How not to flood an orchid
After reading in the accompanying memo that the orchid loves moderation in everything, I decided that this does not apply to watering the plant, since the tropical forests, from which Phalaenopsis come from, are distinguished by high humidity. And the substrate in which the orchid grew seemed to me very unreliable. And I, with the best of intentions, generously watered and sprayed the orchid, and at the end of the month I was preparing to transplant it into a more suitable, in my opinion, soil. But I did not have time to do this, because the flower died. That's how my arrogance let me down. Not wanting to offend my mother-in-law, I reluctantly bought the same expensive orchid and sat down on the Internet to study the rules of caring for it. After rereading many articles on different sites, I realized how wrong my decision was to ignore the advice of experts. The flower managed to die from waterlogging, but if it had not rotted from it, I would have killed it by transplanting it into oily garden soil.
Advantages and disadvantages
Soil cultivation is inferior to hydroponics and hydrocultivation in some areas.
Benefits of growing without land.
- The absence of rot and parasites in the soil (an important point). Orchid roots are initially subject to decay processes. But if you cultivate the hydroponic method, then there will be a large amount of oxygen in the water, and a regular change of liquid will also prevent decay.
- There is no need for regular replanting, as is the case with soil growth.
- The flower is not exposed to an excessive load of feeding.
- The water is constantly enriched with nutrients, so the flowers grow strong and healthy.
- The roots do not dry out from oxygen deficiency.
But the cons also have to be mentioned. So, the water method requires constant monitoring of the temperature of the water - it must remain cool. Also, the florist is forced to ensure that the water limit marker does not fall below the starting root system. If this happens, the liquid must be topped up.
Step by step instructions: how to grow?
To grow an orchid in this way, you need to do several manipulations:
- The peduncle is cut off from the main plant.
- A bottle with a neck cut off by 5 cm is prepared and water is poured into it. First, the water must be purified and an activated carbon tablet dissolved in it.
- The plant is immersed in liquid so that the water covers the peduncle by 4-5 cm.
- A sharp blade is used to cut a semicircular scale of the plant, which frees the closed bud. The cut is smeared with cytokinin ointment, which can be purchased at any flower shop. During the first month, it is necessary to lubricate the cut with ointment once a week.
You need to change the liquid and bottle once a week.
Do you need to add something else to the substrate?
Throughout the entire life cycle of an orchid, it is necessary to make regular fertilizing. You can use the same fertilizers that are used when growing in soil
It is very important to maintain a concentration equal to half the concentration that is used when watering an orchid in the case of soil cultivation
Cleaning the plant from the previous substrate and its inspection
When changing the water, it is imperative to inspect the roots of the plant for the presence of green algae.
They do not need to be removed, since they help to improve gas exchange during stagnant water.
Sometimes you can see dead roots, but you should not be afraid of this, because soon new ones will grow in their place.
Planting in a new pot
It is necessary to transplant the orchid into a new pot correctly:
- The roots are cleaned of soil residues and washed.
- The new pot is half filled with the substrate.
- The plant is placed in the soil and sprinkled on top.
- If the orchid is transferred to perlite, the pot must be covered with expanded clay to the level of the hole, and then the plant must be planted. Perlite is poured on top, so that it recedes from the neck by 1 cm.
- To compact the soil near the roots, you need to temporarily place the pot in water.
Caring for the stangopeya orchid at home
Stangopea, like most members of the extensive orchid family, requires high air humidity and bright, but always diffused lighting.
Temperature regime
This plant feels great in summer at temperatures from 23 to 25 degrees, and in winter - from 17 to 18 degrees. Experts recommend providing the plant with a daily temperature difference, and the difference between the temperatures should be about 3-5 degrees. This promotes normal flowering. In the warm season, the stangopea can be taken out into the fresh air, while it should be placed on a loggia or balcony, and you can also hang it on a tree that is in the garden.
Moisturizing
The plant responds very well to regular moisture from the sprayer. However, it is necessary to ensure that water droplets do not end up on the surface of young growths or flowers when spraying, since they can rot quickly enough. Experienced orchidists advise to spray the plant from the smallest spray bottle, because this type of dew falls out where such an orchid comes from.
