Table of contents:
- Phalaenopsis - species and varieties
- Phalaenopsis care
- Phalaenopsis substrate
- Phalaenopsis orchid transplant
- Phalaenopsis bloom
- Reproduction of phalaenopsis
- Phalaenopsis diseases
- Phalaenopsis pests
- Phalaenopsis - species and varieties
- Phalaenopsis care
- Temperature and fresh air
- How to water phalaenopsis
- Top dressing
- Air humidity
- Phalaenopsis substrate
- Phalaenopsis orchid transplant
- Phalaenopsis bloom
Orchid family. The homeland of Phalaenopsis is South and Southeast Asia, the islands of the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines, New Guinea and Northeastern Australia.
In nature, these orchids grow in the tropics, in conditions of constantly high daytime temperatures, humidity and short dry seasons. Phalaenopsis are monopodial epiphytic plants with a shortened stem and a rosette of 3-5 large wide, fleshy leaves in two rows. Some species have a beautiful marble pattern on the leaves.
Phalaenopsis peduncles are long, branching, with a large number of rather large, showy flowers. The inflorescence is an axillary raceme, it can be branched, large, multi-flowered, or simple, short, few-flowered. Phalaenopsis flowers are quite large, on average 8-12 cm in diameter. Currently, hundreds of interspecific and intergeneric phalaenopsis hybrids have been bred. They are wonderful both as houseplants and in cut, especially irreplaceable in the bride's bouquet.
Phalaenopsis - species and varieties
In total, 77 species are described in the official list of phalaenopsis, 7 of them are not officially approved, they can also refer to clones of already existing species. The most famous types of phalaenopsis:
|Phalaenopsis pleasant Phalaenopsis amabilis||Leaves are green, up to 25 cm long, shoots up to 80 cm, with 10-20 flowers. Flowers 10 cm in diameter, white, fragrant. It forms the largest flowers of all species and is widely used in hybridization.|
|Phalaenopsis lueddemanniana||Leaves are yellow-green up to 25 cm long, peduncle with 2-7 flowers. Flowers 5 cm in diameter, chestnut-purple with violet.|
|Phalaenopsis schilleriana||Leaves are green with a gray-green pattern, 20-25 cm long, peduncles up to 90 cm, multi-flowered. Flowers 5-6 cm in diameter, light pink.|
|Phalaenopsis stuartiana||Leaves are green with a gray-green pattern, peduncles 60-80 cm long, multi-flowered. Flowers 5 cm in diameter, white.|
|Phalaenopsis wasp Phalaenopsis equestris||The leaves are green, up to 15 cm long, peduncles up to 30 cm, with 10-15 flowers. Flowers 2.5 cm in diameter, light pink with a purple tint.|
|Phalaenopsis deer-horned Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi||Leaves are light green, 15-25 cm long, peduncles up to 20 cm, with several flowers, flattened with protruding bracts. Flowers 2-3 cm in diameter, yellow-brown.|
Read more: Phalaenopsis - species and varieties.
Caring for the phalaenopsis orchid is the ability to create the necessary balance of temperature, humidity and substrate. At first glance, it seems simple, but in reality it turns out that orchids are very short-lived. This is because the microclimate in our house is constantly changing, it largely depends on the weather outside, not everyone is able to adapt. For plants, like a mini-ecosystem in a pot, changes even by 2-3 degrees or 3-5% of air humidity matter in the frequency of watering and airing.
Temperature and fresh air
Phalaenopsis are thermophilic, which means that in winter they do not need a cool room, and in summer they should not be left on an open balcony if it is cold at night. Comfortable temperatures for these orchids during the day are 23-28 ° С during the day, up to a maximum of 33 ° С, at night it is desirable that the temperature drops by 5-8 ° С, i.e. 18-20 ° С, at least 14 ° С. The minimum and maximum temperatures are for a short time, that is, the flower can be 4-5 days in such conditions, but at the same time during the heat it is necessary to increase the humidity of the air, and when the thermometer drops to the lower limit of the permissible, the roots of the orchid should be completely dry and no spraying!
