Among the flowering houseplants, medinilla is a clear favorite. Seeing the luxurious long-term flowering of a tropical beauty, it is impossible to pass by and not get such a spectacular copy for your collection. But for the sissy to show her true beauty, you have to surround her with attention and love. The intricacies of caring for her at home need to know before buying.
Description of flower and photo
The homeland of the medinilla is the everlasting tropical rainforests of the Philippines, which, with a bizarre variety of plant forms and a riot of colors, resemble fabulous gardens.
Medinilla Homeland - Wet Evergreen Tropics
The genus includes more than 300 species of shrubs and vines. Plants can reach up to 2 m in height. Their stems are covered with thickened leaves up to 30 cm in length, glossy, oval, grayish-green, with clearly visible light veins. But valued nevertheless for exotic flowering.
Exotic flowering plant is valued
The species name "magnificent" she received thanks to the delicate bright pink drooping inflorescences in combination with large bracts.
The magnificent Medinilla got its name thanks to the delicate bright pink inflorescences.
This fragile beauty is not easy to grow at home. For her, it is important not only the temperature regime and lighting, but also the location, compliance with all maintenance rules. However, knowing and taking into account all the subtleties of growing, you can achieve magnificent flowering.
Kinds
As an indoor culture, only the magnificent Medinilla is grown. The shrub in natural conditions grows up to 3 m in height, in the apartment - no more than 1 m. The leaves are leathery, oval, up to 30 cm long. On the upper side - dark green with venation, below - a little lighter. Flowering begins in April and ends in July. The flowers are pink, cup-shaped, with 5 petals, collected in long inflorescences-brushes (about 0.5 m).
Magnificent Medinilla - a plant from the genus Medinilla of the family Melastomaceae
A characteristic feature of this species is large greenish-pink bracts. In autumn, blue-violet fruits ripen like grapes.
In addition to the magnificent medinilla, flower growers also grow its hybrids.
- Zhador Dolce Vita is a plant with saturated pink flowers. Numerous narrow bracts are evenly distributed across the flower brush.
- Streaky medinilla - shrub with thin shoots. Decorative dark green oval leaves with a pointed edge, 9-20 cm long. Leaf plate with embossed venation. Inflorescences with white tubular flowers are located under the foliage.
- Medinilla sedumolistnaya - a dwarf species with creeping shoots no more than 15 cm long. The leaves are dark green, leathery, with a weakly visible central vein. A rounded leaf plate with a diameter slightly larger than 0.5 cm. The flowers are bright pink, with white long stamen filaments, bloom along the entire length of the shoot. Their diameter reaches 1.5 cm.
- Medinilla Javanica is less capricious. Low bushes with dark green ovoid leaves grow well in a room with normal humidity. Drooping brushes of bright purple color, bracts absent.
- Medinilla Cuming - a low, sprawling shrub with shiny oval leaves up to 30 cm long. The surface of the sheet is slightly concave. Pink flowers are collected in racemose inflorescences.
Varieties in the photo
- Medinilla Javanica is famous for its less capricious character.
- Medinilla sedumolistnaya - dwarf species with shoots no more than 15 cm
- Medinilla veins has beautiful dark green oval leaves
- The flowers of the medinilla Jador Dolce Vita are more saturated pink color
- Medinilla Cuming - a low, sprawling shrub
Conditions of detention
For room medinilla it is necessary to create conditions close to the natural habitat.
Comfortable growing conditions - table
| Lighting | Medinilla prefers to grow in a bright place, but not in bright open sun. Even light partial shade can adversely affect flowering. It responds well to additional artificial lighting, especially in winter. The distance from the lamps to the plant should be at least 60 cm, so the leaves will not be burnt. The best place is a window of east or west direction, on the south side it is necessary to protect from sunlight. |
| Temperature mode | Optimum air temperature during the development period + 20 ° С. During the rest period, the room should not be lower than + 16 ° С - the cold is destructive for the flower. The fragile beauty should be protected from drafts. |
| Humidity | The plant feels good in a humid microclimate - air humidity is more than 70%. Dry air can lead to yellowing of the leaves and even death of the flower. Therefore, it is often necessary to spray the medinilla, you can put a pot with it on a pallet with wet decorative stones. During the heating season, the flower should not be kept near the battery. |
| Watering | In spring and summer, you need regular watering once a week. However, it is impossible to overmoisten the soil - this can cause root decay. In winter, watered less often. |
| Fertilizer | In spring and summer, every 2 weeks they are fed with mineral fertilizers. In winter, feeding is not carried out. |
| Transfer | Young plants are transplanted annually, adults - every 3 years. |
| Pruning | After flowering, the medinilla is cut off and part of the overgrown shoots are removed. |
| Breeding | Propagated by seeds, cuttings. |
Comfortable conditions must be created for the room medinilla
The plant feels comfortable in the conditions of the greenhouse and open-type florarium. Especially a dwarf look - the medinilla is sedum-leaved with creeping shoots and bright pink flowers that grows beautifully in a terrarium, where a comfortable and soft microclimate with high humidity is created.
