Medinilla

Medinilla is a tropical plant, large, but very delicate and rather capricious. This flower requires special care and, if the rules of this care are violated, it can quickly lose its attractiveness. But, despite this, medinilla is very popular among flower growers, as it is, first of all, a beautiful and spectacular plant.

The homeland of medinilla is the tropics of Africa and Madagascar, as well as the Philippine Islands, so if you want to purchase this plant, then be prepared to create similar conditions at home. Medinilla is really very demanding: by moving the pot to another place or simply turning it the other way towards the light, you create a stressful situation for the plant, due to which it is able to shed not only the buds, but all the leaves. In this article, we will tell you how to care for medinilla so that it delights you with its flowering.

Medinilla: description

Medinilla flower: photo

The Medinilla flower belongs to the Melastomaceae family. In nature, these plants are represented by both herbaceous shrubs and small trees and vines, but as an indoor flower you can find only one species - "Medinilla magnifica" (magnificent medinilla). From the outset, your attention will be drawn to the bright pink striped bracts, which many mistake for flower petals, but in fact they hide many small flowers of an even richer pink color. If you saw medinilla only in the picture, then you may not imagine its true size. The length of the scaphoid bract is 10 cm, and the length of the rich green leaves of medinilla is about 30 cm.

The medinilla plant blooms magnificently in summer, and flowering largely depends on how well you looked after the plant from late autumn to spring, while it was dormant, because flower buds are laid in winter. After the plant has faded, seeds begin to ripen in place of the flowers. If you plan to collect planting material, then it will be enough to leave one inflorescence for this, and cut off the rest. After the medinilla seeds are harvested, you should also cut off any old or starting to turn yellow and dry out the medinilla leaves, this stimulates the growth of young foliage.

Medinilla: home care

Medinilla magnifica: video

Indoor flower medinilla magnifica is a heat-loving plant and in summer it is necessary to maintain the air temperature at + 21 ... + 26 degrees. In the winter months, it is necessary to move the plant to a cooler room with an air temperature of + 16 ... + 18 degrees.

Direct sunlight is contraindicated for the plant, but at the same time it is necessary to find a permanent place for it in the apartment, where there will always be diffused light. As we said earlier, it is not recommended to move medinilla from place to place.

Water for irrigation and spraying of medinilla must be defended for several days. During the budding period, they are often watered, preventing the soil from drying out, the rest of the time, watering is more moderate, and in winter, medinilla is watered when the foliage loses its original elasticity. But spraying should be carried out daily, but autumn is careful - the water from the spray bottle should only fall on the leaves of medinilla, and in no case on the bracts or flowers.

For feeding medinilla, you can use universal complex fertilizers for decorative flowering indoor plants.In the spring and summer, you need to apply fertilizer every two to three weeks, and in the autumn and winter periods, you do not need to fertilize the plant.

Transplant rules

Medinilla magnifica: video

An indoor flower is transplanted to Medinilla Magnifica every year, carrying out the procedure in the spring, before it enters the phase of active growth and buds begin to form. In order to be guaranteed to be in time and not to expose the plant to severe stress, it is better to transplant at the very beginning of the calendar spring. The soil for medinilla must be selected loose and light, with a low level of acidity. To do this, mix peat with sand (one part at a time) and add humus (two parts). It is also mandatory to have a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot and a layer of expanded clay or other material that will act as drainage.

Medinilla flower: reproduction

Medinilla flower: photo

It is customary to propagate medinilla in two ways: by sowing seeds or by rooting cuttings of medinilla.
Seeds of medinilla should be sown in the last days of February or in early March. Prepare containers with special soil for Medinilla seedlings, to which you need to add coarse sand, sow Medinilla seeds and install a transparent shelter to make a greenhouse. After the emergence of seedlings, the shelter should be removed and the plants should be grown, like any other seedlings, after a while, after a pick and planting the sprouts in separate pots.

Rooting of cuttings of the medinilla plant does not always go well, but nevertheless this method is used by many growers. The most suitable time is the second half of winter and all spring. Prepare cuttings of medinilla, which will have at least three buds, deepen them two to three centimeters into the soil mixture (the same as for sowing seeds) and build a greenhouse. In this case, the air temperature should be at least +25 degrees. Rooting usually takes 4-5 weeks. If, after this time, young leaves have not appeared on the cuttings, then most likely something went wrong and you should prepare new cuttings of medinilla and try again.

Possible problems and solutions

Flower of medinilla magnifica: photo

From the large army of pests, you should beware of spider mites or mealybugs. If parasites are found, insecticidal preparations should be resorted to, observing the indicated dosage and all necessary precautions.

But in addition to the appearance of pests, you can also encounter other problems, which are usually caused by improper or irregular care of the medinilla plant.

If in winter the leaves of the medinilla magnifica flower begin to dry out, it may be that you have waterlogged the soil, and the room is too cold at this time. Try to water the plant a little less often (only when the soil for medinilla dries up), and raise the air temperature by three to five degrees.

If the leaves dry in the summer, then the problem is definitely insufficient watering. And in this case, it is necessary not to increase the frequency or volume of watering, but more often to spray the plant from a spray bottle.

If the plant has dropped flowers and buds, then the cause of this was a draft or a change in the location of the pot. We have already said that medinilla is extremely conservative - it prefers to be in one place and not even turn around its axis.

Light spots on the surface of the leaves of the medinilla indoor flower, which appeared suddenly and gradually thin and dry, are sunburn. In this case, care should be taken to protect from hot sunlight during the day.

If the medinilla flower does not bloom, then you did not properly care for it during the rest period. It is necessary to study all the recommendations again and next year the flowering of medinilla will definitely come.