Phalaenopsis orchids, commonly called orchids, are fairly simple for a home gardener to grow. They do well in an indoor environment and need care. The plants flower profusely from spikes that are tall, producing flowers that are beautiful in several of colors. Additionally, phalaenopsis flowers may last for months under the right conditions, if pruned and the plants can rebloom during one season.
Orchids produce green leaves that are wide and long, fleshy roots. Because their leaves and flower spikes appear from one central stem, they are known as monopodial. The plants develop one or more flower spikes once every year, normally beginning in winter and frequently lasting into spring if kept under appropriate conditions. These spikes produce flowers that open in sequence along the flower spike. Flowers range from white through pale to dark pink, with a couple varieties producing flowers with stripes or blotches in a contrasting shade.
Orchids require a mixture that drains quickly. Buy a rough , well-draining orchid mixture, or create your own by combining fir bark, tree fern fiber, sphagnum peat, charcoal and perlite in about equal proportions. Phalaenopsis plants have been grown in pure sphagnum moss, which retains water for transportation. Keep your plant in this mixture while it is blooming, but following the blooms are spent, repot your orchid in a orchid mixture that is well-draining to reduce root rot. Discard all old potting mix, when repotting and cut any soft or shriveled, rotted roots with a sharp knife or pair of scissors.
Orchids do Fahrenheit. From the fall, reduce nighttime temperatures to 55 degrees Fahrenheit for several weeks to stimulate creation of flowers. The plants require amounts of lighting, preferring a bright window that is not in sunlight. A south or west window will do whether it is shaded, although an east-facing window is greatest. The recommended humidity is 50 to 80 per cent, with great air circulation to help inhibit fungal growth. Humidity may increase by placing it in a tray of pebbles partially immersed in water or misting your own plant. Fertilize your plant monthly with a fertilizer, changing to a high-phosphorous formulation in fall to stimulate flowering.
The leaves of phalaenopsis orchids does not need pruning, although dry or brown leaves should be removed to keep the plant tidy. You might remove the old spike with no harm to the plant when all flowers on a spike have dropped. However, if your plant is healthy and strong, it might bloom again in the same spike. To stimulate reblooming, cut at the stem with a sharp knife just above the node at which the blossom seemed and wait about two weeks to get another spike to branch off the initial. In case the pruned spike turns dry and brownish remove in the plant.