On a note. Florarium is a composition of fresh flowers grown in a glass terrarium - a jar, a glass, an aquarium. "Garden in a bottle", composed of plants and decorative elements (driftwood, pebbles) will decorate any interior.
Medinilla needs space, she does not like close proximity to other flowers.
Planting and replanting a houseplant
Medinilla develops well and blooms in a slightly acidic substrate. The soil should be light, breathable and nutritious, consisting of peat, humus and sand. Use ready-made earth mixtures for rhododendrons, azaleas.
Since the flowers of the tropical beauty elegantly wilt, the pots for her are selected high. To avoid stagnation of water, expanded clay is placed at the bottom of the tank, crushed polystyrene with a layer of 3 cm.
Tropical beauty only tall pots fit
Young plants transship annually, adults - every 2-3 years. Transplanted after flowering and pruning, trying not to damage the rhizome. A transplant is carried out only when necessary. Medinilla has a very sensitive root system, which should not be disturbed once again. You can simply regularly replace the topsoil (5-7 cm) with fresh soil without changing the pot.
When buying in a store, pay attention to the stem - it should be green and without spots, foliage should not have signs of yellowing. A healthy plant must be transplanted into new soil, giving it several hours to adapt to new conditions. Pre-washed leaves with warm water, washing off the preparations that process plants before selling. The earthball should dry well.
When transplanting, pay attention to the root system
- The pot is selected 5 cm more than the previous one.
- Drainage is laid at the bottom with a layer of 3 cm. Expanded clay, gravel, pieces of bark can be used as drainage material.
- Carefully remove the tender plant from the container.
- Inspect the roots - they should be light, without damage.
- Remove the topsoil from the coma.
- Put in a pot and fall asleep with a new substrate.
- Water and spray.
If there are a lot of flowers, put props so that the shoots do not break off, and neatly attach powerful stems to them. You can grow medinilla in ampel form in hanging baskets, vessels on pedestals, coasters and picturesque stools.
You can grow medinilla as an ampel in pots on pedestals
Home Care
The flower is quite capricious, demanding of the conditions of detention, does not tolerate to be rearranged from place to place, even turned the pot.
Watering
Medinilla needs to create a comfortable, humid environment. Therefore, you should spray the plant more often, wipe the leaves with a damp cloth. At the same time, make sure that water does not get on the substrate or buds.
Medinilla should be sprayed more often with a shower.
In spring and summer, watered once a week. During the dormant period, watering is reduced, allowing the soil to dry to a depth of 3 cm. This mode of easy moistening is observed until the buds appear. Then, the volume and frequency of irrigation are sharply increased, but without leading to waterlogging. Significant saturation of the substrate with moisture and a simultaneous increase in the temperature regime will give the plant an impetus for more magnificent flowering.
Medinilla is watered only with soft water. The presence of large amounts of salts in water can lead to diseases.
Top dressing
Fertilizers are very important for the plant - they provide its growth and abundant flowering, as well as resistance to disease. From March to August, they regularly feed them every 2 weeks with liquid fertilizer for rhododendrons or flowering plants. From August to February, feeding is not carried out.
For top dressing use complex fertilizers for indoor flowers
To maintain immunity, it is useful to carry out a cycle of spraying the bush with Epin's solution.
Bloom
At the end of winter, the plant wakes up - new leaves grow, and in April, peduncles. The period of the appearance of buds and the opening of flowers is long, about a month and a half. The flowering itself lasts the same amount. The flowers have no smell.
In Cuming's medinilla, the flowers are collected in racemes
The arrow of the peduncle with withered flowers should be cut off - this stimulates the appearance of new inflorescences. After flowering, the stems on which the flowers were half shortened.
Magnificent medinilla flowers hang beautifully on long peduncles from the green mass of the bush
If the medinilla does not bloom, then in the winter it was looked after incorrectly.
Rest period
From November to February there comes a period of rest. At this time, flower buds are laid. Therefore, winter conditions are so important. The plant is transferred to a cooler place (+ 15-17 ° C) with bright lighting, watering is reduced, but the soil is not overgrown. If the medinilla does not receive enough light during the winter months, it may not bloom in the future. Therefore, in a dark place, it is necessary to additionally use lighting devices, for example, fluorescent lamps.