Choice of capacity
For planting stangopea, it is best to use a hanging plastic or wooden basket, and a lattice with large cells is also suitable for this purpose. Such a container will hold the flower itself well, and will also provide free air access to its root system. Due to the fact that in natural conditions this kind of orchid prefers to grow on rocky ledges or in the forks of trees, it has peduncles directed downward. Therefore, such a flower must be grown exclusively in a hanging container.
Earth mixture
To grow such a plant, two types of soil mixture are used:
- dry foliage and bark of trees, sphagnum;
- tree bark, fern roots, sphagnum, and charcoal.
In this case, it is best to use the second version of the soil mixture for planting. Such components will provide the substrate with good moisture holding capacity and a loose structure. And also this soil mixture has a large amount of various nutrients that the plant needs.
Orchid Stangopea (Stanhopea). Transfer.
Fertilizer
It is recommended to feed stangopea only in spring, when there is intense growth, as well as flowering. For top dressing, you need to use a specialized complex fertilizer for orchids, while you need to take ½ part of the dose that is recommended on the package.
How to water
Such a plant is very fond of moisture. In this regard, it should be watered systematically, without waiting for the drying out of the soil mixture. If watering is scarce, then this will have an extremely negative effect on the roots of the orchid, while deformation of the leaf plates will occur, and there will also be a delay in flowering. If watering is excessively abundant, then this will also negatively affect the condition of the plant. So, its pseudobulbs are crushed, and flowering may not come at all.
With the onset of the dormant period (at the end of the autumn period), watering the stangopea needs a little less. As a rule, at this time, watering is carried out only after the soil dries slightly around the edges of the pot. For irrigation and humidification, it is necessary to use water at room temperature, which can be rainwater, well-settled or boiled.
Pests
Spider mites or scale insects can settle on this plant.If you find harmful insects on the stangopea, then the leaves will need to be carefully washed with lukewarm soapy water, after which it is treated with an insecticide.
Breeding method
As a rule, such a flower can be propagated by dividing its rhizome into parts. In this case, the division is recommended to be carried out during transplantation. And the plant should be transplanted once every 3 years in the spring. The rhizome is divided in such a way that there are several pseudobulbs on each division. A well-sharpened, disinfected knife is used for division. Places of cuts near the cut should be treated with crushed charcoal to prevent infection. Fully this kind of orchid will bloom only when its rhizome grows well and there will be at least 5 or 6 pseudobulbs. In this regard, the stangopea must be planted in a container taken "for growth."
This is an incredibly beautiful plant. It has gorgeous large flowers with a bizarre color and shape. The opened flowers of the stangopea are able to enchant with their beauty.
Stangopea tiger, or Bull Orchid, blossomed in the "Pharmaceutical garden"
How to water an orchid during flowering
Especially you need to be careful when watering plants entering the flowering phase, since there are some nuances here.
The orchid equally attracts the attention of not only experienced but also novice flower growers. Therefore, it is no coincidence that it is considered one of the most popular houseplants.
However, everyone can grow it, because it is enough to familiarize yourself with the rules of planting and caring for a plant so that you can enjoy its flowering every year.
Among all the activities that provide for proper orchid care, special attention should be paid to watering. There are many important nuances here.
regarding the choice of suitable water, time and method of irrigation
All of these points can greatly affect how well an orchid grows and blooms.
Inexperienced flower growers sometimes face such a problem - orchid flowers and buds wither and crumble, or the peduncle simply stops growing. To prevent this from happening, you need to know how to water an orchid during flowering.
Watering orchids during flowering is even more important than during other periods of their life. It takes a lot of energy to form and bloom flowers, and this exotic flower receives its nutrition only from water and air, and not from fertile soil, like plants in our latitudes. Experts advise to water the orchids at home when the substrate is completely dry and the roots turn white.
