Orchids (Orchidaceae), Types And Basics Of Agricultural Technology

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Features of an amazing orchid flower, how to grow indoor orchids

Today, 25,000 species of orchids are known, 90% of them are common in tropical and subtropical regions, the rest are found in various climatic zones, with the exception of deserts and the Arctic. The myth about this wonderful flower sends us back to the past, to the New Zealand Majori tribe.

According to legend, the first inhabitants of our planet were immortal spirits. The ancients believed that only snow-capped mountain peaks could be seen on Earth during this period. The sun heated them up and melted the ice. Thus, waterfalls of unimaginable beauty and grace flowed from the peaks. They directed their run into the oceans, evaporating on the way and turning into lace clouds. Over time, so many clouds gathered that the sun's rays barely made their way through them. The clouds grew heavy and eventually burst into unprecedented rain. Such a beautiful rainbow formed in the sky that all the spirits wanted to take their place on it. The number of spirits increased and increased, they danced and sang on a multi-colored arc until it cracked and fell to the ground, scattering into a myriad of shiny fragments. Now the spirits watched silentlylike colored rain falls from the sky. They caught his drops and had fun, and those fragments of the rainbow that hit the trees turned into orchids. With the advent of man, orchids quickly conquered his heart. Since then, no one doubts which flower rightfully belongs to the winner's laurels.

History of culture

Orchids have always been surrounded by mystery. For centuries, scientists have been struggling to unravel the secrets of these luxurious creatures of nature. In the Middle Ages, pundits seriously believed that orchids do not have seeds, and young plants emerge from the semen of birds and animals, which falls on the ground during their mating games. In the era of the great geographical discoveries, travelers and missionaries who visited the tropical jungle were convinced that orchids were parasitic plants, and, moreover, that they were predators that eat animals, which they paralyze with their intoxicating scent.

Only in the 19th century, Europeans were able to discern tropical beauties more closely. Then a stream of orchids poured into Europe from the tropical regions of South and Central America, India, and Southeast Asia. The scale of this flower export is impressive, with orchids being exported in whole ships. When a ship laden with a precious cargo sank off the coast of Colombia in 1878, there were 20,000 plants on board! "Orchid fever" gripped, first of all, England, which possessed the largest colonial empire in the world. Whole floricultural firms appeared here, specializing in the supply of orchids for the European aristocracy. The most expensive copies were sold at an auction in London and cost 2000-2500 dollars, and sometimes even more expensive. But in the 19th century, the dollar, like the ruble, was much more significant.

Beautiful plants were also available in flower shops. Here they could be relatively inexpensive, since only those plants that were in the most deplorable condition got into the cheap sales. After traveling in the dark hold of a ship, which lasted more than one month, tropical beauties were a pitiful sight - with crumpled leaves, with rotten roots … Such plants were doomed to die. However, those orchids that were "lucky" to fall into the hands of experienced gardeners also died pretty quickly. The fact is that among the orchids brought to Europe, epiphytes predominated - plants growing not on the ground, but on the branches and trunks of trees. They needed a special substrate of bark and moss and a fairly moderate moisture, while European gardeners planted them in oily soil and kept them constantly at high temperatures,while not forgetting to water abundantly. And the orchids perished, but more and more new shipments of plants were brought to replace them. Due to the predatory export, entire populations of tropical orchids with an unusual shape and color of flowers have irrevocably died. Such was the price for a person's desire to become the owner of a luxurious flower treasure. Orchids as decorative flowering plants were identified by scientists in a special group. These are perennial herbaceous plants native to tropical countries with hot and temperate climates. They are valued not only for the originality and beauty of flowers of various shades and colors, but also for the fact that many of them bloom mainly in the winter months. According to the way of their life, these masterpieces are divided into three groups: saprophytes (live on substrates that are decomposition products of other plants), epiphytes,(growing mainly on other plants in the humid tropics, where they often coexist with bromeliads and ferns), as well as terrestrial orchids - living on the soil.

An indisputable advantage over all other flowering plants is the duration of flowering - orchid flowers last about one month, in some species - about two to three months on a plant and about a month if cut. Flowers are solitary, in racemose, paniculate and spike-shaped inflorescences, have a brightly colored perianth of two three-membered circles. The back petal of the inner circle is called the lip and differs from the rest both in shape and color. Three stamens in a flower are attached to the column, only one or two of them are developed. The fruit is a capsule, and the seeds are very small, dusty. Indoor orchid is a huge selection of flowers, with the right selection of which there will always be living, flowering plants in your home. In addition, it is a plant that is unusually beautiful and healthy. Indoor orchid affects the emotional state of a person. Orchids, whose flowers are painted in white, pink, yellow, red, undoubtedly affect you and me. After all, it has long been known that each color affects the psyche and human health in its own way. Even if the indoor orchid is not blooming at this time, the potential energy of its sunny flowers surrounds the plant, we feel it, and our state changes. Being very delicate plants themselves, indoor orchids affect our mood and desires unobtrusively, almost imperceptibly.the potential energy of its sunny flowers surrounds the plant, we feel it, and our state changes. Being very delicate plants themselves, indoor orchids affect our mood and desires unobtrusively, almost imperceptibly.the potential energy of its sunny flowers surrounds the plant, we feel it, and our state changes. Being very delicate plants themselves, indoor orchids affect our mood and desires unobtrusively, almost imperceptibly.

The Sun, which rules the colors, is associated by astrological correspondences with creativity, the desire for creation, joy, and the color of the flowers tells what kind of creation the plant inspires. Indoor orchid with white flowers stimulates a person to honest, pure creativity. Such plants give rise to thoughts about the benefits and harms of creativity, any person often asks himself the question: "Will I harm others and myself with my deeds?" It is clear that when such thoughts arise, the creative process slows down, but the person is more active in doing what, according to his conviction and feeling, will not harm anyone. An orchid with white flowers is a good gift for an artist, musician, poet or needlewoman, creative products that do not glow with warmth and light, but are filled with sadness. Indoor orchids with yellow and orange flowers inspire creativity,as yellow encourages creative work. Plants with dark red flowers make people act faster, so these orchids can be beneficial for slow people. An orchid blooming with pink flowers can please everyone.

Orchid species

Everyone is free to act according to their own taste, and therefore chooses a tropical beauty for their home individually. Phalaenopsis orchid is most interesting for those who are just starting to collect a collection of these wonderful plants. It is also interesting because the flowering period of each flower lasts up to 6 months, this plant does not demand either light or humidity and loves warmth, which is very easy to provide in apartment conditions. For growing in indoor conditions, plants with not very high requirements are best suited: cattleya, cellogyne, cymbidium, papiopedilum ("lady's slipper"), oncidium. If these orchids grow well in your room, then try moving on to rarer, more complex and delicate species and varieties.

Cattleya is one of the most popular and well-known orchid genera in floriculture. There are about 65 species and a large number of natural varieties and forms of Cattleya, common in Mexico, Central and South America and the Antilles. The genus Cattleya has long been the standard of orchids and their culture, and the flower of this orchid in the buttonhole is the highest chic and a sign of aristocracy. Most orchids are epiphytes, but, regardless of belonging, they all grow in nature on trees and rocks and usually have elongated spindle-shaped pseudobulbs, at the end of which there are from one to three dense leaves. The apical inflorescence, bearing from one to several dozen flowers, emerges from the bosom of the “sheath” covering the buds. Flowering of one inflorescence lasts 2-3 weeks (sometimes up to 1.5 months). As I already noted,we can use these inflorescences in a cut.

Of course, indoor orchids are chosen not only for their color and beauty. The size of the plant (sometimes the orchid can reach more than two meters in height in the inflorescence), the ability to create the required temperature and humidity - all this must be considered when buying an orchid. But all the work, chores will pay off with interest when your indoor orchid blooms! Orchids are considered to be very demanding plants in culture? First of all, this is due to the fact that they need a fairly high air humidity. Orchids cannot tolerate dry and dusty air. Even 2-3 times spraying of plants only temporarily increases humidity. It is best to grow orchids in indoor greenhouses.

All types of these amazing plants, despite the general requirements for care, can differ in the degree of difficulty in growing. There are very capricious orchids, but, what is very pleasing, there are many species that can be kept quite easily at home and made to bloom. In addition, it is very important for them to observe the rest period.

How is it necessary to keep these beauties?

You can make your own orchid substrate. It is important that it is loose; often growers use soil with the addition of moss, crushed fern roots, pieces of pine bark and charcoal. You can buy ready-made flower mix in the store.

The general temperature range for orchids should be from + 18 ° C to + 24 ° C in summer. In winter, during the dormant period, we keep them at a temperature of + 12 ° C … + 15 ° C, but not lower than + 10 ° C. For growth, and especially for flowering, the difference between day and night temperatures should be at least 8 ° C. Let's not forget that all orchids are photophilous and can grow in the open sun, but in the summer at noon they need to be slightly shaded. But the duration of daylight hours more than 14-16 hours a day prevents their flowering. Water the orchids at least once a week in the summer months, 2-3 times in hot weather. In autumn, watering is gradually reduced, bringing in October to once every 2-3 weeks, but more often we spray the surface of the substrate. The ideal water temperature for irrigation is + 18 ° C, and the pH is 5.5-6.0. In summer, orchids require high humidity (60-80%),the lower limit in the daytime is 50%, with an increase in temperature, the humidity of the air should increase accordingly. In winter, it is moderate - 40-50%. With the appearance of flower buds and during the growth period, we feed the orchids with each watering, but with a weak solution of complex mineral fertilizer. In spring and early summer, and with the appearance of young shoots, we intensify nitrogen nutrition. We transplant orchids only at the end of the dormant period - before the start of the growth period. Depending on the species, they need a transplant every 2-5 years or if the old pot has become too small. The new pot should only be slightly larger. When transplanting, you must be very careful not to damage the air and earth roots. With the appearance of flower buds and during the growth period, we feed the orchids with each watering, but with a weak solution of complex mineral fertilizer. In spring and early summer, and with the appearance of young shoots, we intensify nitrogen nutrition. We transplant orchids only at the end of the dormant period - before the start of the growth period. Depending on the species, they need a transplant every 2-5 years or if the old pot has become too small. The new pot should only be slightly larger. When transplanting, you must be very careful not to damage the air and earth roots. With the appearance of flower buds and during the growth period, we feed the orchids with each watering, but with a weak solution of complex mineral fertilizer. In spring and early summer, and with the appearance of young shoots, we intensify nitrogen nutrition. We transplant orchids only at the end of the dormant period - before the start of the growth period. Depending on the species, they need a transplant every 2-5 years or if the old pot has become too small. The new pot should only be slightly larger. When transplanting, you must be very careful not to damage the air and earth roots. We transplant orchids only at the end of the dormant period - before the start of the growth period. Depending on the species, they need a transplant every 2-5 years or if the old pot has become too small. The new pot should only be slightly larger. When transplanting, you must be very careful not to damage the air and earth roots. We transplant orchids only at the end of the dormant period - before the start of the growth period. Depending on the species, they need a transplant every 2-5 years or if the old pot has become too small. The new pot should only be slightly larger. When transplanting, you must be very careful not to damage the air and earth roots.

Orchid propagation is usually left to professionals. Orchids with pseudobulbs can be propagated by division. A pseudobulb, a thickened stem, is found in almost all indoor orchids. It is the organ that stores water and nutrients; it can be ovoid, cylindrical, or spherical. The plant is propagated by division at the end of the dormant period. Some orchids also have babies. This usually happens due to some mistakes made when caring for the plant.

As for diseases and pests, orchids are rarely affected by them. Much more often, the cause of damage to a plant is not diseases, but mistakes in caring for them. However, scabbards, aphids, thrips and spider mites are sometimes possible. Magical, extraordinary, beautiful and mysterious creatures from the distant tropics - orchids. Until recently, it was impossible even to think about growing them indoors. But it turned out that many orchids feel very good in the house, you just have to give yourself the trouble to get to know their needs. And they will not disappoint you!