Medinilla - plants are evergreen. They can reach two meters high. The branches are articulate, glabrous, ribbed and rounded, often bristly at the nodes. Leaflets whorled, opposite, may be regular, entire, thickened. They can act up to 9 veins.
Flowers can be pink, white, red and pink. They are collected in a brush or panicle. Their bracts are red-pink, large. These plants are highly decorative. In the botanical gardens you can meet several species of these plants. Industrial gardening breeds only one species. This is M. magnifica.
The plant looks very impressive. It can become a real decoration of the room. But before you buy a plant, you need to weigh everything, namely, whether you can clearly observe the conditions of humidity, temperature, because the room plants medinilla quite capricious: they need moist air and a constant temperature level.
Medinill: Care
The plant needs diffuse bright light. It's better if the pots stand on the east or west sills. If you put the medinila on the south side, then do not forget to pritenyat it in the summer and in the spring days from the light. Medionyl can be placed on the northern window sill, but it will grow poorly, even worse - bloom.
The plant needs a normal temperature regime. From the first days of spring to the end of autumn, the medi- nille needs a temperature level of 24 degrees. A temperature higher than that mentioned (even up to 28 degrees) can affect the plant negatively. In autumn, the temperature regime can be reduced to 17 degrees, and in winter it can be kept at a temperature of 15 degrees. It is necessary to observe the temperature regime, because it depends on the decorative nature of the plant, its flowering, appearance. If these conditions are not respected, then the plant grows, but weakly, and bloom - almost never blooms. Of course, it can bloom, but the current will be weak. Medinil must be protected from through winds.
From the first days of spring until late autumn, these houseplants should be watered a little, observing the temperature regime. Use durable soft water. Repeat irrigation after the upper mass of the soil in the pot dry. In autumn it is necessary to water less, in winter the plant is watered with caution, so as not to overfill. Do not let the earth dry up completely.
To create a favorable growth conditions for the plant, it is necessary to have high humidity around it. It should be about 80%. The leaves of the plant must be constantly sprayed with a durable, soft, non-cold water. You can put a pot of plant on a wet pebbles (expanded clay). You must also use humidifiers.
With reduced humidity, the leaves are small. If the room is poorly ventilated, then the plant can get sick.
Plants medinilla must be fed from the first days of March to August, using a complex fertilizer for indoor plants. All the rest of the time in the year they abstain from feeding.
If the plant is well looked after, it can often bloom: every year at the same time. Inflorescences begin to form around April (or May), the flowers unfold in May. The plant can even grow until the July days.
For the life of the plant, the period when flower buds are planted for blooming in the next year becomes very responsible. This period of peace lasts from November to the first days of February. At this time, the plant needs a lowered temperature - up to 15 degrees. This level is necessary for the normal formation of flower buds and ripening of shoots.
During this period, the medinilla needs maximum illumination, it needs to be watered a little, do not allow waterlogging and drying of the soil in the pot.
When the plant is young, it must be transplanted every year. When it has grown - once in a couple of years. In the spring, when a transplant is done, the plant is cut to form the plant itself and use the scraps as cuttings. Older plants can be cut more than usual. But in this case they should be planted in smaller pots. For planting, you need land consisting of leaf, humus, sod, earth, peat and sand. All in 2 parts, except sand. Its 1 part. The substrate is suitable and loose, for example, the one that is sold for the cultivation of epiphytic plants. The bottom of the pot should be filled with drainage.
Reproduction of plants
Medinilla - plants, the reproduction of which occurs with the help of seeds and cuttings. The cuttings are semi-extruded sections. Cuttings are held from January to the first days of May. Cuttings, on which up to 3 internodes are located, are placed in a small greenhouse in the sand. There they are kept at a temperature of up to 30 g. Cuttings develop well only at high humidity and uniform temperature conditions. They take root over a period of about a month. Plant 1 young plant in low (up to 9 cm) pots. The substrate must include leaf, humus, peat, soddy land types and sand. All in 1 part. Over time, it is necessary to hold a pinch to stimulate the growth of the medinyls. The subsequent ramifications pass without pinches. In the summer, watering the plant should be a lot and often. It should be pritenyat and once a couple of weeks to feed, using a complex fertilizer. In the spring of next year, the plant should be transshipped. At the same time, the composition of the earth should not be changed, but the sod type of substrate should be taken twice as much.
Seeds should be sown from February to the first days of March in pots, then put in heat. Dive shoots in small pots (up to 7 cm). The land should include sand and leaf land. From May to the first days of June, the plants must be transferred to the pot more, and then to care, as well as behind the cuttings.
Difficulties that can arise when growing
- The plant does not bloom due to a non-observance of the temperature and low light conditions.
- Medililla discards the kidneys and leaves, they melt because of frequent changes of place and low humidity.
- Dark shoots appear on shoots. It is necessary to remove such shoots and establish a good illumination. When spraying the slice is not necessary to wet. The appearance of such spots can be a sign of a fungal disease. Such plants do not need to be bought. Fungal diseases are difficult to cure, the plant most often dies. More often on the medinil there is a fungus, called botrytis. To avoid this, it is necessary to feed the plant.
- The plant can be damaged by thrips. Also, from time to time, he suffers from spider mites and scutes.