Orchid culture is special - from pot and substrate, ending with daily temperature changes and regulation of the duration of illumination throughout the year.Orchid family. These ornamental flowering plants are allocated to a special group. It is the largest and oldest family of flowering plants. It has more than 40 thousand species, and all new species continue to find.
Orchids are perennial herbaceous plants, various species grow in all climatic zones, but most in countries with tropical and temperate climates. Most of all, various species of orchids were found and described in the countries of South and Central America, as well as Asia.
The habitat of orchids is very different. Many species grow in tropical forests at an altitude of 1000-2500 m above sea level, where fog and dew are characteristic. Some grow in plains, forests and valleys in open areas. Many species of orchids grow on rocky terrain or in savannas, where there are long dry periods.
The habitat of orchids left a certain imprint on their appearance and growth shape. The vast majority of orchid species are epiphytes or semi-epiphytes. They grow on trees, trunks and branches, on stumps and snags, in crevices of rocky surfaces. Their roots are almost completely open and perform many functions: they hold the plant on a suitable surface, clinging to the bark and stones, grow "tentacles" (grow in all directions) to capture leaf litter for nutritional purposes, capture moisture from the air and raindrops, participate in photosynthesis processes.
Another form of orchid life is terrestrial. This group of orchids, having underground rhizomes or tubers growing in a substrate more reminiscent of ordinary land. But still it differs from the land on which potatoes grow or, for example, palm trees, the presence of large fractions - bark, roots, stone crumbs, the word components that make it extremely loose, air and moisture permeable, and some terrestrial orchids do not grow at all in the ground, but on the surface of the earth on mossy tree roots and roots, among leaf litter, which is fallen leaves, branches, gunpowder moss, broken pieces of bark and stones. In this case, the roots are in the upper layer of the earth, and part of the rhizome runs horizontally along the surface, therefore, the root system of terrestrial orchids does not fundamentally (in structure) differ from epiphytic ones. And often terrestrial orchids can be grown as epiphytes.
Miltonia sympodial orchid
Vanda monopodial orchidOrchids are classified by shoot growth type.
These are sympodial and monopodial orchids. To understand their difference, it must be said that the orchid has an apical growth point - the place from which new leaves develop and the escape continues. So, monopodial orchids, as the most illustrative example - phalaenopsis, have an apical growth point throughout life, if it is not damaged by anything, the orchid grows in one direction, while it has a stem of different lengths and densities - in phalaenopsis, in fact, a rosette, very densely planted leaves, the shoot is short, and in vanilla, on the contrary, the leaves rarely sit, and it is a vine.
Sympodial orchids have a peculiarity - the growth point has a certain lifespan, it is genetically laid down, having reached a certain size, a peduncle forms at the end of the shoot, or, if the conditions are not good enough for flowering, it simply dies, so the shoot does not grow more than some length. But at the base of each escape is a new point of growth. There is a main shoot and shoots of the second and third orders, and the plant has several cycles of development, during which the stem and leaves grow. But unlike, say, an orange, whose growth is horizontal and it appears to be a tree, in sympodial orchids, the new growth of stems has a horizontal arrangement at first, then the stems rise up. The horizontal part of the shoot is called the rhizome, and may be more or less long in different orchid species. In some, it is so short that it is almost invisible, as in miltonia, it seems that the leaves grow from one place.
In addition, the stems of sympodial orchids are modified - they have thickenings resembling bulbs or swelling, rounded or flat, serving to accumulate water and nutrients and called pseudobulbs, tuberidia or just bulbs. Inflorescences on sympodial orchids can be apical or lateral. The most common representatives of sympodial orchids: Dendrobium Dendrobium, Oncidium Oncidium, Cuttleya Cattleya, Lelia Laelia, Bulbophyllum Bulbophyllum, Coelogyne Coelogyne, etc.
Orchids at home
the dark, in the absence of a cool room, orchids may require exposure.Orchids are one of the most beautiful plants on the planet, and are very desirable for any person who is not indifferent to living flowers.
But not all orchids can survive in normal indoor conditions. If it were that simple, flowering orchids would already have flooded the windowsills of every home. But no, we buy them and buy them because few survive and orchids are reluctant to breed.
To grow a house, you need to choose the most unpretentious species - less disappointment, more chances of success.
Some people, after unsuccessful attempts, believe that orchids are simply not created for growing at home - it is too difficult to create an optimal microclimate. And no matter what they say about some new varieties, allegedly adapted to residential premises, all this is continuous PR.
Orchids were and are demanding plants. Someone they grow better, someone worse - to grow orchids at home, it's like learning to swim. You know, there are children who go into the water, two strokes, you look - it's already floating! Another child can be taught for a very long time, and he never learns or only flounders in shallow water like a dog...
You probably saw somewhere on the landing a stunted bush growing in a cement mass, proudly called earth, elongated, sprinkled with a shield, but blooming. It may be hibiscus, abutilone, grandma's hippeastrum, but not an orchid. Taking care of these plants at home requires some patience. Orchids need a special substrate: extra loose; constant movement of moist air, but not draft; daily temperature difference of 5-10 degrees; periodic abundant watering and fast good drying of the soil after it.
We combined all the care tips into a series of articles on how to care for orchids:
Orchid care
Most orchids come from areas with a seasonal climate, where the change of rainy and wet seasons occurs two or more times a year. Therefore, different types of orchids have a pronounced or almost imperceptible dormant period, during which flower buds are laid.
Heat-loving orchids need a slight decrease in temperature, to 15-16 ° C, moderately heat-loving orchids - a little lower than 13-15 ° C, cold-loving orchids - up to 10 ° C. But it depends on the species needs, for example...
Orchids - you need to know: dictionary of terms, classification of orchids, short abbreviations of species and hybrids, dictionary of terms)
Rhizome or Rhizome - rhizome - an underground more or less durable escape of perennial herbaceous plants, as well as shrubs, serving for the deposition of spare substances, vegetative renewal and reproduction. It differs from the root by the presence of scaly leaves, scars from fallen leaves (sometimes their dry remains), buds and subordinate roots, and the absence of a root cover.
Epiphytes are plants that have no connection with the soil: they are fixed on the trunks and branches of trees or other plants. Moisture and mineral substances from atmospheric precipitation are used. As a rule, they have an open root system, sometimes do not have roots.
Transplantation and soil for orchids
The roots of epiphytic orchids not only absorb water, nutrients, but also participate in photosynthesis, so pots with holes are needed so that part of the roots can freely crawl out or transparent pots. In addition to pots, plastic baskets, baskets of bamboo sticks are used for planting orchids (they are smooth, and the roots of orchids do not stick to them)...
The main components are chopped pine bark (pieces 0.5-1 cm), coconut fiber, coconut chips, sphagnum moss, fern roots (cut into pieces 0.5-1 cm), and leaf earth (leaf humus) can also be used for some orchids.
Orchid reproduction
If you try to grow orchids from seeds at home as well as in natural ones - just sow, then the chances of survival are small. But scientists biologists have found that if you sow orchid seeds in a sterile environment, where there is no hint of mushroom rhizoctonia, but provide nutrients, then many species of orchids germinate in huge quantities. And although the orchid seedling grows for a long time, fully develops in about 180-200 days, and only at the age of 300 days (usually longer than 400-500 days depending on the species) is ready for transplantation into the substrate, this discovery made it possible to deploy large-scale cultivation of orchids in test tube.
By the way, by the name of Professor Lewis Knudson, the solution was called "Knudson's nutrient medium."
Orchid pests and other growing problems
Orchids are more likely to be harmed by ticks and thrips. The tick is the most dangerous pest, because there are species so microscopic that even the web can only be seen with a microscope. Externally, on the leaves, the tick manifests itself as follows: small dotted silver spots or strokes, similar to thin dashes. If it is very hot, then in three days the leaf acquires a silver tint. On the back of the leaf are tiny white grains, similar to dandruff or dust. The web is usually visible only in the advanced stage.
The bad thing is that ticks prefer to devour the tops of shoots, the growth points of orchids, hide in the axils of leaves, pieces of substrate and quickly develop resistance to chemical warfare agents...
