Odontoglossum

Conditions for regular flowering of odontoglossum

The most common problem that growers face when growing odontoglossums is weak and irregular flowering. The situation can be corrected as follows:

• Check if there are daily temperature differences. In their absence, not only odontoglossums refuse to bloom, but also many other orchids.
• Check if the daytime temperature rises too high. Heat is the main enemy of this genus of orchid flowering.
• Provide the plant with a cool content during the dormant period. It is in this phase that flower buds are laid, and if odontoglossum wintering takes place in a warm place, a normal peduncle will not form.
• Move the plant to a brighter place. Keeping in deep shade often delays flowering. During the dormant period, it is advisable to supplement the orchid, since in the autumn-winter period in our latitudes the daylight hours are too short. Odontoglossum produces many buds only under 12-hour daylight conditions.
• Reduce the volume of the pot if it is too large. When the roots are located in a large volume of substrate, odontoglossums are reluctant to bloom.

In addition, you need to make sure that the plant has enough nutrition. It is impossible to arrange an overfeeding of an orchid with fertilizers, but you should not completely deprive it of additional fertilizing. Poor flowering is often observed with a lack of phosphorus.

To start flowering, odontoglossum must have well-ripened pseudobulbs, preferably at least three. If the plant is too young, you need to give it the opportunity to mature on its own to the age of flowering, without using enhanced dressings or treatments with stimulants.

Temperature regime

Unlike other types of orchids, cambria cannot adapt to changes in temperature. She needs to create a uniform thermal regime throughout the entire calendar year. Minor fluctuations should not go beyond +18 + +22. These are optimal indicators. Orchids of this type can withstand a short-term drop in temperature to +16, and the maximum tolerable heat is not higher than +28, and even then not for long. Otherwise, the plant begins to wither and may die.

Despite stringent heat requirements, Cumbrian hybrids do not require day and night temperature fluctuations to form flower buds. It is desirable that these indicators do not exceed three degrees. This has a beneficial effect on bud setting, but is not a decisive factor. Flowers will form with sufficient light and constant heat. If these conditions are provided, the orchid can bloom at any time of the year. The exception is the winter period. At this time of the year, the temperature is reduced to +16 + 18, regardless of whether the orchid is blooming or at rest.

With the arrival of spring, the heat gradually increases.

How to care?

In natural conditions, the odontoglossum orchid grows high in the mountains, where the climate is cool and the air is humid. Orchids do not take root in the soil, like ordinary plants, but on trees and even on a rocky surface. The conditions of a city apartment with central heating and often dry air are not very comfortable for an indoor flower.

When caring for a plant at home, it is necessary to strictly observe the temperature regime during the day and night, the level of lighting and air humidity. Therefore, most often not pure species are sold on sale, but all kinds of hybrids. Outwardly, they differ little from each other, but hybrids are considered less capricious and more unpretentious.Odontoglossum is often planted in wood boxes, vine baskets or hanging pots with coconut bedding.

It is desirable that the room temperature in the room where the orchid is located in the daytime does not exceed + 20– + 22 degrees, and at night it is 5–7 degrees lower, but at the same time does not fall below the minimum threshold of +8 degrees

It is also important that the level of air humidity is at least 60%. To do this, put pebbles or expanded clay on the bottom of the pot so that they retain moisture

It is important to regularly spray the orchid with warm (about +35 degrees) water. It is recommended to do this several times a day in warm weather and once in winter and autumn, while water should be avoided on the flower itself.

Odontoglossum loves light, but direct sunlight is undesirable for the plant. It is optimal if it is partial shade. During the period of active growth, the orchid needs constant feeding.

Often novice flower growers complain that orchid leaves turn yellow. There may be several reasons.