For orchids, a regular supply of fresh air is very important, that is, it is imperative to establish a ventilation mode so that at air temperatures below 20 ° C, air flows are not directed to the plant. Phalaenopsis can safely tolerate a small draft, but only if the air is not cold. That is, air conditioning is an enemy, not a friend! With increased humidity of the soil and air, the phalaenopsis orchids simply need airflow - like a light breeze, in which there is no visible leaf swing. In a poorly ventilated room, pathogenic fungi and bacteria that cause phalaenopsis diseases develop very quickly. Fans solve the problem only partially, if there is no fresh air supply, then we simply drive the air and microorganisms suspended in it around the room.
Therefore, the recipe is simple: pots with phalaenopsis must be placed so as to ensure mobility - when ventilating, it is easy to rearrange from the window sill to a cabinet or shelf if the air temperature is below 20 ° C. Remember that hypothermia is especially dangerous in wet soil.
Phalaenopsis is photophilous, in natural conditions it grows so that the sun's rays fall on it, but delicately, through "windows" between the leaves of trees. Burns do not occur even in heat and sunny days, because these windows are constantly moving after the sun. This means that at home, the east and light north-west windows are ideal for phalaenopsis - if they are not shaded from the street by houses and trees. South, west, south-west direction of the windows - you need shading in the hottest hours of the day from 11-30 to 16 hours approximately (in hotter times and in southern regions until 17 hours), ideally - blinds or a double layer of mosquito net. Northern windows for phalaenopsis, like windows of a different orientation, shaded from the street by trees or houses (especially the first floor) are not the most suitable place without artificial supplementary lighting,if you want the orchid to grow and bloom.
For active growth and development, the Phalaenopsis orchid needs good lighting. Duration of daylight hours is at least 10 hours. If there are no such conditions, then the phalaenopsis will not increase the mass of leaves, which means it will not bloom. And if you put the purchased flowering Phalaenopsis orchid on the windowsill, it will bloom, perhaps, give growth, but the new leaves will be smaller than the previous ones, the lower leaves will gradually turn yellow and die off "with old age." But these are all general concepts, the real sign of suitable lighting is the size of the sheet - the new sheet should be the same size as the old ones.
Sometimes the conditions at home are such that the lighting is uneven - sometimes better, sometimes worse, phalaenopsis grows in fits and starts, as long as there is enough light, builds up one small leaf, but then again slows down, stops growing for a long time. Blooms periodically, but with smaller flowers, or unexpectedly picking up the buds dries them out. In such situations, phalaenopsis live for 3-4 years, gradually, as it were, decrease in size, in the end they simply wither. Meanwhile, under good conditions, phalaenopsis can live at home for many years. If your windows are not bright enough, you just need to arrange additional lighting with lamps.
If the windows are not sunny, or are covered with curtains, one such lamp is not enough - the orchid will finish flowering, new growth will be frail. You need one 20 W hatch on both sides of the bush, a distance of 10-15 cm.
Here, additional lighting is only on one side - the peduncles themselves reach for the light, but this is not enough to increase the leaf mass, especially in winter.
By the way, phalaenopsis grow beautifully all year round under artificial lighting - use fluorescent or LED lamps (4000 K white light). You can purchase special phytolamps, but this is not necessary at all.
How to water phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis should be watered by immersion. This is the only acceptable method for the reason that between waterings, the substrate (if any) must dry completely and remain dry for several days. If you water such a substrate from a watering can, the water along the dried bark and roots will simply drain into the pan, the roots will not have time to drink. Therefore, you need to pick up a wide jug so that the pot with the plant fits into it freely up to the very top. We fill it with water at a temperature not lower than the ambient air, it is better to slightly warm it up to 35-37 ° C, and leave it for 10 minutes. 10 minutes is more than enough for the velamen to absorb the water. If the phalaenopsis has not been watered for a very long time, say two weeks, then you can leave it for 15 minutes, but not longer. Also, make sure that the bases of the lower leaves do not float in the water. That is, you only need to wet the roots in the pot and the bark,and the roots at the base of the leaves, the axils of the lower leaves must remain dry. If you do get water, be sure to dry it - fold a piece of toilet paper in a corner and blot all the sinuses.
