Plant of the Month: Gorgeous Medinilla for your Indoor Garden

Attempt to grow most exotic flowers in your indoor garden, and you’re likely to get a week or
two out of them before the blooms fade and the plant suffers. Grow a Medinilla, though, and
you can enjoy gorgeous pink flowers for months. This flowering plant is native to the Philippines and blooms for an incredible three to six months at a time in your indoor garden.
Medinilla first caught my eye and imagination at the April 2015 Ball Horticultural Spring Trials.

As soon as I saw it, I knew that the design possibilities are endless and the intricate beauty of
the flowers is truly spellbinding. To have the best luck growing Medinilla, keep the following tips in mind:

Place in bright light. Like most flowering plants, Medinilla needs bright in order to stay healthy
and blooming. The best location is an eastern-facing window. If you live in a dim home, provide artificial lighting. Inadequate light may lead to bud drop.

Avoid overwatering. Let the plant soil approach dryness before watering. Overly wet soil can
lead to fungal problems in the soil and result in root rot. Black foliage and mushy stems indicate that rot has set in. Water when the top one to two inches of soil has dried out. Soak well when you water, and water from the bottom up by placing the plant into a container filled with warm water that is slightly larger. The plant will soak up the water from the drainage holes. Wait until the plant is well saturated and drain. Don’t let the plant become too dry, however, as this will lead to premature flower drop.

Provide humidity. Medinilla thrive in high humidity of 60 to 80 percent. If you live in a dry
climate, place the plant on a humidity tray. For a quick lesson on how to make a humidity tray,
check out this video. Also keep a spray bottle nearby and mist the plant daily.

Watch temperatures. Medinilla do best in 63°F to 77°F. If you live in a climate that gets cold in
the winter, keep the plant away from windows, as it might get freeze damage to the foliage.
Fertilize. Feed Medinilla with an organic fertilizer designed for flowering plants every two
weeks when it is between flowering.

Prune to initiate reflowering. After Medinilla finishes flowering, remove the spent blooms. This
will cause the plant to create new leaves. When new leaves appear, place the plant in a location that is 63°F, which will cause it to bud up again. Once buds appear, place the plant back in bright light.

Availability. Medinilla is fairly new to the gardening world, so it does have limited availability.
This link shows some places where you can find the plant.

Medinilla produces stunning, exotic flowers throughout the year in the indoor garden.
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