Plant formation
Medinilla is formed after flowering: all flower stalks are removed, the crown is cut, giving the bushes a neat appearance.
Forming pruning is carried out after flowering.
What happens when a flower is improperly looked after
Even the smallest changes in the environment or care immediately affect the condition and appearance of the tropical whims.
A less capricious plant is a peacock flower or a spell. You can learn about the conditions of its cultivation from the material: //diz-cafe.com/rastenija/pavlinij-cvetok-ili-episciya-kak-obespechit-ej-v-domashnix-usloviyax-dostojnyj-uxod.html
Care errors and what to do to eliminate them - table
| Mistakes | How to fix the situation |
| The plant does not bloom, the new leaves are small. | Too dry microclimate. Increase air humidity, spray the bush as often as possible. |
| Fall of buds and flowers. | Reasons - short daylight hours, drafts, flower movement. Use light exposure, protect from drafts, do not move the pot. |
| Light spots on the leaves. | Occur as a result of excessive lighting. It is necessary to shade the bush from the bright sun. |
| In winter, the foliage dries. | The reasons are a very cool room, waterlogging. Raise the temperature in the house, let the soil dry. |
| Leaves dry in the summer. | The apartment is hot and dry. Maintain air temperature no more than +25, spray the leaves. |
| Blackening of the stem and leaves. | The plant suffers from excess moisture, cold. Set the correct watering, moisten the soil only after the top layer of the earth has dried. Maintain optimum temperature values depending on the season. |
The bright rays of the sun cause a burn of leaves
Diseases and Pests
Medinilla is distinguished by strong immunity, but with excessive moisture of the substrate it can suffer from rot, and with drought it can be affected by worms. The flower may become infected from other indoor plants or may react painfully to irregularities in irrigation or lighting.
| Diseases / Pests | Symptoms | Prevention | Control measures |
| Gray rot, or botritis | Dark spots appear on the stems and leaves. | Avoid excessive soil moisture, strengthen plant immunity, fertilize on time. |
|
| Worm | White lumps appear on the surface of the leaves. Sucking insects inhibit plant growth, cause yellowing and drying of the leaves. | Maintain high air humidity - it inhibits the development of parasite colonies. |
|
| Spider mite | Yellowish dots form on leathery leaves. The plant dries up. | The pest loves the heat - in order to prevent, it is necessary to irrigate the leaves with warm water. |
|
| Shield | It sucks the juice from the plant, drains it and leads to yellowing. | Inspect plants periodically for parasites. |
|
| Aphid | Eating juice, leads to lethargy of leaves and drying of shoots. | Regularly inspect the flower garden for the presence of parasitic insects. Monitor the temperature, ventilate the room. |
|
Examples of pests in the photo
- Spider mite loves dry air and heat
- Botrytis-affected plants stain on leaves
- Eating the juice of plants, destroys them
- The worm causes yellowing and drying of the leaves
- Scutellum depletes the plant, leads to yellowing
If there is not enough light, the plant may not begin the flowering period or throw off existing flowers. Therefore, during the absence of the sun, special lighting devices, for example, fluorescent lamps, should be used.
Breeding
Medinilla is propagated by seeds and cuttings.
Cuttings are carried out in the spring.
- Cuttings cut 8 cm long.
- The cutting edge is treated with Kornevin and rooted in moistened sand. Cover with a film or a transparent cup to create a humid microclimate. In a hotbed it is necessary to maintain a temperature of +25 ° C.
- Regularly spray the soil, aerate the greenhouse and remove condensate.
- Rooting occurs within a month.
- When the processes appear, the film is removed.
- To form lateral shoots, one pinch is carried out. Subsequently, branching occurs without such a procedure.
- Young plants are watered, fertilized and protected from the bright sun.
- The following spring, transshipment is carried out in a pot with a new substrate.
The next whole medinilla, grown from cuttings, is transferred to gosh
When propagating by cuttings, to stimulate root formation, folk remedies can be used. The stem is kept in a solution with 3-5 drops of aloe juice, which not only accelerates the sprouting of roots, but also strengthens the immune system; or a teaspoon of honey.
Seed propagation is carried out in February-March.
- Sow the seeds in a substrate of sand and sheet soil (1: 1) to a depth of 0.5 cm and placed in a mini-greenhouse.
- Soil is regularly sprayed, aired and condensate formed is removed.
- After 3-4 weeks, shoots will appear.
- Young seedlings with 2 real leaves dive into pots.