• Change of habitat. Sometimes after the orchid is bought and brought into the house, its leaves turn yellow and fall off. Sometimes even all the leaves may fall off at once. In this case, there is no need to rush and panic. When a plant changes its habitat, a natural period of adaptation to new conditions occurs, which is expressed in the death of old leaves and the subsequent formation of new ones.
• Violation of the water regime. Yellowed leaves can signal a nutrient imbalance. Incorrect watering regime may be the reason. The flower is sensitive to both lack and excess of moisture - both of which lead to a change in the color and structure of the foliage.
  • If there is too much water, then the soil becomes compacted, presses with its mass on the roots and stops letting air to them. The result is that the leaves turn yellow, wither and fall off. In addition, bacteria often form in a stagnant environment, and the roots begin to rot. In this case, it is recommended to heal the roots - cut off the diseased, rinse and let the roots rest for several hours, and then transplant the plant into a new soil.
  • Lack of moisture also leads to wilting of leaves. This may be not only an insufficient amount of water, but also too deeply located drainage, in which moisture quickly leaves and the roots of the plant simply do not have time to be saturated with it. Younger and stronger shoots begin to take away food from the earlier ones, and they quickly lose strength and wither. An overdried orchid is treated with a long (up to two weeks) immersion in water along with a pot.
• Water quality. This is another reason for the painful appearance of the leaves in orchids. The water may be too hard and contains a lot of salts. Therefore, orchids, like all plants, are recommended to be watered with sediment water. It is advisable to settle the water for at least 3 days. Melt water is very useful for flowers.
• Lack or excess of light also negatively affects the condition of the flower. In winter, the lack of light can be solved with a fluorescent lamp, and in summer it is advisable to remove the pot from the window, which is on the sunny side, and place the flower, for example, in the back of the room, but opposite the window so that the sun's rays affect the plant not directly, but tangentially. If you cannot rearrange the plant, you can simply close the window with paper, hide the flower behind other broad-leaved plants, or arrange darkening by any other available means.

Proper home care for orchids

Illumination

For such a plant, illumination plays an important role. Light is needed diffused and there should be a lot of it. In this regard, the flower should be placed on the lightest window (except for the southern one). However, it must be remembered that it must be protected from direct sunlight.

How to water

Despite the fact that such plants are tropical, too frequent and abundant watering can greatly harm them.In the wild, most species of such plants do not grow on soil, but on trees, clinging to their bark with their roots. Such epiphytes take moisture from the tree bark, which flows down after rain, but does not accumulate. In this regard, such flowers should be watered sparingly. Between waterings, the substrate should dry out well, and care must be taken that the roots are not constantly in the water. You can often moisten the leaves from the spray bottle, but make sure that the liquid does not end up on the flowers, as in this case specks will appear on them and they will turn dark. Orchids such as Phalaenopsis, Cymbidium, Odontoglossum Pafiopedilum need more abundant watering.

With extreme caution you need to water Dendrobium, Cattleya and Oncidium. Make sure the substrate is dry before watering.

In summer, watering should be more abundant than in winter. With the onset of spring, when the period of intensive growth begins, the orchid should be gradually watered more and more abundantly.

You can use only watering through the pallet or alternate it with the usual one. So, you need to collect water in a container and put a pot in it. When the substrate is saturated with moisture, then the pot must be pulled out and at the same time wait until excess water flows out through the drainage holes.

It is also sometimes possible to completely submerge the pot under water, as a result of which the substrate and root system can be thoroughly rinsed out. After removing the pot from the liquid, wait until all excess is drained.

Spraying orchid

Such plants love high air humidity. To moisten the foliage, as well as for watering, you need lukewarm, well-settled water. Make sure that the humidity is not below 60 percent. If the air is much drier, then you will have to get a humidifier. And with moderate humidity, the orchid will have enough systematic spraying.

These flowers need fresh air. In this regard, systematic ventilation is needed. Remember that in this case it is imperative to remove the flower away from the window, as it does not tolerate a draft. Also keep the plant away from the airflow from the air conditioner while it is running. When the room is ventilated, remember to moisten the foliage of the flower with a sprayer.

Growing an orchid is easy. The main thing is to adhere to certain rules of care and pay more attention to this plant.