The correct watering of Phalaenopsis entirely depends on the correct choice of pot and substrate. In nature, the roots of orchids are not limited by the walls of the pot, are not covered with a layer of earth and plastic, all the rainwater from the roots and leaves flows down without delay. Therefore, the pot should have many drain holes in the bottom (or a mesh instead of the bottom), preferably several large holes in the walls. Substrate - from large fractions of bark (pieces about 2-4 cm in size) and plenty of free space. This is necessary so that the roots of the orchids dry out very quickly. Ideally, the roots should dry out within 24-36 hours after watering. The bark itself may take longer to dry, but since large pieces of bark do not stick to the roots, this is not a threat.
If the roots of a flower remain moist for longer than 1-2 days, and they remain when the pot is filled with finely chopped bark with an admixture of moss, then decay is inevitable, and then disease and death of the plant. Healthy roots are light gray with a green tip.
Guideline for proper watering:
- dry healthy roots are light gray, brown, rather silvery
- after getting wet they become gray-green
- after 24-36 hours they should turn gray again
Watering phalaenopsis is necessary depending on the temperature - the higher the temperature, the more moisture evaporates from the leaves, i.e. when hot - more often, when colder - less often. On average, at temperatures above 22-24 ° C, about once a week. When very dry hot days in summer (in the daytime up to 30 ° C and above) - once every 3-4 days, if the temperature is below 22 ° C, about once every 7-9 days. All this provided that the orchid dries up in a day! If it dries longer, do not water until everything is 100% dry, no "half" - the roots should be completely dry for the next watering.
Watering frequency is one of the flowering controls in phalaenopsis.
It is not necessary to immerse the whole phalaenopsis in water, the water should not touch the base of the leaves.
Soaking in water for 30 minutes or more leads to the formation of mold and rot.
It is completely unacceptable that the phalaenopsis roots, together with the bark, dry in a pot for 5-7 days, so the frequency of watering (the rate of drying of the soil) depends on the weather - the ambient temperature and humidity. As soon as the humidity rises when the weather changes (it is raining, cloudy, especially when the heating has already been turned off or not yet turned on), carefully monitor the state of the bark. If you notice that three days have passed, it is still damp, and the roots are still green, and not light, do not expect rot - put the pot on its side and shake out some of the bark. While it is not necessary to shake out the entire contents of the pot, even halving it will speed up drying, and everything may be fine.
What water to water
Water for irrigation of phalaenopsis needs extremely soft, if your area has hard water, then special filters are needed to eliminate excess salts. Conventional filters purify water from mechanical impurities, excess chlorine, heavy metals and that's all. In nature, orchids are drunk with rainwater with nutrients dissolved in it from the bark of the trees on which they grow. In our tap water, there is nothing harmful to orchids: chlorine, fluorine, iron.
By the way, it is generally very difficult to get rid of excess fluorine, here you need reverse osmosis filters. The need for them arises when it is reliably known that the fluoride content in the water in your area is exceeded. These indicators differ greatly not only by regions and districts, but also within the same city. Meanwhile, fluorine in water for irrigation is toxic to phalaenopsis, inhibits growth, and causes the development of leaf necrosis. An increased content of fluorine in water is observed in industrial areas, especially where aluminum production, fertilizer plants, etc. And the norms of fluorine in water should not exceed 0.05 mg / l.
