A detailed guide to growing white magnolia (Michelia alba), cultivating a full branch of delicate fragrance

In the scorching heat of midsummer, place one or two pure white magnolia (Michelia alba) flowers on your collar or beside your pillow, and their gentle fragrance leaves you relaxed and refreshed; even when the petals dry out and turn rust-brown, a trace of scent remains. This is the white magnolia (Michelia alba) that everyone loves.

White magnolia (Michelia alba) is also known as "ba'er lan". It has a graceful tree form, emerald-green leaves, and elegant flowers with a fragrance like that of an orchid. It originated in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and was introduced to our country a hundred years ago, becoming a backbone tree species in southern gardens.

The habits of white magnolia (Michelia alba): it likes warmth and fears cold, and prefers an environment with ample sunlight, moisture and good ventilation. It is suitable for soil rich in humus, slightly acidic and loose; it most fears waterlogging and coal smoke. During the growing season of white magnolia (Michelia alba), it is best to apply more dilute liquid fertilizer; during the flowering season, you can use thoroughly decomposed fertilizer made from fermented and rotted soybean cake, rapeseed cake and fish bones, diluted with eight or nine times the amount of water, and apply it once every three or four days.

In summer, white magnolia (Michelia alba) also needs careful protection against pests and diseases such as red spider mites and scale insects. Poor ventilation combined with dry, hot conditions is most likely to trigger pest problems, at which point the leaves turn yellow and fall off, and the plant withers and dies. When this happens, it is best to move the white magnolia (Michelia alba) to a shaded place, scrape the scale insects off the leaves with a bamboo strip, and spray with a 1000-fold dilution of 50% fenitrothion emulsifiable concentrate. Before long, new leaves will grow again.