If you like potted herbs that bloom all year round, then be sure to try the Sultan Hydrangea, also known as the African Hydrangea, which has a large number of single-petal and heavy-petaled varieties with different flower forms, of which the heavy-petaled varieties are the most popular, with petals like small roses.
Above the left is a single-petaled Sudanese hydrangea and on the right is a heavy-petaled one
1. Conditions for flowering
Sudanese hydrangeas are native to eastern Africa, they originally grew in the shade of forest areas, the demand for light is not particularly sufficient, in the excessively hot summer needs proper shade, other seasons as long as the weather is cool, you can try to give plenty of sunlight.
Sudan hydrangea flower is particularly long, as long as the environment is warm, it can continue to flower, especially in the spring, summer and autumn, as long as the temperature is maintained at 18 to 28 degrees, it can bloom continuously.
2. Purchase suggestions
Sudan hydrangea is also more suitable for cool weather and then buy, especially online shopping, if it is too hot summer purchase, the state will be relatively poor when it arrives, it is not very resistant to transportation, in the process of transportation, branches and leaves are easy to break, it is a particularly fragile herb.
3. Water in time
Usually we should also pay attention to timely replenishment of water when we maintain the potted Sudanese Phoenix, can not let the soil often lack of water, if you find that its branches and leaves are hanging low, the whole plant is lost, that may be too long without watering, or watering is not watered thoroughly. In addition, if the soil is constantly wet and watery, it will also cause the plant to wilt.
Watering the potted Sudanese phoenix must be ensured to be completely watered, not just a little. If the soil is particularly dry, even the soil is cracked, or the pot soil has a gap, the soil is lumpy, it must support the leaching pot, let the pot soil completely absorb the water, and then pick it up and drain the water.
4. Illumination
As long as the weather is not particularly hot, especially the temperature is below 33 degrees, you can try to give enough sunlight, the more light the better, it is a flowering plant after all, although it is more shade-tolerant, there are three hours of sunlight every day can also flower, but if there is more than 6 to 8 hours of soft light every day, it will have better flowering performance.
When the temperature is high and the sun is relatively strong, pay attention to proper shading at noon and afternoon. In autumn and winter, when the weather is relatively cool, the light is not particularly strong, and more sun exposure can also promote its flower bud differentiation.
5. Fertilize
If you want to make the Sudanese flowers bloom non-stop, you must fertilize frequently, it is a flowering plant, the demand for water and light is very large, and you must also apply fertilizer frequently to ensure a larger amount of flowering.
In particular, when the Sudanese hydrangea first began to conceive flower buds, it is basically supplemented with flower-promoting fertilizer every 7 days or so, including the common potassium dihydrogen phosphate and huaduoduo No. 2, and other flower-promoting fertilizers can also be used.
6. Soil
The soil planted in Sudan Fengxian should be as loose and breathable as possible, the drainage should be good, do not use too viscous soil cultivation, especially on the window sill or balcony planting, you can choose the common peat soil, perlite, coconut bran and coarse coconut shell, appropriately mix some slow-release fertilizer in the soil to increase fertility.
The bottom of the pot where the Sudanese phoenix is planted should have more or larger drainage holes to avoid water rotting roots, and if its root system has grown all over the bottom of the pot, pay attention to bringing soil to change the pot in time.
7. Temperature
Sudan Fengxian is more afraid of the cold, the minimum maintenance temperature must be maintained above 5 degrees, the temperature is below 10 degrees to start controlling water, and when the temperature is low, avoid rain.
If it is in an environment with poor indoor ventilation, lack of light and dry air, the conservation of Sudanese phoenixes should pay attention to avoid breeding germs and insect pests, especially the common red spiders.
Tip: Some flower lovers can't distinguish between African hydrangeas and periwinkles, others just look at their flower buds, and there are shorter pistils sticking out at the heart of African hydrangeas. The flower buds of periwinkles are inverted. The leaves of the African hydrangea and the periwinkle are also very different.
Above is the Sudanese phoenix (African phoenix) below and below is the periwinkle