7 rules for growing zygopetalum in room culture

Monitoring reviews of orchidists shows that zygopetalums are quite simple to maintain. Experienced collectors sometimes even call them "Novice Orchids":

Despite their unpretentiousness and plasticity, zygopetalums can also be “capricious” if the growing conditions are extremely different from optimal ones. Caring for these orchids must be subject to the following general rules:

1. Moderate lighting. There should be enough light for photosynthesis and the normal course of other biochemical processes, but excessively intense radiation can lead to burns and a number of other problems.
2. Moderate temperature conditions. Zygopetalums do not like heat, reacting to elevated temperatures by slowing growth.
3. Correct selection of the pot. Like all sympodial orchids, zygopetalums grow in breadth and require space. But too large a pot can cause root rot and rhizomes.
4. Competently composed substrate. It should be sufficiently water-absorbing, but at the same time loose and breathable.
5. Regular but moderate watering. The irrigation mode is adjusted individually, taking into account other factors - illumination, air temperature, pot volume, substrate moisture content, plant age.
6. Top dressing taking into account the phase of the life cycle. Zygopetalums respond well to fertilizers, but the composition must be selected correctly.
7. Artificial rest.It must be arranged after the ripening of the faded pseudobulb. During this period, the orchid is no longer fertilized and watered very sparsely until the pseudobulb starts up new growth.

An additional important condition is high air humidity. If all the above requirements are met, zygopetalum grows rapidly and regularly bloom profusely, without suffering from diseases and pests.

Zygopetalums are usually classified as shade-tolerant orchids of moderately cold content. But both shade tolerance and cold resistance of these plants are relative, manifested within strictly defined limits.

Diseases and pests

It is believed that odontoglossum is not too susceptible to various diseases, but sometimes problems do happen. One of these troubles is insects such as aphids, scale insects or spider mites. An infected plant can be easily recognized by the presence of fine cobwebs on the surface. The lack of flowering for a long time can also be a signal for concern. This insect is dangerous because in the active phase the mite begins to eat the plant, sucking out all the juices from it. As a result, the flower withers and dries up.

The insect can fly from the street through an open window or move from a nearby infected flower. In addition, it can be contained in the soil that was used when the plant was transplanted. Low humidity and high air temperature serve as a favorable habitat for it. To defeat the spider mite, first of all, it is necessary to increase the humidity of the air. The flower should be watered abundantly with water and wrapped in a plastic bag. That is, you need to create a microclimate around it, in which the plant should stay for 2-3 days.

And also helps from spider mites washing orchid leaves with a weak solution of water and dishwashing liquid or liquid soap. The solution is prepared in proportion to 1 liter of water 1 tbsp. l. liquids. With the same solution, it is necessary to rinse the place where the flower pot was. Severely damaged leaves must be cut off, and the cut must be treated with a solution of the drug "Previkur" (1 drop of the drug per 1 liter of water).

To combat harmful insects infecting the orchid, several preparations are recommended.

• Actellik. It is necessary to prepare the solution according to the instructions and apply as a spray. It is toxic and should only be used outdoors.
• Apollo. This drug is effective only for insect larvae. On adults, it has only a sterilizing effect.
• Fitoverm. This substance can be used indoors. Apply as a spray for a month at weekly intervals.
• Akarin. The drug is an analogue of Fitoverma according to the principle of action and method of application.

You can find out more about how to care for the odontoglossum orchid at home.

Popular questions and answers

How do I perform a transplant?

To transplant an orchid, you must:

• Remove the flower from the pot along with the soil. You need to act carefully so as not to damage the roots. If the plant cannot be pulled out, the container should be cut.
• Remove soil from the root system. To make it separate easily, put the flower in warm water. Wash off the remnants of the earth with a shower.
• Examine the roots, remove damaged areas, treat the cuts with charcoal.
• Remove bottom yellowed leaves and soft empty bulbs.
• Place the plant on a paper towel to dry the roots completely.
• Lay expanded clay at the bottom of the pot with a layer of 5 cm to prevent water stagnation.
• Cover with a special soil for orchids with the same layer and plant a flower in it.
• Add the required amount of soil on top and press down with your hand so that it settles.
• Submerge the pot in water for a few minutes, then let it drain.
• If after that the roots are exposed, add a layer of soil.