- In early summer, transplanted into larger containers with drainage and nutrient substrate.
Seed propagation is carried out in February-March.
Medinilla: briefly about leaving the video
Reviews
I share my joy! It seems that we made friends with medinilla, although there were difficulties. After flowering in April, the leaves began to dry, yellow spots appeared on them, slightly fed with iron, the spots disappeared, and the leaves continued to dry. She decided that she would be better in the greenhouse than in the room, rearranged. The dryness disappeared, but she was clearly cramped there. In August, she still settled her on the loggia (all the more so because the temperature of 15-18 degrees in the winter only could provide her with it). Watering only when the leaves became slightly lethargic. The medinilla has new sprouts, but what was my surprise when over time it became clear that these are buds.
Academician//iplants.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=1391
Now I have a medinilla. Rather, there is again. I already had an adult medinilla, lived for four years, but could not stand two moves, like many of my flowers. And how it bloomed !!! I didn’t do flowers for two years. And then I saw a very young medilka in the store and melted. I could not resist and bought. I examined everything in the store — the sticks were green and clean. Without spots. The leaves are large, elastic. But, for two years I forgot how to care for her. I crossed it from a purchased pot to mine, I didn’t even add land - it was exactly the same size in size, maybe in vain? The bud has already faded from her, will soon fall off. It stands on the eastern loggia behind the curtain, the sun is up to 13 hours. Now I don’t water, as the store soil is still wet even from above. And in the city we now have 30 degrees of heat.
zhmary//www.floralworld.ru/forum/index.php?topic=2071.75
To say that this plant is very demanding is to say nothing. Before I realized what she needed, I lost their pieces 8. All these attempts I tried to understand what this beauty needed, and it seemed to me on the ninth instance. The plant loves a lot of light, but not direct sunlight, from this the leaves can be twisted. The sun is good in the morning or in the late afternoon. I did not transplant the plant, for about a year she sat in the pot in which it was sold. Watering must be done very carefully because if you do not add at the time of growth, either the buds will be thrown off, or the leaves will grow torn and crooked. I transplanted it after I realized that it was acclimatized - I took it out of the pot (it is easily taken out of plastic) and looked at what it had with its roots. The roots started to grow, and after that I transplanted into the soil 50% of peat land and 50% of coconut substrate and a little vermiculite. She loves very light soil. Watered as soon as the earth dries well, and in the winter generally dried it. Medinilla rots very easily !!!! If the roots rot, then 95% of the plant will die, black spots will go along the leaves and stems. It is necessary to pay special attention to this when buying, if there is even the slightest trace (black spots), it is better not to take it. That's basically it. Today I have two medals, both are growing and, in principle, now I have no problems with them at all. The main thing is extremely accurate watering, a very light substrate and that it should be light. The plant should initially be healthy, but this does not happen so often !!!
Fox//forum.homecitrus.ru/topic/727-medinilly/page-2
She (medinilla) is completely trouble-free. I don’t know why it is considered a complex plant - I haven’t noticed anything like that for many years)) When I bought it, I was afraid about 5 years ago, but it is not killed, to be honest)) It takes up a lot of space - yes, it grows fast enough, because . the leaves are large - let out a couple, and has already become a half meter more. As for the black spots on the stem, from which the medinilla of the type should die abruptly, I also can not say anything, mine, for example, has black spots, but they are quite physiological.
Eesku//forum.passiflora.ru/showthread.php?t=14970
I recently bought medinilla ... non-blooming ... there is more headache than pleasure. Well, I felt sorry for her, she died in the store, now she continues in the same vein with me. Although unpretentious plants I live with difficulty, but capricious - easily. Now I’m trying to deal with black spots on the stem — they persistently crawl down to the base, cutting and smearing with greens + foundationazole did not give a result — the stem darkens (only in the section it can be seen that it rotts inside, but the rot is dry or something, there are no wet spots) . Processing with bicillin (spraying + sprinkling of the cut) - I am waiting for the result. Although I bought it for a penny, I won’t recommend it to others, you can’t raise the humidity very much by spraying, and the medinilla is hypersensitive to it, drops leaves when moving from place to place, does not tolerate direct sunlight completely (even the mild morning sun in the east leaves white spots on the leaves- burns).
Rada//homeflowers.ru/yabbse/index.php?showtopic=11610
Medinilla as an indoor culture is quite demanding on growing conditions, but if you are not afraid of difficulties and, taking into account all the nuances of content, still decide to grow an exotic flower in the house, you can see fantastic pink unusual blossoms resembling grapes against the backdrop of decorative shiny leaves and as if to plunge into the bright world of the tropics.
