Good afternoon, my reader. It’s a familiar situation: you gazed at an orchid in a store for a long time, gazed with admiration at an expensive beauty, in the end gave up and bought it - it’s impossible to resist perfection! Let her decorate the house!
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And even if the flower went to someone as a gift, the task for all new owners is the same - to provide the plant with proper care so that the flowering lasts as long as possible. And this is where questions arise! How to care? When to transplant? Where to put? How often to water? Today we will try to answer them and tell you about the proper care of orchids.
After the shop, the “new girl” should rest. Leave her alone... for a while!
So that the delicate plant does not suffer from stress in the company of unfamiliar indoor flowers in your home, send it... to the quarantine zone! Let it live for a couple of weeks in isolation, for example, on a bedside table or refrigerator, where there is no contact with other plants. The main thing is that the place is shaded enough, secluded, without direct sunlight. Leave the flower alone for a while - do not annoy with watering, dressings recommended by the seller - they will be required a little later.
Attention! Take a closer look at the new tenant - there are no pests on it that want to multiply on your other flowers.
As soon as you make sure that the plant is quite healthy and comfortable, you can begin to move it closer to the sun, teach it a little to bright light, water as needed.
Do not rush to transplant!
If your orchid is not placed in sphagnum - some nurseries use this moss to transport plants - but planted in suitable nutrient substrate from tree bark and plant fibers, it will not need to be transplanted for several seasons.
Important! Do not use anti-stress "chemistry" for plants - the orchid will cope on its own, peace and dryness will help it settle down and get used to the change of scenery. If no pests were found on the plant, then there is no need to water it "for prevention" with insecticides either!
What must be done without fail? What does the care of a tropical beauty consist of?
The orchid is considered a very whimsical plant, but it is not difficult to care for it. The main thing is to do everything necessary in a timely and consistent manner.
An orchid needs good light
- First, provide it with enough light. In good light, your beauty will bloom constantly, and its deficiency will affect the leaves: they will lose their glossy dark green color, stretch out, turn yellow.
- Also, the plant does not like direct sunlight, which can leave burns on the leaves. The light should be diffused, especially in summer, for this you can stick a translucent film or matte plastic on the glass.
- An important factor is the 12-hour daylight hours, and with a shorter duration, artificial illumination is necessary.
- In autumn, the flower begins a dormant period, new shoots are laid. No backlight is required during this time.
Correct temperature regime
It turns out that in accordance with the temperature conditions of growth in their homeland, orchids are divided into 3 groups:
- thermophilic (come from the tropics and coastal plains) - phalaenopsis, cattleya, dendrobium;
- the largest group - cold-loving, native to the highlands and subtropics - lelia, papiopedilum;
- lovers of average temperatures, which are accustomed to in the mountain tropics - odontoglossum, miltonia.
The first group requires a "tropical" temperature regime in summer (in the daytime from 16 ° C to 33 ° C) and moderate in winter (16-19 ° C) with a decrease of 3-5 degrees at night. For the second group, respectively, temperatures from 21 to 13 are required, and for the third from 23 to 14 degrees.
Attention! At home, it is enough for all orchids to provide a medium temperature regime: during the day 19 - 26 ° С, and at night from 14 - 25 ° С.
Water balance
As well as temperature conditions, different types of orchids treat watering differently, but they all cannot stand moisture stagnation in the root system. Only during active growth, peduncle development and flowering do plants need increased watering.
Important. For orchids, use soft rain, melt or boiled water. In the summer you need to water 2-3 times a week when the substrate dries from above, and in winter 1-2 times. With "overflow" roots rot, and with "underfilling" leaves and pseudobulbs can shrivel.
The best solution for watering an orchid is a "bathhouse", when a flower pot is placed in a large container and watered warm water from the shower for a few minutes, then allow to stand for about half an hour, until completely moistened substrate. Then the excess water is drained and the plant is returned to its usual place.
Mineral support
For dressings, and they should be carried out no more than once every 2-3 weeks, especially during active growth, any ready-made fertilizer that is sold in specialized stores and is used according to the instructions on the package, followed by washing off with a clean water. Once every few years, the flower is transplanted and the substrate is completely replaced, then feeding can be skipped for some time until the appearance of the plant deteriorates.
Do you grow orchids at home?
Original articleand many other materials, you can find on ourwebsite.
Read about caring for orchids in the following article:The orchid has crawled roots from the pot: reasons for what to do