 15 minutes, take them out to dry, and then insert them, rooting can be accelerated and the survival rate improved.
Effects and Benefits of the Banana Shrub:
1. Indoor ornamental value
The banana shrub has elegant branches, emerald green leaves, and an enchanting fragrance when in bloom. It is a plant grown for both foliage and flowers, and when potted indoors it has relatively high ornamental value.
2. Improving the air
Like other plants, the banana shrub has a certain air-purifying function. In addition, its floral fragrance is elegant and enchanting; diffused indoors it gives a very strong sense of comfort, and its effect on improving indoor air is very obvious.
3. Medicinal value
It mostly grows in mixed forests on hillsides. According to records in medical books such as the Compendium of Materia Medica and scientific verification, natural plants and flowers not only please the eye with their brilliant colors, beautiful shapes, and fragrances, but also contain rich nutrients, bioactive components, and natural plant essences. The Runze Tang functional herbal tea series has passed the demonstration and certification of the national industry association and domestic authoritative experts. It has extremely high health-promoting value for drinking. Based on the different nutrients and medicinal effects contained in the flowers and herbs, and combined with the experts' years of practical experience, natural flowers and herbs with the same effects are organically combined, and according to flower color, flower shape, floral fragrance and variety, they are blended into a series of herbal teas with different beauty and health benefits. Drinking herbal tea can not only make people feel happy and lift the spirits, but also has the remarkable effects of promoting blood circulation and regulating menstruation, nourishing the skin and improving complexion, calming the nerves and reducing stress, slimming and shaping the body, strengthening health, and eliminating disease and prolonging life. Regular drinking can also make the skin delicate, rosy, smooth and bright, full of luster and elasticity.
4. Beauty and health care
Plants such as flowers and herbs contain rich nutrients and special effective ingredients. They have antioxidant effects, thereby delaying the aging process of the human body. They can relax tense nerves, help calm body and mind, remove tension, soothe irritability, and restore physical and mental balance. They lift the spirits, stimulate vitality, and eliminate fatigue. They contain diuretic ingredients that can promote the excretion of toxins from the body and improve metabolism. They cool the blood and remove toxins, and nourish and beautify the skin. They have the effect of calming the nerves and relieving depression.
Restore physical and mental balance. Lift the spirits, stimulate vitality, and eliminate fatigue. Contain diuretic ingredients that can promote the excretion of toxins from the body and improve metabolism. Cool the blood and remove toxins, and nourish and beautify the skin. Have the effect of calming the nerves and relieving depression.