Thus, orchids should be watered with at least filtered and boiled water, if a very good filter is filtered, but not tap. There is an option to water with distilled water, if at the same time the orchid grows exclusively in the bark (without foam, cork), then while the bark is fresh, you can do without feeding, but gradually the nutrients from the bark are washed out (in three months), and fertilizers will have to be added to the distilled water with each watering, but its dosage should be reduced by about 3-4 times from the recommended one.
Better yet, visit an aquarist store and purchase aquarium water treatment products. Specialists breeding tropical fish have long been using a wide range of drugs that can measure the pH of water and change it in one direction or another: pH + and pH-. There are tools that make tap water suitable for the life of fish, and in our case orchids, almost immediately.
The crucial moment is feeding phalaenopsis, here the difference from other indoor plants is that feeding does not depend on the season, but depends on the physiological state of the plant.
Schultz orchids NPK 19% -31% -17%, 1/2 teaspoon per 3 liters of water.
Dilute Bona Forte NPK for orchids in a ratio of 4: 2.5: 6 with 5 ml in 1.5 liters of water.
Let's immediately outline the moments when you can feed phalaenopsis and when you can't:
|can be fed||cannot be fed|
|plants in the leaf growth phase||plants showing no signs of growth|
|orchids that do not have rot and other diseases||orchids with root decay, fungal and bacterial infections|
|a peduncle begins to grow, buds form||from the moment the buds open until the end of flowering|
|weekly orchids grown without a substrate or entirely on an inert substrate (cork, styrofoam, etc.)||orchids planted in fresh bark, first month after transplant|
|when irrigating with distilled water||when watering with aquarium water, the appearance of salt deposits on the walls of the pot and bark|
If you bought a blooming Phalaenopsis orchid, do not rush to feed it, even forbid yourself to do this - only watering, just water. By starting to feed, you can stimulate the plant to grow - it will dry out the flowers and continue to grow leaves.
It is believed that phalaenopsis require high humidity of about 60-80%, this is partly true - comfortable humidity for them is just 60%. But even at 50% they feel good without spraying. When spraying is needed - when the air humidity drops below 40%. Above - it is completely unnecessary, even superfluous, and can even be harmful if water droplets fall into the leaf axils or spraying prevents the soil from drying out quickly after watering. But humidity above 60% can be risky, as already mentioned, due to the duration of drying of the substrate and due to the likelihood of the development of pathogenic microorganisms. Phalaenopsis are very susceptible to rot and bacteriosis, therefore, with a humidity above 60%, very good ventilation is needed! Do not forget that in natural conditions, the average humidity is 70-75%, but round-the-clock ventilation is wind.
Therefore, if the air is very dry, for example, in winter in severe frosts, hair from a comb takes off, sparks curtains, humidity is about 20% - Phalaenopsis orchids can be sprayed from a small spray bottle, but it is better to put a humidifier next to it, or cover the batteries with wet sheets as soon as they dry, wet again.
There are three options for growing phalaenopsis:
- in bark substrate
- in a mixture of bark and inert components (wine cork, pieces of foam, shells)
- in a substrateless version (on a block, in an empty basket)
Important: the fraction of the bark and other components of such a size that there is a lot of empty space inside the pot, large air pockets. So that after watering the roots dry out quickly enough for 1-1.5 days. The bark itself may take longer to dry, especially for large pieces, but it should not envelop the roots in a continuous, moist rotten layer. Those. pieces of 0.5-1 cm are too small. It is desirable to have pieces of bark of about 3 cm.And inert additives that do not absorb water can be much larger - 4-5 cm.
You can buy ready-made bark (sterilized by cooking, then dried).
You can prepare your bark, select only large pieces of 3-4 cm, throw out the dust.
Important: do not use store-bought orchid primer! Most of such soils have, like the soil from "Aurica's Gardens", the following composition: peat, sphagnum, bark, pine needles, charcoal, double superphosphate, potassium sulfate, micronutrient fertilizers - all fractions are very small, some are just dust, and the moss is too moisture-consuming for phalaenopsis … This manufacturer has another option specifically for phalaenopsis: pine bark, sphagnum, coconut chips, charcoal, coconut fiber - the same powder dust and pieces of moss in it. The third version from "Garden of Miracles" is even worse: long-fiber screening of a large fraction of high-moor peat, limestone flour, minerals - no comment!
It is much easier: buy only bark, or cook it yourself - prepare it in the forest, cut it into pieces and boil it in a basin, changing the water several times to get rid of tar and pests.
There are ideas for using the shells of nuts and husks from seeds as an inert additive, but iplants.ru does not recommend: firstly, the fine fraction - few voids; secondly, the shape of the shell is concave, and in places water will remain in them, because of such "pools" the bark and roots will dry longer. Styrofoam or pieces of cork are a proven material, but take pieces of foam only from old packages that have lain for about six months or more. This is very important as fresh foam will release volatile toxic compounds. And, despite the fact that phalaenopsis is an excellent phyto-filter plant, i.e. assimilates and decomposes harmful substances from the air (benzene, toluene and formaldehyde), such a load is not beneficial for the plant.
Phalaenopsis orchid transplant
About phalaenopsis you need to know that it does not tolerate transplantation and any root injuries. Therefore, it is not transplanted annually, but as needed, in the following cases:
- if the plant was heavily flooded and there are rotten roots
- the soil deteriorated, rotted, limp, badly crumbled and turned into dust
- smells bad from the pot
- shell mites crawl out of the pot
- root pests appeared
- the pot has become so small and small that the roots have made a nest and push the plant out of the pot
- the pot is unstable, constantly falls
Errors: you need to fix the plant not with a sharp wire, but with a soft one in a sheath, and put a piece of foam plastic, cork, coconut fiber under the "ass" of the phalaenopsis, but not bark!
If the roots come out of the pot to the sides, this is not a reason to transplant the orchid, the main thing is that the pot remains stable and the orchid does not shake in it!
The roots of phalaenopsis have a particularly tender place - the very tip of the root, the one that is green. At a growing root, it is not protected by velamen, the slightest scratch, and an infection gets through the wound, or the root immediately stops growing (pupates), the plant spends energy on growing new roots. Therefore, any manipulations on transplantation and rearrangement should be carried out extremely carefully. Break open the pot if necessary (the plastic can be cut at the sides with a sharp knife). If you are replanting from an earthen pot, you will have to water it in order for the roots to stick away from its walls. If there is no sticking, it is better to transplant phalaenopsis with dry roots and after transplanting, do not water for 2-3 days. When planting, do not deepen the base of the lower leaves.
For pot stability:
- If it seems to you that the plant sits unstable, fix a support inside it, to which you attach the orchid (with nylon ropes).
- If it seems to you that the pot is light and can fall, when transplanting, put 2-3 ordinary stones on the bottom so that they do not clog the drainage holes.
What to plant phalaenopsis in
- in a plastic or clay pot that has multiple drainage holes
- in a wooden or plastic wicker basket
- into a wide flowerpot without holes and without soil, secure with wire
- attach to block
Ties, scissors, sink mesh. The filler is not bark, but coconut fiber. To remove an orchid from such a basket, you just need to cut it.
In such a basket, during watering, it is important that the protruding roots are not injured on the walls of the jug - to bathe only in spacious dishes.
If you choose a pot for phalaenopsis, then the holes should be slightly smaller than pieces of bark or cork. A wicker basket is good, but sometimes roots grow through it, and if there is a need, say, for treatment from pests or rot, it will be difficult to extract it, it is a pity to cut a beautiful basket. But if you immerse it in a fungicide or insecticide solution together with it, it will be saturated with the solution, and then it will evaporate the remains of the chemistry for a long time.