Why doesn't it bloom?

An orchid may not bloom if:

• The plant is too young.
• The place where the flower is kept is poorly lit.
• The room temperature is abnormal.
• The air is not humidified enough.
• The soil contains an excessive amount of fertilizers containing nitrogen.
• The flower is watered incorrectly.
• The plant is infested with pests.

In order for an orchid to bloom, it is necessary to create suitable conditions for it and provide proper care. In addition, you can stimulate flowering with the following three actions:

1. Create conditions with temperature differences. To do this, you need to take out the flower pot in a cool place at night. The difference between daytime and nighttime values ​​should be approximately 6 ° C. In this case, the thermometer must not be allowed to fall below 16 oC. The procedure is recommended to be repeated daily for 2 weeks.
2. Use phosphorus and potassium supplements. Such feeding of the plant will contribute to the formation of buds.
3. Use cytokinin paste if peduncle is present. The product must be applied to exposed kidneys.

Why do the leaves turn yellow?

This process can be considered natural if the leaves located in the lower part of the plant turn yellow. This is how the flower is renewed. When the leaves are completely dry, they should be carefully removed.

If young leaves turn yellow, this indicates a disease. The main reasons for this phenomenon:

• Waterlogged soil (promotes root rot).
• Overdried soil.
• Insufficient humidity in the room.
• Low air temperature.
• Exposure to direct sunlight.

Why do the roots dry?

Such changes are caused by mistakes made when leaving, namely:

• Improper watering. Lack of moisture causes the roots to dry out.
• Using hard water. The high salt content is detrimental to the root system.
• Insufficient humidification of the air in the room. As a result, the aerial roots dry out.
• Failure to comply with the recommended dose when applying fertilizers. Excess minerals can cause chemical burns.
• Damage to the root system during flower transplantation.
• Violation of sanitary rules, as a result of which the plant was infected with bacteria or fungus.

Proper care of orchids is the best prevention against pest diseases and other flower problems.

Top dressing

For this type of orchid, feeding is necessary every 2-3 weeks throughout the year. You can use the fertilizer concentration as indicated on the package.

In addition to root feeding, foliar is needed: fertilizer is diluted and sprayed on the outer parts of the plant. It is advisable to use both methods for feeding, alternating them.

For feeding, a specialized fertilizer designed for orchids will be most suitable. Other fertilizers are not suitable because they are intended for indoor plants grown in normal soil.

Using them in substrates prepared on the basis of the bark leads to the deposition of salts in the substrate, thus creating an environment that adversely affects the root system of orchids. When new shoots appear, fertilization with a large amount of nitrogen is necessary.

When the orchid sprouts reach half their normal size, a fertilizer containing more phosphorus is required.

Popular types

The following are the types of odontoglossum orchids that are not very difficult to care for at home.

Odontoglossum crispum (Odontoglossum crispum). Differs in high decorativeness. The densely seated flowers are collected in racemose inflorescences. White and lilac color predominates, monotonous or with a brown-cherry pattern.

Odontoglossum lemon (Odontoglossum citrosmum) mainly with delicate lilac-white or pale pink flowers.

Odontoglossum large (Odontoglossum grande) or Tiger Orchid. Perhaps the least moody look to care for. On the peduncle, 5 or more large tiger-colored flowers are usually formed. Flowering occurs from September to January and lasts a month.Odontoglossum harryanum is native to Colombia.It is considered one of the most beautiful representatives of the genus. Many hybrids of this species are in great demand among flower growers due to the abundant and exciting flowering in the widest color range. Peduncles are formed on a ripe pseudobulb, and fragrant flowers appear in late summer or early autumn.

Almost all odontoglossum orchids bloom at home every 9-10 months, and flowering lasts about 6 weeks.