Features of growing brassia orchids at home. how to provide dignified care for a guest from the American tropics?

Orchid Makodes (with photo)

Representatives of the genus Makodes (MACODES) are terrestrial or epiphytic orchids with a sympodial type of growth. The name Macodes comes from the Greek macos ("length, stretch"), reflecting the elongated shape of the lip.

Orchid Makodes has up to 7 species found in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia and Oceania. The most famous species is Macodes petola. In nature, it is found on the islands of Java, from Sumatra to the Philippines, in Malaysia, New Guinea, where it grows in tropical forests (in mountainous shady forests) in high humidity conditions (on rocks covered with moss and humus, fallen tree trunks).

The stems spread along the surface of the substrate and branch out all the time, reaching a height of 7-8 cm. The color of velvety leaves varies from salad and emerald green to gray-green with golden veins.

As you can see in the photo, Makodes blooms with small flowers, after which the rosette dies off, giving lateral processes (babies).

It can grow in fairly poor lighting, but requires a constantly moist substrate, high air humidity (at least 80-90%) and warm content. That is why it is recommended to grow makodes petola in florariums or greenhouses. Stagnant water in the pan or inside the pot can very quickly lead to rotting of the bottom of the plant and roots, so watering should be regular, as the substrate dries. Water should be used only soft or filtered.

Summer temperature + 18. + 30 ° C; in winter - not less than +18 ° C. For successful cultivation, the night temperature can be 4 ° C lower than the daytime.

Makodes is fed carefully so as not to burn the delicate roots of the plant: once every 3 weeks from spring to autumn, and in the rest of the period every 5 weeks.

Rules for care and maintenance at home

Best of all, Brassia will be on the east window with a little shade. It is also helpful to ventilate the brass area. In the summer, the daytime temperature is 22-23 ° C, the nighttime temperature is 17-19 ° C. In the winter, 16-22 C. The difference in daily temperature affects the formation of the bulb and flower thorn.

The plant also needs air humidification, otherwise the young shoots will shrink. Spraying and a humidifier will help. The pot can be placed in a pallet and wet expanded clay can be placed in it. The plant needs light for almost 10 hours a day. Therefore, it is worth taking care of the lighting.

Important: If there is little light, the Brassia orchid cannot bloom.

Coal, sphagnum and pieces of bark are suitable for the soil. The main thing here is to let the air pass. Good drainage is also needed. The pots can be made from plastic or basic opaque clay. It is best not to plant the plant in hanging baskets. Brassia has a weak rest period of about 2-3 weeks.

1.Encyclia - home care

1.1 Temperature of orchid keeping

For flowering, a daily temperature difference of at least 10 ° C is required C. Encyclia endure a short-term drop in temperature to 7 ° C.

1.2 Lighting for the encyclical

Direct sunlight can hit the plants in the evening morning hours, every day. It is worth shading an orchid during the day - in spring and summer. In autumn and winter, maximum illumination is needed. If there is a lack of natural light, you can use fluorescent lamps.

1.4 Substrate for orchids

You can use a ready-made mixture for growing orchids or make your own from leaf humus, peat, sphagnum moss, pine bark or fern fibers, well-rotted manure and small pieces of charcoal. The soil should easily allow moisture and air to pass to the roots of the plant; add coarse sand or perlite to improve drainage.

1.5 Feeding the encyclical

From spring to mid-autumn, feed the plants with liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks at half strength. During the rest period, feeding is not carried out.

The flowering period is long - it can last more than a month, occurs more often in spring or summer.

1.8 Air humidity

About 50 - 80%. Place the plant pot on a tray filled with wet pebbles, or use a room humidifier. You can surround the orchid pot with a layer of moist sphagnum moss or spray the leaves with soft water at room temperature, leaving the plant in a place where there is sufficient air movement.

1.9 Watering orchids at home

Water regularly and abundantly during the growing season, allowing the top layer of soil about 3 cm thick to dry before each subsequent watering. In the winter months, when the plant is kept cool, protect the earthen lump from drying out. Small wrinkles on pseudobulbs will speak about the need for watering.

1.10 Transplanting an encyclical

The transplant is carried out only if it is necessary to change the soil or the size of the pot, in the spring. Never replant flowering plants. Choose unglazed earthenware pots with large drainage holes for planting. The clay walls of such pots easily allow moisture and air to pass to the roots of orchids.

1.12 Pests and diseases

Rot is caused by insufficient air movement and excessive watering, especially during the winter months.

Of the harmful insects, a spider mite, scale insect, mealybugs can attack a flower.

Insects are pests

• Mealybug

• Spider mite

• Shield

Note.

Hydroponics.