How often you will have to water depends on many reasons - on the air temperature, humidity level, degree of illumination, and the period of the plant's life. In addition, the rate of moisture absorption and assimilation by the plant differs in different varieties. There is no exact schedule; an attentive owner will determine it himself while caring for his pet. If this usually happens 1-2 times a week, then the flowering orchid will have to be watered more often, maybe 3-4 times. Watering is usually combined with fertilizing plants with mineral fertilizers.
A warm shower is fine if the tap water is soft enough or if you use a watering can. They put the pot in a bath, water it, bypassing the flowers, with water with a temperature of up to +40 degrees, then leave it until the excess water drains from the pot. The axils of the leaves need to be soaked with a napkin, and the flower can be returned to its place only when the humidity and air temperature in the bathroom are equal to the conditions of the room.
Caring for "Phalaenopsis" during flowering in indoor conditions involves all these types of watering, the main thing is that water does not fall on the flowers and does not remain in the leaf axils.
Flowers growing on blocks are soaked by immersing the entire plant in water except the flowers themselves. After 15 minutes, the plant is taken out, slightly shaken off, the leaf axils are soaked. Suspended varieties are watered by immersing their roots in warm water for 15–20 minutes.
Method essence
In order for a plant to constantly delight with its flowers, it does not need ordinary water, but a specially fertilized liquid. All substances that are added to the water are determined strictly according to proportions, only this can ensure uniform nutrition of the flower.
Groundless method options:
- hydroponics - the plant is grown in water;
- aeroponics - a flower develops in the air;
- hydroculture - a substrate is added to the growing liquid.
Growing an orchid in water is not particularly difficult, it is dictated by the natural needs of the flower. Initially, it does not require soil, which is why the option of aquatic cultivation appeared. This method has many advantages, but there are also disadvantages.
How to water a flower
Now let's move on to the question of how to properly water an orchid and what methods of watering are there, because most often the plant dies due to waterlogging. It can be watered with a watering can, immersion, spraying and under the tap.
Watering with a watering can is the easiest way. To do this, you need to filter the soft water and gently pour over the edge of the pot until water appears on the sump. In the future, the orchid will absorb moisture from there.
In any case, the question arises - how often you need to water the flower in this way.
You need to be aware that the roots do not have time to absorb water evenly. The remaining moisture in the pan will only be a source for the lower part of the root system, and the upper ones will become thirsty, dry out and die off. Therefore, you need to watch the upper roots too and add a little water if possible.
Did you know?
Cut orchids stay in water much longer than other flowers.
Watering in the form of spraying is very often used by many florists. This is a fairly simple process, but the question arises whether it is necessary to spray the plant. Our answer is obviously what is needed, especially in the summer. You can spray every day at a distance of 25 cm from a spray bottle. This method is better than watering from a watering can, as moisture evenly gets on the substrate, leaves and root system.
In winter, there is no need to spray the plant, as this can cause hypothermia of the flower.
In the summer, before spraying, it is better to rearrange the orchid to a different place, since direct rays can cause burns.
Immersion
The next method is immersion in water. To do this, you need to pour settled water at room temperature into a bowl and immerse a pot with a flower there.
Important!
Do not submerge the root collar in water.
This should keep the plant in the bowl for about twenty minutes. Even if you forgot about the plant for two days, that's okay.
The question arises - can an orchid be kept in water for so long? Of course, you can, the main thing is not to overdo it and pull out the plant in time. If you overdo it, then swelling will appear on the leaves. This is due to excess moisture.
After watering, you need to give the plant time to drain off any remaining water. Then the flower pot can be put in a permanent place.
In hot summer, this procedure can be carried out a couple of times a week.
Tap watering
Watering orchids in the shower is often used by many florists. With it, you can wash away the dust. But you need to know that the shower is not suitable for all types.
Orchids such as hybrid cambria and “
Orchid is a bright, extraordinarily beautiful flower on a thin and fragile stem. At home, the plant requires complex care, which is full of various nuances. Despite this, its natural sophistication, sensuality and refined fragility attract many indoor plant lovers.
The process of watering a flower raises many questions: in a pot, with what water and how often? Proper watering of an orchid is a guarantee of successful cultivation of a beautiful and flowering plant. In turn, a mistake made when caring for an indoor flower can lead to its death.
