Magnolia flowers (90 photos) - planting and care in the garden + step-by-step instructions for beginners
Magnolia is called a real aristocrat among other plants. It was established that the first such plants grew back in that era when dinosaurs inhabited the earth, which cannot but surprise! After all, magnolia has not undergone practically no changes in its appearance; it is enough to compare the photos of magnolia taken at different times.
Such a beautiful and fragrant flower that pleases with its stunning colors. She so wants to grow at home! The most interesting thing is that this plant belongs to indoor plants, although it is practically not grown at home.
Plant description
It is considered a full-grown shrub, but with free growth it looks more like a tree and reaches a large size (there are species up to 30 meters high!). It has rather specific-looking leaves of dark green color having a conical shape and it seems that they are covered with wax.
Magnolia, which gardeners loved so much because of its flowers, which have a sweet and strong aroma - when opened, the flowers reach a size of about 15 centimeters! An amazing sight that sets Magnolia and its flowers apart from other flowering plants.
In total, there are about 110 different species of this plant. It is more common in countries with a warm and humid climate, although it can easily tolerate drought, which makes it extremely resistant to changes in natural rainfall. Therefore, it becomes clear how magnolia was able to survive to this day and practically does not change.
Now growing magnolia at home has become so commonplace that quite often it is possible to meet this plant.
Features of caring for magnolia in the house
Usually at home this plant is not kept for a long time - as soon as it becomes disproportionate to the room, it is transplanted and transferred to another place where the space is much larger. It can be a greenhouse or a garden, but if you still plan to grow magnolia indoors, you need a large area.
Germination in itself is more favorable in the northern climate, since the plant is quite stable and behaves well at low temperatures.
No need to specially wrap it up or make the air in the room warmer - the plant will not freeze. But it is necessary to avoid drafts, otherwise the pet will wither.
The most important thing is to provide the plant roots with a lot of space by planting it in a large pot. The root system does not accept tightness, it definitely needs space. Magnolia is quite unpretentious and does not require much attention to itself.
What should be the lighting?
Due to its unpretentiousness, magnolia easily tolerates partial shade and too dry air. But for good growth and flowering, the plant just needs bright lighting. If the pot is located in the room - it must be put at the window.
Even in the garden, magnolia is planted away from large plants so that it receives the maximum amount of light.
Transplant Features
The root system reacts extremely negatively to all damage and therefore it is worth being especially careful (use the transshipment method). You do not need to shake the plant strongly to brush off the remnants of the earth - it is important to gently and calmly stretch the lumps with your hands.
Earth needs a lot of magnolia, so you should choose the largest pots.The root system is well developed, which allows the plant to be resistant to natural droughts, as the roots provide the necessary substances from the soil.
Watering
In summer, you need a plentiful amount of water. You should pay attention to the water itself - it should be soft, without an admixture of lime. You can use a regular filter for drinking water.
At the same time, the earth is often compacted and it is important that it is loose, since the entry of air into the root system, especially in the summer period, will provide magnolias with abundant growth and flowering.
When the air temperature begins to drop, irrigation is gradually reduced and minimized - this is provided that the plant is in the garden. If it germinates at home, there is no need to reduce watering. Along with the features of irrigation, it is important to feed magnolia. During the growing season, this is of particular importance. It is enough to feed him twice a month and protect him from drafts in the winter months.
Propagation at home
The plant propagates in two ways: by seed (sexual reproduction) and using cuttings, vaccinations and branches (vegetative or asexual reproduction). Inhabited in the natural environment, reproduction occurs mainly with the help of seeds. Thus, several small plants grow around one large plant, forming a whole family.
It is this reproduction that allows you to expand genetic diversity and get more resistant species to a specific habitat, because each such new plant acquires greater resistance and ability to survive.
In turn, vegetative propagation only duplicates the main plant from which the shoot was taken. Most often, gardeners prefer vegetative propagation, but the method of cultivating magnolias using seeds is also not bypassed.
How to properly seed propagation
First you need to extract the seeds from the fruit. They are cut and pulled out seeds. After that, the seeds are soaked in plain water for three days and left at room temperature. The soaked seeds are then rubbed through a sieve to remove the top shell, which protects the seeds from rotting and drying out.
A soapy layer remains on the seeds, which must be removed by washing them in water with a soapy solution. Now you can take care of storage. You can not leave the magnolia seeds in a dry form, so they can no longer sprout, and you will have to repeat the procedure with new material.
Seeds can be stored for a long time, if they provide the necessary nutrient medium and moisture. To do this, you can simply put them in a closed, sealed glass jar in the refrigerator. At the same time, it is absolutely necessary to sanitize the seeds in advance with a solution of a special antiseptic to prevent the appearance of the fungus.
There is also another way to store the seeds - just find the sphagnum moss (in the proportion of 4 parts of moss and 1 part of seeds), rinse it and place the wet substrate in a plastic bag or jar and refrigerate on the middle shelf. Thus, the seeds will survive without problems until the planting of magnolia in the ground.
If the gardener does not want to do such things, then it is necessary to foresee the time for cleaning the seeds and begin to do this immediately before the start of the sowing season (mainly autumn time).
If seed storage begins to grow during storage, the jar with the substrate should be placed on another shelf of the refrigerator, where the temperature is lower. If fungal diseases appear, you should open a jar and treat the seeds with a disinfectant.
Sowing is important to produce in a deep hole, up to 10 centimeters, sprinkling with earth no more than 4 centimeters. It is also important to mulch, the thickness of which should be at least 10 centimeters.
Observations showed that without mulching, seed growth does not exceed 4%, and if the procedure was nevertheless performed, the chances of successful germination of seeds increase to 40%.
Vegetative propagation
The factor by which gardeners give preference to this particular method of magnolia propagation is earlier flowering of plants than if it were seed propagation. Each region has its own varieties of magnolias, which more favorably tolerate environmental influences.
Such reproduction allows you to save and propagate a specific plant, which, for example, has acquired any properties characteristic of a particular region or soil.
The best method of vegetative propagation is achieved by removing the bark ring from the stem (about 2.5-3 centimeters). At the same time, they try not to damage the wood as much as possible. Further, it is treated with special active substances in order to accelerate the process of root formation.
Then this part of the shoot is wrapped with wet material and covered with polyethylene to prevent this area from drying out. After 2-3 months, sufficient roots are formed so that the plant can be transplanted into a pot for further independent growth.
Photo of magnolia flowers
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Join the discussion:
What beautiful magnolias they are in the garden. And what kind of aroma from them ... Next year I’ll definitely plant in my country house. Thanks for the tips on caring for this flower.