Methods and Maintenance Tips for Cultivating Old Specimen of Gardenia
A brief knowledge sharing on the topic of gardening, introducing the methods and maintenance tips for cultivating old specimens of Gardenia, let's follow the editor to explore the details!
Methods and Maintenance Tips for Cultivating Old Specimen of Gardenia
Gardenias do not favor a growth environment with too much sunlight; they need shade in the summer and scattered light care in general. Watering can be done twice a day during the high summer temperatures, once every 1-2 days for dense potting soil. Regularly spray water to maintain humidity, fertilize with decomposed cake fertilizer every two weeks, and trim branches and leaves timely to shape them into straight, curved, or slanted trunks.
How to Cultivate an Old Specimen of Gardenia
1. Selection of Seedlings: To cultivate an old specimen of Gardenia, it is important to select healthy and strong seedlings. Avoid purchasing poor-quality seedlings as they may encounter issues during maintenance, making it difficult to grow into an old specimen. It is best to choose larger, well-maintained seedlings.
2. Soil: Gardenias require fertile soil, with leaf mold being the best choice as it is well-suited for Gardenias to absorb nutrients. If using ordinary soil, the lack of nutrients may affect the plant's growth and ability to become an old specimen.
3. Fertilization: Without proper fertilization, the plant may not receive adequate nutrients. Therefore, it is essential to supplement fertilizer during the growing period. Fermented fertilizer or cake fertilizer can be used, along with a mixture of fermented fertilizer and potassium dihydrogen phosphate, which promotes more flowers with a stronger fragrance.
4. Pruning: Pruning and shaping are necessary to cultivate an old specimen. Remove dense and unattractive branches, leaving only one or two main trunks to focus nutrients and encourage faster growth, thus promoting a beautiful old specimen.
Method for Cultivating Old Specimen of Gardenia
1. Potting
First, select a healthy Gardenia and use a disinfected pair of scissors to剪掉 excess branches and leaves. After pruning, remove the plant from its pot, gently shaking off the soil from the roots. Care must be taken not to damage the root system.
2. Root Washing
Gently rinse the roots with running water, checking for rotting or diseased roots which can be cut off. Diseased roots should also be pruned, leaving only fibrous and fine roots.
3. Disinfection
After root pruning, the roots can be soaked in a potassium permanganate solution for about 2-3 hours. Prepare some slightly acidic sandy loam, humus soil, and coarse sand to make up the potting mix.
4. Repotting
If possible, a mixture of red sand and garden soil can be used. Place the pruned plant in the pot without planting too deep to avoid root窝. After repotting, water thoroughly and place the plant in a shaded and well-ventilated area to adapt.
5. Shaping
The final step is shaping after flowering. The Gardenia bonsai can be pruned to form different shapes such as straight, curved, slanted, or cliffhanger styles. This can be done after flowering or during dormancy using various techniques.
Gardenia Old Specimen PruningDuring the maintenance of old Gardenia specimens, it is important to remove branches and buds growing from the rootstock to prevent them from competing for nutrients and affecting the growth of the scion. Due to the dense and compact growth habit of Gardenia, it is easy to shape by pruning and wiring. Overgrown branches that affect the tree shape should be pruned and unnecessary buds removed.
The shaping can be done according to the shape of the stock, following the rules of bonsai shaping. It can be shaped into a straight, curved, or slanted trunk, as well as styles such as exposed roots, cliffhanger, or rock-attached. Through artistic processing, it aims to create a beautiful bonsai that combines flowers, leaves, trunks, roots, and shape, providing endless enjoyment.
Maintenance Tips for Gardenia Old Specimen
1. Gardenias do not favor a sunny growth environment, especially in autumn. They should not be placed in direct sunlight during maintenance and should be shaded during the middle of the day. They can be placed indoors with scattered light and must be ensured good ventilation.
2. Gardenias prefer a humid environment. Watering can be done twice a day during the high summer temperatures, once every 1-2 days for dense potting soil. Regularly spray water to maintain humidity, and repot every 2-3 years, performing root pruning and shaping during repotting.
3. Gardenias enjoy fertilizer, so applying decomposed cake fertilizer every two weeks is sufficient. Stop fertilizing when temperatures reach above 35 degrees Celsius to avoid root burn.
Appreciation of Gardenia Old Specimen Pictures
The above details about the methods and maintenance tips for cultivating old specimens of Gardenia are provided for reference and operation.