Sometimes they use a variant of a basket lined with cellophane from the inside, but we need the roots of the orchid to breathe! And what is the breath in the bag? In such a basket, lined with foil, it is advisable to keep the orchid without a substrate, or instead of the bark, use a small piece of coconut fiber - a good material for orchids (it allows the roots to breathe, does not hurt), does not rot! But it is inert (does not provide any nourishment) and does not fix.
How to grow phalaenopsis without a substrate
It's very simple - no roots, cork, foam or anything else. All you need is a soft flexible material to secure the orchid, for example, nylon thread. We take nylon tights and cut them into strips - an excellent material for attaching orchids. Inside the pot or flowerpot in the center, you need to install a vertical support (screw it onto a self-tapping screw, glue it), you can wrap it with coconut fiber and attach an orchid to it. This is only necessary so that the phalaenopsis does not fall out of the pot during transfer, watering and does not get injured.
From the store: mite, moss, rot. Soak, cure the tick, dry.
Fastening with a nylon stocking, fix a piece of polystyrene in the neck of a glass jar.
When growing phalaenopsis without a substrate, nutrients need to be added to the water with every watering. You can dilute the fertilizer by carefully reading the instructions - all manufacturers have different doses, you need to take 3-4 times less. But the fertilizer must necessarily be complex and, in addition to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, contain all the necessary trace elements. If there is no such fertilizer, then prepare an irrigation solution by insisting on pine bark. We take pine bark and fill it with hot water (about 45 ° C), after 20 minutes we pour it into a jug through a sieve, it will just cool down to the desired temperature. The option of growing an orchid without a substrate is very convenient - you can easily control the frequency of watering, the roots dry out quickly and efficiently!
Phalaenopsis orchid can bloom for a very long time - about three months (sometimes longer) at any time of the year with proper care and if the conditions for flowering are favorable for the growth of dormant flower buds. And what are these conditions? You may be surprised, but this question cannot be answered unequivocally. Here's why: all the phalaenopsis that we buy in the store are hybrids obtained as a result of selection, crossing between species, and their genetic set can be very different. Meanwhile, the original species that are used to breed domestic phalaenopsis grow in different conditions. Yes, they are all epiphytes, all grow on trees (or lithophytes - in crevices of rocks), but all at different altitudes above sea level, have a different degree of seasonal expression: fluctuations in temperature and precipitation.
Let us compare two species widely used in breeding according to the conditions of their habitat in nature. Phalaenopsis pleasant Phalaenopsis amabilis (climate in the South of Java) and Phalaenopsis wasp Phalaenopsis equestris (climate of Manila, Philippines). For us, everything is somehow the same - both grow somewhere in the south, where it is warm, on the ocean shore, but take a closer look:
The difference is significant, and it inevitably affects the requirements of hybrids for flowering and growth conditions. Phalaenopsis hybrids are pleasantly more cold-tolerant, they need serious temperature fluctuations, a change in dry and wet periods is more pronounced than in Phalaenopsis rider hybrids. The colder the nights, the less precipitation during this period, respectively, at home - less often watering.
To stimulate flowering, we need to simulate seasonality by increasing the intervals between waterings. Moreover, the increase is quite significant, but some hybrids need truly harsh conditions, others softer. At first, try watering about half as often - not once a week, but once every two weeks, but if the air humidity is below 40%, place a tray of water next to it. No need to spray, as the orchid will appreciate large drops of water as watering.
In addition, you need to stop all feeding - this is a prerequisite.
It is more difficult to create temperature fluctuations, but usually a decrease of 5 ° C per month is enough, hybrids are not as demanding on temperatures to stimulate flowering as on the seasonality of watering. Unfortunately, when buying hybrid phalaenopsis in the store, we can rarely calculate the parents and determine which original species is closer. Therefore, for some owners, phalaenopsis bloom often and quite willingly, it is enough to water for a month less often, while in others, the orchids need to be strongly whipped up, switched to the mode of growing succulents for about 2-3 months. General recommendations - after the appearance of the peduncle, the optimal average air temperature is 19-22 ° C.
