How to propagate gardenia

Water plugging method

Preliminary preparation

A wide-mouthed bottle or a container with a larger opening; foam board; clean water; a well-grown gardenia.

Water plugging steps

① Cut off healthy, pest-free gardenia branches about 10 cm long, leaving only 2 to 3 leaves; if juice oozes out of the branches, it is best to put them in a cool place to dry.

② If you are using a container such as a wide-mouth bottle, then just insert the prepared branches into the container, and the leaves should be exposed outside the bottle. In addition, pay attention to the water in the bottle. It is best to change it every 1 to 2 days. Keeping the water clean can increase the survival rate.

③Put it in a place with good warm light, good ventilation and no direct sunlight. The innermost part of the balcony is a good place.

④ After one to two months, we can see that it has grown two or three long white roots. At this time, take out the branches, bury them in the flowerpot, and water and fertilize them according to the normal method of growing gardenias.

⑤ If you are doing water insertion in a water tank, pond, etc., you should first make small holes in the prepared foam board according to a certain row spacing and plant spacing, and then insert the prepared branches into the small holes one by one.

At the same time, the water quality must be kept clean. When the roots grow to 3cm, they can be transplanted into the flowerpot.

Tips for water plugging

When water plugging, you can plug more branches to prevent the branches from dying. The chance of success will be higher.

In addition, the water insertion method is best done in spring when it is not cold.

Layering

Preliminary preparation

A pot of a well-growing 3-year-old mother gardenia plant; a prepared pot for transplanting and fertile, loose, well-drained acidic soil.

Layering steps

① Select strong branches, preferably 25 to 30 cm long for layering. If the selected branches have three-pronged branches, layering can be performed at the fork. After reproduction, three seedlings can be obtained at one time.

② Bend the lower column of the selected branch of the mother plant downward, then bury it in the soil with the branch tips exposed, and fix it with a bamboo pole to make it grow upright. It will generally take root after 20 to 30 days and can be separated from the mother plant in June. You can wait until the spring of the following year to divide it, or you can directly plant it in a pot alone.

Seed propagation

Preliminary preparation

①Seed selection: Choose plump, deep red mature fruits, and sun-dry them with the shells as seeds. Before sowing, cut the seed peel with scissors, dig out the seeds, rub them in hot water, remove floating seeds or impurities, then pick out the sunken full seeds, spread them on a bamboo mat, place them in a ventilated place to dry out excess moisture, and then sow them.

② Site selection: Choose sandy loam with deep, loose and fertile soil, and make the soil level.

Sowing steps

① It is usually carried out in spring, which is suitable for plant growth and germination. Alternatively, sow around the autumnal equinox in the fall.

②Mix the prepared seeds with fire ash, then evenly sow them on the soil, then cover them with fine soil or fire soil, and finally cover them with grass and water them. During the growth period of the seeds, the soil should always be kept moist to facilitate germination.

③ Gardenia seedlings will emerge about 20 days after sowing. Remove the covering grass after emergence and thin out the seedlings when they grow 2 to 3 true leaves, keeping no weeds growing in the container.

④Apply appropriate top dressing: for autumn sowing, apply 2 to 3 times in the first year, and once each in spring, summer and autumn of the second year; for spring sowing, apply once each in spring, summer, autumn and winter. For autumn sowing and cultivation, the seedlings can be transplanted when they are over 30cm tall in late autumn and early winter of the second year. For spring sowing, the seedlings can be transplanted when they are 30cm tall in the spring of the second year.

Cutting propagation

Cutting time selection

Cuttings can be taken in the greenhouse from October to November in the north and from April to the beginning of autumn in the south, but the survival rate is highest between summer and autumn.

Cutting steps

① Choose healthy 2-year-old branches for cuttings, 10-12 cm in length, cut off the lower leaves, and cut the lower end into a 45-degree slope.

② Tie 20 to 30 pieces into small bundles, immerse the oblique cut ends in 0.05% rooting powder solution or 0.05% naphthaleneacetic acid solution for 15 seconds, take out and dry the solution.

③Insert the prepared branches into the sand, with a row spacing of 20 to 25 cm and a plant spacing of 7 to 8 cm. Insert the inclined surface of the cuttings into 2/3 of the soil, compact and water, and build a low shade shed for shade.

④ Under conditions of 80% relative humidity and temperature of 20-24℃, it will take about 15 days for roots to take shape. After the seedlings have taken root, you can transplant them into pots!

Propagation by division

Preparatory work for division

Many tillers often grow around the roots of gardenia, so what we need is a pot of strong gardenia that has already grown tillers.

Steps for division

① In early spring or late autumn and early winter every year, select healthy plants.

② Dig up the topsoil around it, carefully observe the tillering seedlings, check their direction, and according to the natural extension interval of the roots, use your hands or a sharp knife to separate the tillering seedlings from the mother roots through the gaps, and separate them out as seedlings for planting.