You may also be interested in:

Bulbophyllum

Brassavola

Lelia

Epidendrum

Step by step care instructions

Seat selection

This orchid is very afraid of the open rays of the sun. Experienced collectors are advised to place it on north windows by adding backlighting.

Preparing the soil and pot

It is better to take the pot with transparent plastic, in the sides and at the bottom we make small holes for good air access and for a convenient location of the roots. The pot should not be very large, it should serve to support the roots, so choose medium-sized pots.

Substrate:

• Drainage - pieces of expanded polystyrene or expanded clay, located at the bottom of the pot.
• Charcoal - The crushed pieces can be placed in the moss between the roots.
• Moss - sphagnum retains moisture well and is a natural habitat for orchids.

Temperature

The orchid is thermophilic, it is advisable that the temperature does not drop below 20 ° C during the day, no matter what time of year it is outside the window. Then it will develop well, grow, grow young leaves and soon bloom again.

Important: Sogo Orchid does not like heat, the optimum temperature is up to 28 ° C.

Humidity

Sogo orchids do not require too much moisture, 50-60% is enough. They tolerate drying better than flooding. But in spring and summer it is necessary to increase the air humidity. This will ensure good growth and flowering of the orchids. No additional moisture is required, just spray on the leaves in hot weather.

Lighting

The Sogo orchid, like all hybrid varieties of Phalaenopsis, is not capricious. Does not require any special lighting fixtures. In the spring and summer, be sure to darken the windows so that the sun does not burn the orchid leaves. In winter, additional lighting is required; special phytolamps can be used.

Watering

If the orchids are located on the northern windows, naturally, watering is not needed here as often as if the orchids were located in a "warmer" window

It is important to observe the roots. If the roots are greyish brown, you can water them

It is better not to water the flowers, do not spray, so that stains do not appear on them, and the leaves can be sprayed, moisturizing the aerial roots. Enough once every 2 weeks in the autumn-winter period, and if it is very hot, then once a week.

We recommend watching a video on the correct watering of an orchid:

Top dressing

Feed your Sogo orchid usually with watering. It is recommended for flower growers to water with any special rooting agent. Fertilization mode: alternating irrigation with plain water with fertilizer irrigation. As soon as buds appear, water only with water, without fertilization. The main thing is not to harm.

Transfer

1. You will need to get the orchid out of the pot, then soak the orchid together with the earthy lump in a solution of epic and succinic acid. Coconut chips and moss - soak sphagnum too.
2. Transplanted by transferring with the original substrate (if the orchid is healthy).
3. If there are diseased, decayed roots, then you will need to clean the roots.
4. We lower the updated and processed orchid into a new pot.
5. With the finished substrate, without pushing, fill the space of the pot.
6. We put the orchid in a large container, water it well so that moisture penetrates into all the new substrate. Excess water gradually drains through the holes. Use a cotton pad to remove water from the leaves and growth points to avoid rotting.

We recommend watching a video about the features of Sogo orchid transplantation:

Diseases and pests of orchids

Diseases and pests in orchids appear in most cases due to improper care. If you have repeatedly neglected the rules of proper care, then your specimen is susceptible to a number of diseases, which can be identified by the following signs.

• Loose leaves: the cause may be a damaged root system or non-observance of the temperature regime.
• Cracks along the middle of the leaf: the cause may be a sharp temperature drop after watering or mechanical damage.
• Bumps, growths, holes, black spots: may be caused by direct sunlight burns.
• Castings rot and dry: soft mites in the middle of the outlets may be the cause. Use acaricidal drugs to combat them.
• On the back of the leaves there is a small silvery cobweb: the reason is a spider mite. Leaves and flowers begin to turn yellow and then they can rot. Use acaricidal drugs to combat them.
• The orchid stops growing, does not bloom well: The reason may be a colony of nematodes on the back of the leaf, which feed on the sap of the plant. Use nematicides to control them.

Types of brassia

In the genus Brassia there are 34 species and many natural hybrids - Grex, formed with the participation of orchids of other genera - Miltonia, Oncidium, Odontoglossum, Cochlioda, Lelia, Rodriguezia, Ada, Aspazia and Epidendrum.

Tailed (B. caudata) - differs slightly flattened on the sides oval pseudobulbs and long, gracefully curved peduncles, bearing up to 12 spider-like flowers, brightly colored in a light green shade and mottled, blooming in February and finally withering at the end of summer.

