The flower market in our latitudes has recently replenished with one overseas beauty - stefanotis (Marsdenia or Madagascar jasmine) - a liana that lives in Japan, China, Madagascar and the Malaysian Islands. Experienced flower growers find this culture difficult to care for, as it needs special attention and care. Let's see if this is so.

Botanical description of the plant

Stephanotis (Stephanotis) - an evergreen creeper, which belong to the family of fawn (Asclepiadaceae). In nature, there are more than ten species of stephanotis, and many of them are endangered. In home culture, the abundantly flowering species of stefanotis floribunda is used.

The described liana looks as follows:

• the main shoot of the plant reaches 5–6 m in length;
• the trunk is lined with glossy, opposite, oval-shaped leaves of a leathery structure, with short petioles and a dark green color;
• leaves have solid edges, rounded at the base, and pointed at the apex, measuring 7–9 cm in length and 4–5 cm in width;
• there are funnel-shaped fragrant flowers in the form of stars with a wax structure, 4 cm in length and 5 cm in diameter, collected in inflorescences of 5-7 pieces;
• in nature, stefanotis bloom for about 10 months, in an apartment - from the beginning of spring to October;
• the flowers are cream, white, yellowish or pale lilac (depending on the variety of stefanotis);
• the fruit, in the form of a large ellipsoid box, ripens, cracks and releases volatile seeds resembling dandelion seeds.

Did you know? The name of the flower stefanotis in Greek means “diadem of pork ears”, since the petals of its flowers really resemble pork ears gathered in a “crown”.

Views

Consider the most popular:

1. Stephatotis floribunda. The only view adapted to the conditions of the apartment. Has creamy white star flowers, 6 cm in diameter.
2. Stephatotis Akuminata. The culture blooms with creamy star-shaped flowers.
3. Stephatotis grandiflora. During the flowering period, the liana is covered with large inflorescences, in each of which there are three dozen flowers of a greenish tint.
4. Stephatotis Marginata. A plant with variegated leaves, blooms in white, smells nice.
5. Stefatotis thorsi (touarsi). It blooms with delicate purple asterisks with bright pink pharynx.
6. Stefanotis Variegata. An abundantly flowering hybrid with white flowers. A distinctive feature of the hybrid is cream-white-pinkish leaf variability (areas with different colors due to mutant cells), which are slightly smoothed at the tips.

House growing conditions

Maintaining acceptable conditions in the apartment at different times of the year will help the liana feel comfortable.

Location and Lighting

The described plant is demanding on its location, as well as on the illumination in the room.

Did you know? Inflorescences of stefanotis do not fade for a long time after cutting them from the vine, so they are often used as components of the bride’s bouquet and decoration of her wedding dress.

The principles by which Madagascar jasmine should be placed are as follows:

• the culture loves good lighting very much, but it does not tolerate direct ultraviolet radiation, so in summer it needs diffused lighting, and in winter the flower can not be shaded;
• the most acceptable location in the room for stephanotis is determined by moving the flower through the windows of the south-west and south-east direction;
• the liana needs space - a wide windowsill will suit her, provided that there is one pot with stephanotis on it;
• the culture is considered to be a plant of long daylight hours (at least 12 hours), so in cold weather it needs additional lighting, which can be arranged using fitolamps;
• It is unacceptable to overheat the soil mixture in the pot, as well as the plant itself, so they place the culture away from the heaters in the room.

Temperature and humidity

The table below shows the conditions suitable for stefanotis:

How to care at home

Caring for Marsdenia, you need to provide it with the following conditions:

• proper watering and top dressing;
• forming pruning and timely transplantation.

Important! Stefanotis can't stand on the street. Drafts are also unacceptable in caring for them, although the room where the flowerpots with the culture are located must be aired periodically.

Watering

During the period of active vegetation, the crop needs abundant watering. The soil in the pot should be moderately moist, without overdrying. Rules for watering stefanotis:

• in the summer, the liana is moistened up to two times every 7 days, draining excess fluid from the pallet;
• in autumn and winter, moderate watering is recommended (1 time per week);
• water the plant with water settled for several days (the vine does not tolerate the presence of calcareous compounds in water) at room temperature.

Fertilizer application

It is possible to fertilize the liana throughout the entire growing season (from early March to late July), but the spring season (April-May) is an obligatory time for feeding, since the plant is actively budding at this time.

Fertilizers are applied according to the following scheme:

1. From March to July, the flower is fed 1 time in 14 days (use complex fertilizers with a high presence of potassium and calcium in them).
2. Top dressing is applied 2 hours after wetting the substrate.
3. In August, the plant is stopped feeding until spring.

Important! Work on the care of Madagascar jasmine must be carried out with gloves, since the juice of the plant is extremely toxic. For this reason, the flower should be placed out of the reach of children and pets.

Pruning

Marsdenia has the ability to bloom only on young shoots, so in March, before the start of the growing season, it is formed using moderate pruning, and in the summer, pinch for longer flowering. When pruning, it is important to give direction to young shoots, tying them to supports from gratings or arches, because the lashes of an adult vine become woody and it is difficult to direct them in this state in the right direction.

