Content
Magnolia is an evergreen (deciduous) plant. The flowers are very fragrant, white, pink or cream in color with large leaves. The flower is a poisonous plant, but contains a lot of useful substances: essential oils, flavone glycosides, rutins and alkaloids. Growing magnolia flowers at home has been gaining popularity in recent years. There are ornamental species bred specifically for home cultivation.
Is it possible to grow magnolia in an apartment or at home?
There are several types of magnolia bred specifically for growing in pots at home. They are characterized by their small size, bright leaves and colorful blooms.
How an indoor magnolia flower blooms
In its natural habitat, magnolia blooms throughout the growing season. When flowering ends, the petals fall and this phenomenon is called “magnolia rain”. Then, in place of the previous flowers, fruits with large seeds are formed, similar in appearance to a pine cone.
Under favorable conditions, magnolias bloom for the first time 8 years after planting, and some species even earlier.
The colors of the flowers are varied: white, pink, lilac, purple. There are species that first form flowers and then leaves, and some bloom with leaves already present.
A photo of a magnolia flower grown at home is presented below.
A photo of a blooming magnolia in a pot proves that the seedling can be grown at home.
Under what conditions does the home magnolia flower grow?
The indoor magnolia flower prefers sunny, well-lit places, but can grow in partial shade.
While the plant is small, it is placed on a window located in the east, since the south side is too bright and burns may occur. Mature plants with a wide crown are placed on a stand near the window.
Indoor magnolia (pictured) prefers fresh air and in summer it is better to take it outside.
Magnolias in the apartment are comfortable at a temperature of +20÷24 °C.But in winter, in order for flower buds to form, it is moved to a room where the air temperature is no higher than + 15° and no lower than + 7° and there are no drafts.
Types of magnolia for growing at home
To grow home magnolia, breeders have developed the following varieties:
- Brackens Brown Beauty;
- Figo;
- Coco;
- George Henry Kern;
- Daphne.
Also, some amateur flower growers grow the following varieties at home: Sulanja Lenny, Little Jam, Sensation.
Brackens Brown Beauty
An evergreen, broad-leaved shrub with large, oval, dark green leaves. The outer side of the leaves is smooth, and the reverse side is covered with a small brownish fluff. The flowers are white with a pleasant aroma.
Figo
An ideal variety for home growing. An adult shrub grows up to 1.5 m in height.
The flowers of the Figo variety are small (up to 4 cm in diameter), cream, white, yellow or lilac in color, with a pungent aroma, which is especially noticeable early in the morning. The aroma is reminiscent of the smell of a banana, for which the shrub is often called the “banana tree”. The leaves are green, oblong in shape.
It is preferable to plant in slightly acidic, well-drained soil with plenty of organic amendments. The shrub can grow in both sun and partial shade. Bushes grown in conditions of periodic shading are loose and spreading, while in the sun they are compact and dense. The culture loves moderate watering and does not tolerate transplantation.
Coco
The variety is actively grown at home. The leaves are wide, green or dark green, pointed at the apex and wedge-shaped at the base. The flowers are white, cream-colored with a delicate aroma.
George Henry Kern
Slow-growing (15 cm per year), deciduous, hybrid shrub with a spherical crown.Characterized by abundant flowering and frost resistance.
The flowers are purple on the outside and white on the inside. Blooms before leaves appear. The foliage is dark green in summer and brownish-bronze in fall. Prefers partial shade and acidic to neutral soils.
Daphne
Low-growing shrub with late flowering. The flowers are bright yellow, up to 10 cm in diameter. The leaves are green, wide and medium in size.
Sulanja Lenny
The variety was bred at the beginning of the 19th century in France. A frost-resistant, slow-growing deciduous shrub reaches a height of about 3 m.
The leaves are large, green, and in autumn - from yellow to light brown. The flowers are large, white, shaped like tulips, and when fully bloomed, like lotus flowers. They have a strong aroma.
The shrub grows in sun and partial shade. Prefers black soil, acidic or slightly acidic soil.
Sensation
The variety begins to flower in the first years after planting. Grows up to 3 m in height and up to 1.5 m in width. The flowers are rich yellow in color, shaped like a tulip, up to 20 cm in diameter.
How to grow magnolia at home
Caring for magnolia grown at home is quite easy; you must follow certain rules.
How to choose a pot for a magnolia flower
House magnolia is a low-growing shrub that requires growing in a spacious and deep flowerpot. This is a prerequisite for growing a plant that has a highly developed root system in the form of a rod.