As for the influence of light on the flowering of phalaenopsis: in nature, orchids never experience a lack of it, at home - a piece of window sees the sun less and less since August, sometimes it is damp and cloudy July … For the growth of a flower arrow and the formation of a bud, very good lighting is required. Depending on your region - in the south from November, in the north from September, additional lighting will be needed. The light from the chandelier that you turn on in the evening after work is not enough - the phalaenopsis needs its own lamp, which does not heat up, which can be positioned at a distance of 10-15 cm.
How to make phalaenopsis bloom
It was previously believed that the flowering of phalaenopsis stimulates temperature fluctuations - with a decrease in temperature at night by about 5-6 ° C for two to four weeks in a row (usually in autumn), despite the fact that during the day the temperature could be 28-29 ° C.
In 2006, Matthew G. Blanchard and Erik S. Runkle found that phalaenopsis flowering is stimulated by lowering the daytime temperature below 27 ° C, and the temperature at night has no effect.
Blanchard and Runkle grew clones of the same phalaenopsis for 20 weeks, at different temperatures, but with the same air humidity and light. As a result of the experiments, it turned out that flowering was more abundant under the day / night regime at 20/14 ° C or 23/17 ° C and at average daily temperatures from 14 ° C to 17 ° C.
Those orchids that were grown continuously under day / night conditions of 29/17 ° C or 29/23 ° C did not bloom. (Journal of Experimental Botany Volume 57, Issue 15, Matthew G. Blanchard and Erik S. Runkle, 2006). Thus, if your phalaenopsis is not blooming, you should think about how you can regulate the temperature and, accordingly, watering (as mentioned above).
Reproduction of phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis are propagated in industrial greenhouses by seeds, and at home - by children that can form on the peduncle. Sometimes daughter rosettes are formed by themselves without any witchcraft, and sometimes they do not want to be kidded. There is a way to stimulate the formation of children using cytokinin paste, it contains plant hormones. The question is, is it really necessary for you to induce phalaenopsis kidding.
Phalaenopsis baby was formed on the peduncle with the help of hormonal paste.
The baby was formed from the bud at the base of the bush (itself).
Regarding the artificial stimulation of the development of daughter outlets on orchids, all growers are divided into two camps - some believe that there is no harm from stimulation, others - that it is not worth going against nature, if the orchid does not baby itself, then the mother plant is not yet ready for such a feat Moreover, growing a baby can drain the mother.
In fact, the arguments of opponents of artificial stimulation of orchids are serious and are often confirmed in practice - in some cases, the mother plant grows old prematurely, degeneration, shredding of the bush is observed. Therefore, the general recommendations of iplants.ru are as follows: you can try to apply the hormonal paste only on a healthy plant, not on the one bought by a blooming one in a store! Flowers on a store orchid are not a sign of health - while it lived on the shelf, in a transparent packaging bag and was poured from a hose with dubious water, the roots began to rot. 90% of purchased orchids are found to have rotten roots. It's another matter if the orchid has been growing for a long time and the flowering is your own and full. The irrigation regime has been established for a long time and there are no health problems. Never stimulate more than 2 buds on one orchid.
How to spread cytokinin paste
On the phalaenopsis peduncle, you can see nodules covered with very small dry covering scales, covering the knot very tightly. If you just scrape off a flake of a leaf, you can injure the kidney under it too much, so you need to raise it with jewelry. To do this, use a sterilized needle, wipe the knot itself with a cotton pad moistened with miramistin.
Then apply the hormone paste, smearing about 2 mm. The paste should fall under the scales on the exposed kidney. Whether your experience turned out or not, you will see in a week - a sprout will appear from the bud (or not). And a small outlet will grow out of it in 6-8 weeks.