Video: stefanotis trimming properly

Transfer

Transplantation is carried out according to the following rules:

1. The described liana prefers heavy soil with the following composition: 3 parts of humus or peat soil, 2 parts of river sand, 1 part of clay soil and 1 part of deciduous soil.
2. The soil for transplanting the plant should be with an acidity of 5.5–6.5 pH.
3. Vessels for transshipment choose stable, preferably clay, because stefanotis has a large crown, and he needs reliable support.
4. The transshipment pot is chosen capacious, 3 cm in diameter larger than the previous one.
5. At the bottom of the container lay a drainage layer of expanded clay (3 cm).
6. Young plants are transplanted into a larger pot once every 2-3 years.
7. The transshipment procedure is completed by irrigation using a stimulant for root formation.
8. In adult plants, the topsoil of the soil mixture is changed every year, and the supports holding lashes of vines are checked for strength.

How to propagate stefanotis

At home, the Madagascar liana can be propagated in two ways:

• cuttings;
• sowing seeds.

Video: stefanotis breeding

Cuttings

The harvesting of stephanotis cuttings is carried out in early spring as follows:

1. Future seedlings are cut from healthy, semi-woody lashes of the plant so that each has 2-3 leaves.
2. The slice is made 2 cm below the node.
3. The described culture is considered difficult to grow, therefore, for the appearance of roots in the cuttings, a root stimulant is used, which processes the lower section of each seedling.
4. The soil for planting cuttings should consist of river sand and peat (1: 1), into which cuttings are immersed half the length.
5. Each stalk is covered with a transparent cap made of plexiglass or transparent plastic.
6. Soil temperature for the normal process of root formation should not be lower than + 22 ° C and not higher than + 30 ° C (this requirement is even more important than the requirements for ambient temperature). You can apply the lower soil heating.
7. Roots usually appear after 2-3 weeks.
8. Daily ventilation of seedlings is necessary.
9. When new leaves and shoots appear in the seedlings, they are transferred to a cool and bright place.
10. When transplanting cuttings into separate containers for a constant place, their tops are pinched to form a spreading crown.
11. When the shoots reach a length of 50 cm, they trim to a third of the length for greater branching.

Seeds

When propagating Marsdenia seeds, flower growers often experience difficulties, since its seeds rarely ripen, and when sown, they do not germinate well. That is why it is preferable to propagate a crop vegetatively.

Growing difficulties

When growing an exotic flower, you can sometimes encounter some problems, for example, lack of flowering, the presence of diseases or damage to the bush by pests.

Why does not bloom

It happens that at home Madagascar jasmine does not bloom, so the owner of an exotic creeper wonders: what needs to be done in this case and how to make the capricious stefanotis bloom? First you need to find out why the described plant may not throw out color.

Among them, it is necessary to highlight:

1. Temperature differences. It is necessary to provide the plant with comfortable conditions with a temperature of + 18 ... + 25 ° С.
2. Low light. It is necessary to create a culture of conditions with diffused bright lighting, to provide enough free space, to increase the duration of daylight hours to 12 hours using artificial lighting.
3. An excess of nitrogen in the soil mixture. It is necessary to replace the soil in the pot with a substrate rich in potassium and calcium.

Diseases and Pests

Like any houseplants, the described liana can be exposed to diseases and attack of parasites.

Among the diseases common are:

1. Powdery Mildew To combat the disease, spraying with the Hom drug is used (4 ml of the drug is used per 1 liter of water).
2. Yellowing or falling of leaves. It happens due to lack of lighting or if the flower needs to be transplanted into a more spacious container.

Pests attacking stefanotis include:

1. Greenhouse aphid. The plant must be treated with Akarin biofeedback (4 ml per 1 liter of water). The drugs Fitoverm (4 ml per 1 liter of water) and Actellik (2 ml per 2 liters of water) will also be effective. Treatment with drugs is carried out 2 times (with an interval of 14 days).
2. Spider mite. To combat it, Kleschevit is used (2 ml per 1 liter of water), with a solution of which the culture is sprayed 2-3 times (with an interval of 10 days).

Is it possible to keep at home: signs and superstitions

Some people are afraid to have this exotic flower at home because of superstitions and signs that take place in different cultures. Often some of them contradict others.

Here are some of them:

• stefanotis - “plant-mujegon”, weakening male energy;
• the liana blossoming in the house strengthens the beauty and prolongs the woman's youth;
• this flower protects the marriage: if there is Marsdenia in the wedding bouquet, then the marriage will be long and happy;
• if Madagascar jasmine bloomed in the house of a young unmarried girl, then soon marriage awaits her.

Believe it or not in prejudice and belief - you decide, although this does not fade the beauty and decorativeness of the plant. Perhaps the culture is considered difficult to care for, however, having given proper attention to the stefanotis, you will long admire a beautiful exotic flower with a delicate aroma and spectacular stars of milk-cream or purple inflorescences.