Magnolia is also planted in tubs so that it is convenient to take it outside in the summer.
Preparing soil for growing magnolia at home
To grow home magnolia, you need light, nutritious soil with a sufficient content of organic substances in the form of peat and humus. Optimal soil acidity should be in the range from 7 to 7.5 units.
Landing algorithm
To prepare the soil, take turf soil, leaf humus, peat and manure in a ratio of 2:1:1:0.5. A drainage consisting of charcoal and moss is placed at the bottom of the pot. Carefully place the magnolia seedling and cover it with soil. Then the soil is compacted and watered abundantly. After this, the soil is fluffed up and mulched.
How to grow magnolia at home
Caring for indoor magnolia involves following certain growing rules.
During the growing season, it is better to water your home magnolia with rain or settled (filtered) water. The plant reacts poorly to chlorine and lime in tap water. Under no circumstances should moisture stagnate or the soil dry out.
During cold periods, the frequency of watering is reduced; moistening is carried out no earlier than the soil is half dry. After each watering, to maintain moisture, the soil is loosened and mulched, covered with bark or sawdust.
If the room has dry air, you can spray the plant with water, which will have a beneficial effect on the well-being of the magnolia, or place the pot on a tray with wet pebbles.
From the beginning of the growing season until the onset of autumn, magnolia is fed twice a month with special fertilizers. Fertilizing is also carried out in winter, but not more than once a month.
To form a beautiful shrub, you need to prune the plant at a young age. Pruning is carried out in early spring or after flowering has ended.In adult magnolias, only dry and weak shoots are removed, since in adulthood they react worse to pruning.
Home magnolia propagates in three ways:
- when propagated by seeds The planting material is filled with water for three days, then the shell is removed from the seeds, washed thoroughly and treated with fungicides. Planted in a prepared container, it is advisable to choose a container with opening valves (for ventilation and creating a greenhouse effect) or covered with a piece of polyethylene. Place in a room with a temperature of +20÷25 °C. When the first shoots appear, the film is removed. When two leaves appear on the plant, it is transplanted to a permanent place. With the seed propagation method, the varietal characteristics of the plant are not preserved, so for ornamental plants it is better to use other methods of propagation;
- cuttings. A two-year-old semi-lignified cutting up to 20 cm long is separated from the bush, on which 2 leaves are left. The cuttings are treated with a root-forming preparation and planted in peat. The optimal temperature for cuttings is from 18 to 25 °C. Over the course of 8 weeks, the root system should form and the cuttings should be transplanted to a permanent location;
- layering. Place a container with prepared soil next to the magnolia and dig the lower part of the branch into it. Secure with a hairpin or wire. After two months, roots should appear, then the cuttings are separated from the mother plant.
Frequency and rules of transplantation
Early spring before flowering is the most favorable time to transplant magnolia growing at home in a pot.
The pot should be wide and spacious, since magnolia has a powerful root system.The plant does not tolerate full transplantation, so it is replanted, leaving soil on the roots. Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the pot.
The replanting process is carried out every year, using a pot with a diameter 10 cm larger than the previous one.
An adult home magnolia is large in size and replanting becomes difficult, so once a year the top layer is changed by adding fresh substrate.
In order not to disturb the root system of an adult plant, the transshipment method is used when replanting.
Pests and diseases
Due to the inexperience of flower growers, the following diseases may appear in home magnolia:
- If fertilizers are applied excessively, the plant’s growth stops and the salinity of the soil around the plant increases, and the leaves dry out. In order to fix everything, water the seedling generously with warm water once a week.
- If there is too much lime in the soil, the roots and leaves become sick. The pathology is called chlorosis. To eliminate the problem, change the soil under the plant.
- In hot weather, magnolia can be attacked by spider mites. To combat it, the plant and soil are sprayed with Actellik.
- Magnolia can develop spotting, which is fungal in nature. For treatment, copper-containing preparations are used, for example, copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.
- Young, frozen shoots may suffer from gray rot. For treatment, drugs based on bacteria are used, for example, Fitosporin or Baktofit.
- Another disease is powdery mildew. Sulfur preparations, for example, Thiovit, are used for treatment.
- If there are small round spots on the leaves, this is black spotting, which is caused by phytopathogenic fungi. The drug Skor is used for treatment.
Conclusion
Growing magnolia flowers at home is not difficult if you follow certain rules. Before planting a plant, you must make sure that your household is not allergic to it. Growing magnolia at home and proper care of the seedling allows you to get a beautiful, lush and fragrant bush.
