Causes of leaf blanching in gardenia and ways to solve them
When growing gardenia, flower growers often face different problems, because the plant is quite capricious and demanding. The flower reacts immediately to the slightest violation of the maintenance regime and mistakes in care. One of the most common situations is the discoloration of the plate. Thus, the bush gives us a signal for help. Why does it happen and how not to lose a delicate beauty?
The reason why gardenia has pale leaves may be one of the factors or a combination of them, namely:
- lack or excess of lighting;
- lack of nutrients;
- unsuitable water for irrigation;
- disease.
Lighting problems
Gardenia is one of those plants for which lighting plays one of the main roles in the active development, flowering and maintaining the decorative appearance of the bush. The flower needs a long day of light and good lighting, otherwise its leaves become pale. However, direct rays are no less dangerous for gardenias and cause burns on the delicate leaf plate.
In winter, it is better to put the pot on the southern windowsill, but in the summer you will need to either shade the plant or rearrange it to the east window.
Poor food
Gardenia leaves turn pale when it lacks nutrients. The flower quickly selects from the soil, limited by the space of the pot, all trace elements, especially during the period of active vegetation and flowering, and needs their timely replenishment.
With the arrival of spring (from March) until the end of summer, gardenia needs regular feeding every two weeks.
It is better to use as fertilizer complex preparations for flowering plants in liquid form: they contain all the necessary substances and are absorbed faster, while the dosage of the working solution must be taken half as much as recommended in the instructions.
Water requirements
Of no small importance is the quality of the water with which the flower is watered. It should be soft and warm regardless of the season. Rain standing water is best suited for this purpose.
Once a month, you can add a little citric acid to the water while watering (on the tip of a knife) - gardenia loves such feeding very much.
Diseases of gardenia
The most unpleasant reason for the blanching of gardenia leaves is chlorosis... It is very easy to recognize it, since in this case not the whole leaf turns yellow - the veins remain green. To help the plant, it is necessary to water it with a solution of copper sulfate or Ferovit. The leaves are sprayed with the same remedy.
To prevent the disease, iron-containing feeding should be carried out at least twice during the growing season, in March and June. You can also bury a rusty nail in the pot.