Did you placed your Medinilla plant in the dappled shade?
Did you planted your Medinilla in a well-drained, slightly acidic soil?
Did you provide a warm environment for your Medinilla?
Are you making sure that the soil is consistently and evenly moist?
Do you feed your Medinilla frequently?
Do you repot your Medinilla when the potting mix has deteriorated?
Do you keep your Medinilla free of pests and diseases?
All Medinillas grow best in dappled shade. Direct sun will scorch the leaves or cause leaf drop. Because it grows nestled in the lower branches of large trees in the jungle, it receives dappled sunlight so you should try to provide similar conditions.
Medinillas grow well in an orchid potting mix with some peat moss mixed in; they appreciate the slightly acidic soil conditions created by peat moss. Or you can use a diluted acidifying fertilizer to adjust the soil pH.
This is a tropical plant that needs warm temperatures. The ideal growing temperature is 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures below 50 degrees may cause the plant to yellow or drop its leaves. Winter temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees stimulate the natural winter dormancy of the plant and encourage bud formation in late winter. It has a strong preference for humid conditions.
Medinilla plants need above-average moisture and they don’t like drying winds. Soil should be kept consistently moist but not soggy. Reduce watering slightly during the winter.
The Medinilla is a light feeder, and excessive nitrogen will cause the plant to produce lush foliage at the expense of the blossoms. Occasional feeding with liquid compost will give the plants all the nutrients they need and help keep the soil in the optimal mildly acidic pH range.
If you grow your Medinilla in a container, the quality of the potting mix will deteriorate over time. If you notice your Medinilla container staying moist more than a day after you watered it, it's time to repot with fresh soil.
God job! You are taking good care of your Medinilla.
Mealybugs may trouble Medinilla plants occasionally. If so, dab the insects with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Spider mites will infest Medinilla plants stressed by dry conditions, but daily misting will discourage these pests.
https://www.thespruce.com/medinilla-showy-tropical-flower-1315765
Sreten null
Hi! I’m Sreten Filipović. I graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Belgrade, with a master's degree in Environmental Protection in Agricultural Systems. I’ve worked as a researcher at Finland's Natural Resources Institute (LUKE) on a project aimed at adapting south-western Finland to drought episodes. I founded a consulting agency in the field of environment and agriculture to help farmers who want to implement the principles of sustainability on their farms. I’m also a founding member of the nonprofit organization Ecogenesis from Belgrade whose main goal is non-formal education on the environment and ecology. In my spare time, I like to write blog posts about sustainability, the environment, animal farming, horticulture, and plant protection. I’ve also published several science-fiction short stories.
You can find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreten-filipovi%C4%87-515aa5158/