Fertilizing orchids
Orchids, unlike other plants, do not live on ordinary land (except for some terrestrial ones), but in a non-nutritious substrate, which is only needed to fix the orchid. In nature, they receive nutrients with rainwater, which flows down tree trunks and carries dissolved salts of necessary minerals. At home, orchids are usually fertilized by immersion in a nutrient solution for 10-15 minutes...
Orchid Fertilizer Overview
Orchids, as you know, differ in that they need fertilizer fertilizers almost throughout the year. With the beginning of spring - for successful growth, nitrogen fertilizers are used. In the phase of bulb formation (from about mid-summer), fertilizers with phosphorus fertilizer are used to form peduncles. After the formation of bulbs, for their ripening and during the development of peduncles, potash fertilizers are used...
Orchid transplants - lesson one
Not so long ago, I acquired phalaenopsis, which surprised me with its unwillingness to live in a transparent pot. The fact is that the roots of this plant are more sensitive to overflow than the roots of phalaenopsis that I acquired earlier. The plant began to lose roots due to rot.
There was only one way out - to put it in the basket. This method of planting is a cross between planting in a plastic pot and on a block. In room conditions, my phalaenopsis was too wet in the pot, the substrate dried slowly and the roots were wet for a long time, the consequence was rot.
Orchid transplants - lesson two
This manual is suitable for moisture-loving orchids (such as paphiopediums, fragmapediums, folidots, etc.)
Plastic is very good for orchids, as such pots do not absorb salts from water, often transparent, which helps to monitor the condition of the roots, but... ugly. And so I want to decorate my own house not only with exotic beauty, but also with what it grows in.
Cymbidium transplant
It is no secret that very often you can find orchids in a flower shop at a markdown. This means (not always, but often) that the plant spent more than a month in a flower shop in the most difficult conditions of overflow, hypothermia and lack of sunlight. As a result, there is almost no roots.
Precious orchids
Macodes Petola
Rare precious orchid. The homeland of Malaysia and New Guinea, grows in the lower rainforests in the shade of trees. At home it grows in conditions of high humidity on a litter of fallen leaves. Orchid is moisture and heat-loving (22-29 C). When re-drying, drops leaves and loses decorativeness.
Propagation of precious orchids by cuttings
Before proceeding directly to the issues of cuttings, I would like to briefly define "precious orchids." This is a group of orchids, decorative with their leaves, as a rule, having a variety of patterns with shiny veins, shimmering gold, silver or copper, on a monochromatic or multi-colored background of a velvet sheet. Although, some genera do not have any patterns on the leaves, the velvety of the leaves is present.
Tolumnia
These amazing miniature orchids have long been classified (some still are) as oncidiums, due to the shape of flowers very similar to pupae with skirts. At some point, these orchids were isolated in their own genus - tolumnia due to fewer flowers, a shorter peduncle and other differences from other oncidiums.
Stangopeia - small joys of a big hobby
One look at a photo of a stangopea was enough to imbue the charm of it, to succumb to the desire to see this unusual orchid in its collection. And digging began in reference books, in encyclopedias, in forums, to be honest, not only to collect information about her, but in search of any information about the possibility of acquiring this wonderful flower...
Precious orchids - hidden gold
Experts distinguish orchids by the color and venation of leaves. The patterned pattern of veins depends on the conditions in which the orchid lives and the age of the plant. With each new sheet, an increasingly complex drawing opens. Under natural conditions, precious (variegated) orchids are very difficult to notice, as they grow among fallen leaves and moss, under snags and the roots of large trees. Orchids live in symbiosis with endemic fungi (which provide them with protection by removing some photosynthetic production from plants), which allows orchids to be in almost darkness, among fallen leaves and moss.
Brief description of Cattley species
Peduncle apical, with several medium-sized flowers. Flowers are more diverse in color than plants of the first group, and often denser in texture. Many cattleys are quite plastic plants, so when caring for them, you do not need to strive to accurately recreate the natural environment.
It is important that not individual parameters are optimal, but their combinations. For example, having created a certain temperature regime, you cannot arbitrarily choose the illumination, humidity. So, if the plants are too warm in winter in low light conditions, they will be depleted - breathing will prevail over photosynthesis. Excessive watering combined with low temperature can lead to root death.
