To grow gardenias, you must choose a good soil, preferably with slightly acidic soil. Don't raise it in a place with strong sunlight, especially in summer, and it cannot be exposed to the sun. Watering should wait for the soil to dry out before watering thoroughly. You can properly pour some rice-washing water to replenish water and nutrients. Pruning is also very important. It is necessary to cut off old and weak diseased branches in time to facilitate the growth of new branches.

1. Soil
Gardenias like acidic soil, with a suitable pH value of 5 to 6. Prepare suitable soil before planting. If the pH of the soil is not suitable, the subsequent maintenance will be very troublesome. The soil usually chooses leaf soil, peat soil plus half of garden soil, do not use cinder, or directly purchase gardenia special soil, which is convenient and practical.

2. Fertilizer
Gardenias don't like high-concentration fertilizers. During the growth period, apply decomposed cake fertilizer once every half a month, with a low concentration, so as not to burn the roots and affect the growth of flower buds. At the same time, attention should be paid to acidify the soil in time. Most of the water in the home is alkaline, and long-term watering will cause the soil to become alkalinized. You can properly irrigate some ferrous sulfate solution to change the pH of the soil and promote the growth of plants.

3. Watering
Gardenia likes a humid environment. During the growth period from April to September, keep the soil moist, water it thoroughly once, and then wait until the soil is almost dry before watering a second time. Spray the leaves at night to keep the humidity. If you usually have rice water at home, you can store it temporarily, and just pour it on the soil when it need to water it. Placed for a period of time is also conducive to the fermentation of the rice water, and can also supplement the nutrients needed for its growth.

4. Sunlight
The growth of gardenia requires plenty of sunlight. If it is placed in half shade for a long time, the flower branches will be thin and slender. During maintenance, except for shading in July and August and hibernation in winter, it can be placed in a sunny place at other times.

5. Proper pruning
When the main stem of the gardenia grows to 20 cm, cut off the top and leave 3 to 4 branches to promote branching. After blooming every year, lightly prune and cut off weak and diseased branches. The main purpose of pruning is to promote its healthy growth, and you can't blindly pursue beauty.

6. Winter dormancy
Although gardenias are hardy, the root system of potted gardenias will be damaged after severe winter, and recovery will be slower in spring. But placed in a heated room, the temperature is higher, the light is insufficient, the plant growth slows down, and the next year it blooms later. The best way is to put the potted gardenias at 5°C in winter to hibernate, wrap the pots with insulation materials, and put them in the sunny leeward place for overwintering.

7. Disease and pest control
The diseases and insect pests that gardenias are more likely to appear include yellowing disease, leaf spot disease and scale insects. Especially in the flowering summer, the weather is hot and humid, and fungal infections can induce diseases and insect pests. After the discovery, the drug was sprayed for disinfection in time and isolated from other plants to avoid infection.