How to care for a phalaenopsis baby
When the baby begins to grow, she continues to feed on the mother plant, but when the roots grow more than 1.5 cm, the baby requires her own care. And it consists in bathing according to the same regimen as the mother. There is no need to constantly spray the baby - moisture settling between the leaves can cause rotting. She should also bathe - at first not for long, two minutes - just substitute a bowl of boiled water under it. But do not immerse the baby itself in water - only the roots. If it grows in such a way that it is impossible to substitute a cup of water under it, it is better not to bathe at all.
The baby has grown big, but there are no roots yet, you can tie a piece of sphagnum moss down the peduncle so that it does not touch the leaves. It is slightly (!) So that it does not flow in streams to moisten it.
The baby has formed good roots, you can separate it, but very carefully with a sharp knife.
If the air humidity is very low (20-30%) in dry hot weather, place the pot on a wide tray with wet pebbles so that water does not flow into the pot, turn on the humidifier.
When the phalaenopsis babies grow large, have roots of about 5-7 cm, they can be separated: make a cut about 2 cm lower along the peduncle. Sprinkle both cuts with sulfur powder, ground cinnamon or crushed birch charcoal. The cut off baby just needs to be placed on the surface of the bark in a prepared pot, it is better to fix it to the support. The roots themselves will find a way for them to grow.
Phalaenopsis, just like any plants, can be affected by fungal, bacterial and viral infections. In terms of the frequency of problems with orchids, root rot is always in the first place.
The traditional reason is too frequent or too much watering, i.e. soil dries out for too long, or soak for too long during immersion watering. It is possible to treat decayed phalaenopsis, but the probability of its recovery is about 50%. The fact is that microorganisms that develop during root decay release toxins that spread throughout the plant and cause its slow death.
There are many causative agents of infections, but it all comes down to one thing - the roots of phalaenopsis become dirty brown, the leaves turn yellow, wither, wrinkle, as if the plant suffered from drying out. But the inside of the pot is usually damp bark, often blue-green algae.
What leads to illness: moss, no holes, air to the roots, water around, frequent feeding.
So it ends …
You can prevent phalaenopsis roots rotting:
- provide good aeration - many voids in the pot, holes on the sides of the pot and at the bottom, good ventilation in the apartment
- exclude from the composition of the soil components that can quickly rot (leaf litter) and retain moisture for a long time (sphagnum moss, peat and bark in pieces less than 2 cm)
- do not use fertilizers for other indoor plants and organics
- do not use any growth stimulants
- avoid hypothermia
- do not allow the roots to remain moist for more than 1.5 days
Phalaenopsis rot treatment
Cutting out rotten places, sprinkling the sections with disinfectants, but not brilliant green, but ground cinnamon or sulfur. Now you need to prepare a new fresh substrate, sterilize it and dry it. Do not water the transplanted orchid for at least 5 days and do not spray. If it is very hot, above 28 ° C, you can pour on the third day, but not by immersion, but slightly from a watering can, drain all the water from the pan.
There are also drugs for the treatment of rot - foundationol (benomil) and maxim. But, unfortunately, the drug maxim is ineffective, and the foundation is very toxic to humans and can be toxic to the plant (the constituent components decompose, forming toxic compounds). Therefore, the chances of coping with the help of chemistry, in fact, are not as great as you hope. And in half of the cases, even after treatment with fungicides, the plant dies.
The insects are all the same as on other flowers - thrips, scale insects, mealybugs, less often whitefly. Signs and treatment are typical - insecticides, preferably Aktara or Confidor, diluted according to instructions.
Spider mite on phalaenopsis - depressed light spots, the tip of the leaf turns yellow.
The same sheet on the back side - you see the smallest white dots - tick skins.
But if arthropods are pesting, everything is more complicated. The most dangerous enemies are wide and cyclamen mites, to a lesser extent - spider mites. The former are so small that they are completely invisible even with a magnifying glass. Cobweb - larger, visible with the naked eye. Any ticks can be treated only with acaricides, alternating drugs with different active ingredients. But most importantly, it is necessary to treat all the plants on the windowsill and thoroughly wash the windowsill, glass and even wash the curtains.