Phalaenopsis mini orchid: reproduction and care at home

Phalaenopsis - an orchid, a flower that looks like a butterfly. Regions of natural growth - Southeast Asia.

Content:

• Features of an indoor flower
• Buying mini orchids
• Reproduction and transplantation
• Care advice
• Plant diseases and pests

Features of an indoor flower

Phalaenopsis by structure and type of flowering are:

• Standard, growing in the upper part of the peduncle. The flowers are large, up to 12 cm in diameter. The apical bud dies off after flowering.
• Novelties have smaller flowers, located on a peduncle that grows from the upper bud.
• Multiflora usually branches, has up to 6 flowers per peduncle. The flower shape is more similar to the standard one.

Now more and more often you can find orchids with a height of only 15-20 cm, hybrids of 30 cm. These are the so-called mini phalaenopsis. Their flower shape is standard, but the size is much smaller. The diameter of the flower can be only 2-4 cm. In shape, they resemble a butterfly. Peduncles are directed vertically or hang down. The number of leaves is 4-6. Their colors can be varied, including marble, dark green.

Mini-phalaenopsis are of all three types, but most often they are multiflora.

The leaves of mini orchids are slightly smaller than those of ordinary ones, up to 15 cm. There are several peduncles, they are branched, covered with flowers of various colors, connect white, pink, dark purple, beige, greenish and other colors, dots, dashes in different variations.

Advantages of mini orchids:

1. Requires little space.
2. They allow you to create compositions by planting varieties of different colors in one pot.
3. Bloom up to 6 months, re-flowering is possible.

Buying mini orchids

There are some difficulties in growing mini orchids. The greenhouse where they are prepared for sale is kept at a high humidity and temperature. In such conditions, phalaenopsis does not need watering. Plants are planted in pots filled with sphagnum.

But when they go to the store, the conditions are different, the humidity is lower. Therefore, they begin to be watered by immersing them in water. Sphagnum quickly absorbs water, picking up more than needed, and does not dry out for a long time. In this case, the roots rot, and the plant may die.

Therefore, you need to buy a mini phalaenopsis, carefully examining it. The roots can be seen through the walls of the transparent pot. They should be green, firm and juicy. Their number is more than three. Leaves are dense, without wrinkles and dots.

Reproduction and transplantation

Mini phalaenopsis is not only bought as an adult plant with ready-made flowers. It can be grown from an existing plant. To do this, cut off the peduncle, lubricate the kidney with cytokinin paste. This stimulates the appearance of children. A small leaf will appear from the bud, then air roots will grow near it. This is evidence that the plant can be planted. Mini phalaenopsis is propagated by seeds, by separating side shoots from 5 cm in length. The procedure is carried out with a disinfected knife.

The soil for growing mini orchids is bought in a store or prepared independently.

The soil for ordinary and mini orchids is significantly different. Large ones grow on the bark, and for the mini you need to create a moss sphagnum pillow.They take the bark of a coniferous tree of a very fine fraction, no more than 1 cm, and mix it with sphagnum moss. Charcoal is added, which will protect the roots from rotting and will serve as food for the orchid.

Dishes are taken transparent small sizes. You can buy it at a flower shop. In extreme cases, you can use a cut mineral water bottle, making a large number of holes in it for the flow of water and air. The mini orchid does not tolerate transplanting well. Its leaves may even wrinkle at first. But after a couple of weeks, Phalaenopsis adapts to new conditions.

Care advice

Conditions close to tropical conditions are created for the flower:

• It should be in a well-lit room, but direct rays should not hit its leaves and flowers. They can cause burns in the form of yellow and brown spots. Therefore, the southern windows are protected with a net or film. In winter, the flower is illuminated with phytolamps to increase the duration of daylight hours.
• In winter, watered once every two weeks. In the summer, this is done more often, once every 3 days, but only after the lump of the substrate has completely dried out. This will allow the roots to get the air the orchid needs to grow. But the roots can be kept dry for no more than two days, otherwise the plant will die. Mini phalaenopsis is more demanding on soil moisture and watering regularity than usual.
• Some gardeners advise replanting the plant every 2-3 years. Others - every year, when the first leaf appears, and the peduncle has not yet formed. This is due to the decomposition of the bark and the loss of the ability to pass air to the roots. Therefore, they look at the condition of the bark and carry out a transplant when it shrinks. They are also transplanted when the roots fill the pot.
• If the flower is grown in sphagnum, then watering can be carried out only with a spray bottle, using a nozzle for water dust. Water should not enter the leaf axils and growth points. In case of contact, remove it with a napkin. The orchid in the bark is watered by submerging it in water half the height of the pot for a couple of hours. The water temperature should be 30-40 ° C. Plumbing is not used.
• Particular attention should be paid to the temperature regime. The flower needs temperature changes. During the day, they maintain 18-30 ° C. At night, they reduce it by 3-4 degrees. But for this, you cannot put the pot under an open window. He does not like drafts and cold air. With a more significant decrease in temperature, transparent sticky discharge appears on the leaves.
• Humidity for mini orchids is maintained at 50-70%. For a young flower, it should be even larger. If the air humidity is less, the flowers and buds will quickly fall off, the flower will grow more slowly. Increase humidity by spraying in the morning. Humidifiers can be used. Warm showers are arranged in summer. If the humidity is above normal, you need to take care not to grow fungi and rot. It can be normalized by considering the color of its roots. If they are yellow - there is too much moisture, silver - not enough.
• A dormant period for orchids in indoor conditions is not required. Reducing temperature and humidity for a while will help speed up the formation of flower buds. The orchid can bloom at any time of the year. After flowering, the peduncles are cut between the nodal point and the first dormant bud.
• Top dressing is carried out every 2-3 weeks. The fertilizer is dissolved in water and the pot is immersed for a few minutes. Then they put it on a pallet and wait for the excess water to drain. Foliar top dressing can be used.

Plant diseases and pests

It is easier to prevent diseases and pests than to fight them. The key to successful cultivation is the provision of all growing conditions. All parts of the plant are inspected regularly. Infusion of garlic increases his immunity.

When spraying in a cool room, when water gets on the leaves, various rot can develop on them.The affected areas are cut with a sharp knife, the cut points are sprinkled with crushed charcoal, the plant is treated with preparations containing copper. When black rot appears, the same procedures are carried out, the substrate is replaced, the pot is disinfected.

Yellowing and cracking of the leaves, a change in their shape is a sign of fusarium.

Orchid pests - whitefly, worm, scale insect:

• Scabbards are small insects that look like turtles. They sit motionless on the leaves, forming colonies and drawing sap from the plant. The orchid is being processed insecticide... The scale insects are collected by hand, the substrate is changed.
• The worm appears as fluffy white lumps. Wipe the leaves with damp cotton wool every 5 days, spray with Fitoverm.
• Whitefly and its larvae escape from the butterfly by wiping the leaves with a solution of laundry soap or spraying with Aktellik.

More information can be found in the video: