Orchids should be so snug in their pots that you can pick up the plant by its leaves and not shake out the roots. How to Repot an Orchid Carefully remove the orchid from its existing pot. New orchids are typically sold in thin plastic containers, which can be cut away. Healthy roots look white or green. Hold the plant upright in the new pot and fill in around it with new potting media, tamping down gently, to about an inch from the top of the pot.
Water the orchid well to settle the media around its roots. Add more media if necessary. Green bamboo and curly willow make for attractive stakes. Orchid Growing Medium Never plant an orchid in standard potting soil. All orchids—especially epiphytic species—need a lot of air around their roots.
The best medium is one that is very light, porous, and fast-draining. Large plants with older roots do better in coarser growing media. Most garden stores sell special orchid potting mixes: Orchid potting mixes are made of fine, medium, or coarse fir bark chunks, which are usually combined with perlite, peat, or sphagnum moss, and horticultural charcoal.
You can mix up your own, using four to six parts bark to one part each of the other components. Orchid Pots Orchids are commonly grown in terra cotta pots because they allow for extra airflow. There are even special orchid pots which have wide drainage slits around the sides of the pot. Select a pot large enough to allow at least an inch of growing space around the roots. Orchid Flowers Of course, orchids are renowned for their beautiful flowers, which can seem to last forever.
Here are answers to a few common orchid flower questions: How often do orchids bloom? It depends on the type of orchid. Phalaenopsis orchids will readily bloom every few months, while other types may be limited to once or twice a year. How long do orchid flowers last? Depending on the species, orchid flowers can last anywhere from several days to several weeks.
When should I cut the flower spike? Prune the spike off at the base, being careful not to accidentally snip any leaves or roots as well. In fact, leaving the flower spike on Phalaenopsis orchids can speed up the time between blooms. Your orchid is most likely not getting enough light. Read more about lighting below! Lighting Without adequate light, expect lush growth but no flowers.
Insufficient light is the most common reason for failure to bloom. These plants thrive in strong light, but direct sunlight can burn orchids. Bright, indirect light from an eastern or southern window is ideal. Leaf color is a good indicator of the amount of light an orchid is getting: Bright green leaves indicate a happy, healthy plant. Dark green leaves signal that a plant is not getting enough light.
Yellowish-green or red leaves indicate that a plant is getting too much light. If you suspect that your orchid is exposed to too much light, feel the leaves. If they feel noticeably warmer than the surrounding air, move the plant to a location with less intense brightness. Air Circulation Orchids must also have fresh, circulating air. In the wild, continual gentle breezes are vital for their survival.
Air in motion helps to evaporate stagnant water, which is a breeding ground for fungi and bacteria that are trapped during watering. Ventilation also helps orchids to tolerate intense light that would otherwise burn the leaves. Create gentle breezes: Open windows in the summer and use an oscillating fan in winter. Without ventilation, orchids may eventually die from rot, lack of carbon dioxide, or disease. Watering Experts say that more orchids are killed by incorrect watering than from any other cause.
Orchids should be watered just as they dry out. Over-watering may lead to rot, which kills orchid roots. Do not water orchids with ice cubes! Most orchid houseplants are tropical species and will not appreciate the direct chill of an ice cube. Consider how you would feel if someone dumped a bucket of ice on you at the beach! To know when to water, pick up the potted orchid and examine it: Is the potting mix dry?
Does the pot feel light? This means that it probably needs a drink. When watered, healthy roots should turn bright green. Shriveled gray roots signal that the orchid needs more water. Shriveled or spongy brown and black roots are a sign of rot, so cut down on watering. In general, douse plants early in the day with tepid water once a week in winter and twice a week in warmer weather.
Water until the water runs out of the pot freely; this also flushes out any naturally occurring salts. When indoor air is dry, spray orchids with tepid water to keep the humidity up. Terrestrials prefer to be kept slightly more damp than epiphytes. Fertilizing As a general rule, fertilize orchids every 2 weeks during peak growth spring and summer and once a month during dormancy fall and winter.
In particular, it increased the rate of reblooming from the same flower spike. The excessive direct sunlight will do often cause irrepairable damage to the leaves. So if you see direct sunlight on your orchid for more than 1 to 2 hours per day, move the orchid to a different location. They will typically be able to tolerate some early morning direct sunlight in an east-facing window, or late evening direct sunlight in a west-facing window.
But the direct sunlight in the middle of the day from a south-facing window will simply be too intense and will damage your orchid. If you really want to keep your orchid in a south-facing window, sheer curtains can reduce the intensity of the sunlight, or you could place another barrier in front of your orchid to shield it from direct sunlight. Low light conditions can be more difficult to identify, as the leaves will often look extremely healthy and vibrant.
They will become a darker and richer green color, as the leaves try to produce more chlorophyll to maximize the use of the scarce light available. However, this is a sign that your phalaenopsis orchid is struggling. An orchid that is kept in low light lighting conditions is very unlikely to produce new blooms.
If you are having trouble getting your phalaenopsis orchid to rebloom, definitely consider lighting as a cause of the issue. You need some caution when moving an orchid from low light conditions to higher light conditions. It will take them a while to acclimatize to higher light levels. Suddenly moving a phalaenopsis from a dark room to a south facing window, can cause sunburn. Then you can move it to the location you have identified with perfect light conditions.
It is possible to grow orchids under grow lights, but not usually necessary unless you have limited light conditions. If you are trying to grow a phalaenopsis orchid in a dark room, LED or fluorescent grow lights are best due to their low heat output and high efficiency. You should set them up to provide to lux for 8 to 12 hours per day. Phalaenopsis orchids have green roots, which is a characteristic that is unusual to most other plants. The reason for this is that phalaenopsis orchids are epiphytic plants.
They grow attached to trees rather than in soil. As the roots are exposed to light, orchids have adapted to this and produce chlorophyll in the roots. This can contribute to photosynthesis and energy generation for the plant. Whilst it is generally best practice to expose phalaenopsis orchid roots to light, it is not completely necessary. Your orchid will thrive as long as the leaves are receiving good levels of sunlight. Generally though, I would recommend placing your orchid in a very loose potting medium in a transparent pot.
If you suspect a plant is exposed to too much light, feel the leaves. If they feel noticeably warmer than the surrounding air, move the plant to a location with less intense brightness.
Low light, Warm growing orchids enjoy a north or an east, protected west or shaded south windows of the home. Standard household temperatures are adequate. Orchids that are classified as low light, warm growing are: Paphiopedilum or Lady Slipper , Phalaenopsis and Oncidium. Moderate to high light, Warm growing orchids.
These orchids like a lot of light and warm household temperatures.
0コメント