Photo by Brassia caudata

Warty (B. verrucosa) - grows in mountain forests at an altitude of about 1600 m above the sea. It is found in small areas of the territory, but in many places from southern Mexico to Nicaragua, including El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, it even lives high on the southern spurs of Mount Atitlan. It blooms from May to the end of July, forms a peduncle from the base of tuberidia, almost 75 cm long, on which from 5-8 to 15 flowers develop with light green petals, decorated with scarlet-chocolate spots. On the white lip there are dark emerald, from a distance, almost black convex spots-growths resembling warts - hence the specific name.

Photo by Brassia verrucosa

Orange (B. aurantiaca) is an alpine plant that grows in Colombia at an altitude of 2500 m in the central massifs of the Andes and in the Venezuelan state of Tachira at an altitude of up to 2000 m on the eastern slopes of the mountains. It blooms from January to June with fiery orange flowers with characteristic thin purple stripes along the middle of the petals.

Photo by Brassia aurantiaca

Spotted (B. maculata) - grows naturally in Belize and Guatemala at an altitude of 150 to 750 m above sea level, in El Salvador it rises to an altitude of 1100 m, and in Jamaica it lives in the low-lying floodplains of the Mason and Hope rivers. Leads a lithophytic or epiphytic way of life, reaches a height of about 1 m. Flowering is long and lasts from February to November. Large light green petals in purple or red-chocolate spots reach 20 cm. The lip is yellowish-creamy, also covered in brown-purple peas.

Photo by Brassia maculata

Dugnosaya (B. arcuigera) is a large (about 70 cm tall) epiphytic plant that lives on moss-covered tree trunks in the provinces of Alajuela and Guanacaste in Costa Rica, and is also found in Panama and Ecuador in humid rain forests of low-lying valleys or in mountain tropical thickets on the western spurs of the Andes. Sepals and petals of its corolla at the very beginning of flowering light green-yellow or greenish-cream shade, eventually become orange-yellow. Their bases have small cherry-brown spots. The lip is snow-white or in tone with the petals, dotted with small peas of the same color with a pattern of sepals and petals.

Photo Brassia arcuigera

What are the groups of these colors?

All orchids can be divided into two large groups:

1. sympodial;
2. monopodial.

A characteristic feature of the first group is the death of the apical bud or its movement into the inflorescence. As soon as the shoot reaches a certain size, it stops growing and gives a new shoot. Also, sympodial orchids produce thick stems, which later turn into tubers (bulbs).

Note: Monopodial orchids, on the other hand, are characterized by an apical bud. This means that the plant can grow in length all its life, especially liana or rosette species .. Thanks to such a pronounced division, it will not be difficult to distinguish one group from another, and, accordingly, to understand how to grow and care for this wonderful flower

But still it should be borne in mind that each variety, species or hybrid requires an individual approach.

Thanks to such a pronounced division, it will not be difficult to distinguish one group from another, and, accordingly, understand how to grow and care for this wondrous flower. Still, it should be borne in mind that each variety, species or hybrid requires an individual approach.

Epidendrum orchid care at home

Epidendrum is not yet very popular among Russian flower growers. However, in foreign flower shops there is a huge selection of such orchids, both various hybrids and species. This plant is recommended for experienced growers, while beginners can have many problems with it.

Illumination

It needs bright lighting all year round, but the flower should be protected from direct sunlight. It is recommended to place it on the window sill of the western or eastern window. If the flower is on a south-facing window, then at noon it should be shaded from the scorching sun's rays.

It is not recommended to place the epidendrum on the window in the northern part of the room, because there is very little light there even in the summer. However, the flower will normally grow and develop in such a place if it is provided with supplemental lighting with phyto lamps, the illumination level in this case should be 6000 lux, and daylight hours should have a duration of 10 to 12 hours. It is also recommended to use supplementary lighting with phytolamps in autumn and winter (especially in the evening).

Temperature regime

This plant needs a moderate or moderately warm temperature regime. In this case, it is imperative to ensure the difference in daily temperatures. Best of all, if in the daytime the room will be from 18 to 25 degrees, and at night - from 12 to 16 degrees, it should be noted that the temperature difference should be at least 6 degrees.

From spring to autumn, the plant can be outdoors (in the garden, on the balcony), if there is no threat of frost at night. He needs to provide protection from direct sunlight and precipitation. This is the easiest way to ensure the correct temperature regime for such an orchid.

Earth mixture

The way in which the epidendrum should be grown directly depends on the species. So, species of large size (for example, rooting epidendrum) are recommended to be grown in pots, and compact species (for example, sickle-shaped epidendrum) - on blocks. A suitable dredge consists of medium-sized pieces of pine bark, peat, sphagnum and some charcoal. A large piece of pine bark is used as a block on the surface of which the rhizome and the root system of the flower are fixed. So that the liquid does not evaporate very quickly, you need to cover them with a not too thick layer of sphagnum.

