Maintenance sheet: Medinilla Magnifica

The Medinilla Magnifica is a plant grown indoors because, originating from tropical forests, it is particularly afraid of frost. Its great asset is to offer your home a haughty port of the most decorative.

At Pousse she was collected and baptized under the sweet name of Léa .

Its drooping pink clusters form long panicles of fleshy flowers in spring.

Maintenance sheet

Insofar as in the Philippines the Medinilla grows in a humid atmosphere, at home it is better to reserve similar conditions for it: High humidity, temperatures of 18 to 25° and here it is very comfortable!

Exposure

Sunlight but indirect to prevent it from drying out, so preferably indoors.

Watering

To maintain its humidity level at the highest level, bathe its leaves and spray them with a little non-calcareous water. Repeat the operation often and favor acidic soil, which will best retain its need for water. Better put the pot on a bed of damp gravel, evaporation will be conducive to this beauty for its development.

Cultivation errors

Exposing it to the outside is not indicated, in your garden it risks sunburn which can be fatal. You can place it in a cooler room in winter, to respect its winter rest, without however exposing it to a temperature below 13°. Like any calcifuge plant, the Medinilla hates limestone, be sure to preserve it.

Diseases and pests

Medinilla's deadly enemies are spider mites and scale insects.

• If it bathes in an atmosphere that is too dry, they set up their quarters on the underside of its leaves. You will easily spot scale insects , as they deposit aggregations of waxy shields or small cottony white clumps.
• Consequences: These parasites suck the sap to feed on it, harming its development or even suffocating it outright.
• Solution: Eliminate those which stick to the foliage, by dabbing with a cotton soaked in alcohol the underside of the leaves.

For red spiders same topo! Mist the foliage often because they like when the atmosphere is very dry. As for diseases , the greatest fear of the Medinilla is rotting in the event of a substrate that is too humid.

How to repot a medinilla magnifica?

Planting in a pot: It is every year or every other year, preferably in February, that the repotting and sowing of its seeds takes place. This plant is to be handled with great delicacy because its roots are very fragile.

1. Prefer a mixture of potting soil, heather soil and leaves, with a layer of small pebbles at the bottom of the pot to ensure good drainage. As soon as they turn brown, remove the faded flowers and dried leaves. Do not panic, despite its delicacy your Medinilla will bear new flowers the following fall!

2. Do not hesitate to use a substrate during planting! Knowing that the plant is greedy in terms of fertilizer, do not forget to give it every 15 days during its growth period. Let it rest in winter, it will appreciate the attention at its fair value, just as it shows a weakness for rainwater.

3. This luxuriant plant is cut by selecting young branches of about 15 cm which have 2 to 3 nodes. To avoid too much water loss, cut the leaves and the tips that are too tender. Place your cuttings in a fresh substrate, covered with plastic to preserve its humidity. Rooting is done in 2 weeks, in the shade and at 20-25°C

Good to know

The Medinilla Magnifica is currently one of the most appreciated plants in apartments, a very bright future for this new variety called “Flamenco”. Its pink flowers easily last two months on the plant!

POUSSE, the plant architecture agency that reconnects your spaces in Lyon, Paris and Bordeaux to nature.
Contact us: bonjour@pousse.fr