How to water

For irrigation, use well-settled soft water, the temperature of which should be from 30 to 45 degrees. It is recommended to water the plant by dipping the pot or block into a bowl filled with water. After 20-30 minutes, the orchid needs to be taken out, wait until all excess liquid has drained off and returned to its place.

It is recommended to water the plant after the bark is almost completely dry (complete overdrying should not be allowed).

Humidity

Too high air humidity is not required, the optimum is 50–70 percent. To ensure such humidity, it is recommended to pour expanded clay into the pallet and pour in a little water, while 2 times a day it is necessary to moisten the foliage from the sprayer.

Transplant features

The transplant is carried out 1 time in 3 or 4 years, after the substrate (block) has strongly acidified or decomposed. It is recommended to replant immediately after the plant stops blooming.

Fertilizer

Fertilize once every 2 or 3 weeks. To do this, use a special complex fertilizer for orchids. The fertilizer is dissolved in water for irrigation (see the concentration on the package).

Reproduction methods

The breeding method depends on the species. So, it can be propagated by children that grow on shoots, by dividing the rhizome or by rooting the apical part of the flower, on which there should be aerial roots.

When dividing a bush, it must be remembered that at least 3 developed pseudobulbs or shoots should remain on each plot.The baby should be separated from the maternal shoot only after it has grown several sufficiently large roots.

Pests and diseases

Resistant to pests. Such an orchid is sick most often due to violations of the rules of care. For example: rotting of the pseudobulbs and the root system with too much watering, the appearance of burns on the leaves due to direct rays of the sun, with poor lighting - the absence of flowering, etc.

Home care

Practice shows that the brassia orchid is quite unpretentious, and therefore caring for it is not particularly difficult. In order for the plant to please with abundant and regular flowering, it is enough to create conditions that are as close as possible to its natural habitat.

Illumination

For the full development of brassia, a lot of light is needed, which makes it justified to place it near windows facing southwest or southeast

Another important condition is to protect the plant from direct sunlight at lunchtime, which negates the likelihood of getting dangerous burns

During the warm season, it is advisable to place brassia on a balcony or loggia. Following this recommendation guarantees a sufficient amount of sunlight and fresh air, which has a positive effect on the development of the plant.

Temperature

The optimal regime for the development and regular flowering of the spider orchid assumes a difference between day and night temperatures of 5 ° C in summer and 3 ° C in winter. In addition, from May to September, the room should be warm enough (around 23 ° C), and not too cool in the frosty months (about 18 ° C).

Another condition, the observance of which allows you to grow a healthy and beautiful brassia - good air circulation in the room.

Humidity

Brassia is native to humid forests, which is why it does not tolerate dry air. To normalize the indoor climate, you can equip a decorative fountain near the plant or use special stationary devices. The most popular and inexpensive solution is the use of the simplest atomizer - a spray bottle.

When spraying brassia, it is necessary to ensure that water does not fall on the buds (ignoring this condition reduces the decorative effect of the plant). The procedure should be carried out 1-2 times a day, which is enough to maintain the humidity at the level of 50-70%.

Watering

Throughout the growing season, brassia needs good, but not too frequent watering. The signal indicating the need for this procedure is the drying out of the substrate.

Particular attention should be paid to the condition of the leaves and false bulbs: the former should not be brought to a loss of turgor, and the latter, to shrinkage.

To provide the plant with a sufficient amount of moisture, it is advisable to use the method of immersion in a container with warm water for 20-25 minutes (at the end of the procedure, the latter should not remain in the pan).

Priming

The substrate, which is optimally suitable for the houseplant in question, should be air permeable and have a pronounced friability. It is not worth using dense mixtures, which is explained by their suffocating effect on the root system of the brassia. Another important condition is the use of a soil that has a slightly acidic reaction (pH up to 6.5).

As for the composition of the substrate used, it is presented below:

• sphagnum moss;
• pieces of coniferous bark;
• peat;
• charcoal.

Top dressing

In the warm season, brassia needs mineral fertilizers for orchids, applied monthly. The composition of such dressings provides for the presence of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, and they can be purchased at any specialized store.

In order for the fertilizers to be absorbed in the best possible way, they are dissolved in the water used to water the plant.

Diseases and pests

One of the most common plagues from which brassia can suffer is rot, which affects its false bulbs and root system. To prevent this trouble, you must follow the recommended watering regime (especially in the cold season). If the plant could not be protected from decay, it can be reanimated by performing the following sequence of actions:

carefully remove the affected areas;
treat healthy areas with an antifungal agent;
dry the brassia for several hours;
plant the orchid in the ground and cover it with a transparent plastic container;
air the greenhouse in a timely manner and monitor the level of moisture.