Phalaenopsis, The Basics Of Keeping Orchids In An Apartment - 1

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

What care is needed for orchids in a city apartment

Before you decide to purchase a beautiful orchid for growing in your home, I advise you to carefully read the conditions in which it is in wildlife. And after that, decide whether you can create suitable conditions for her at home.

Indeed, each type of orchid requires a certain temperature and humidity of the air, lighting and the substrate in which they grow. If you create the right conditions for them, then they will grow and bloom for many years.

Orchids are epiphytic plants that grow naturally on tree trunks. They use wood as a support. Some of the roots attach to the trunk, and the rest hang down. They receive moisture in nature with rains and fogs. This plant does not need potting mix. For example, I use pine bark as a substrate.

Before purchasing the first plant, I read in detail the description of each type of orchid. The most unpretentious orchid that I have was Phalaenopsis. Her homeland is the tropics of Southeast Asia. This type of orchid does not make high demands on light and grows well in normal indoor conditions. On sale now you can find many varieties with a variety of flower colors. Phalaenopsis bloom for a very long time. The longest - 6 months - the phalaenopsis blooms with white flowers, the least of all - 4 months - with dark flowers.

Basically, my orchids start blooming from early December and bloom until June. And this is very important for the grower, since most flowers have a dormant period at this time of the year. I placed these flowers on the windowsill, which is oriented to the east. In winter, I separate the flowerpots from the cold window with several layers of lutrasil. If the outside temperatures are very low (from -10 ° C), then I move the orchids to a rack for uzambara violets, providing them with additional illumination with fluorescent lamps. In spring and summer, when the sun is very active in the morning hours, I cover flower leaves on the windowsill with lutrasil from sunburn.

I water the phalaenopsis from a sprayer, in this case moisture gradually penetrates into the substrate, completely wetting it. I use only warm (warmed up) water that has settled for several days for irrigation. I immediately drain the excess water from the pan. I water the plants once every 5-6 days. And in the spring and autumn, when the steam heating batteries are disconnected and the apartment is cold, I water less often - once every 7-10 days.

In the first year after purchasing the Phalaenopsis, she turned on a humidifier, directing a moist stream to the leaves and hanging roots. Of course, the orchids really liked this procedure, they felt almost like in the tropics, but the wooden window sill and window frames did not like this - the paint began to peel off, and then the wallpaper under the windowsill began to peel off. The humidifier had to be abandoned. It turned out that this did not affect the well-being of the orchids. This made me happy.

I feed my pets with liquid orchid fertilizer or ETISSO liquid fertilizer once every two weeks throughout the year. Between the subcortexes I water with plant growth regulators (Ribav Extra, HB-101), alternating them. Once every two months I water the flowers with non-carbonated mineral water. Once a month, I immerse the pot completely in a container with diluted fertilizer, then let the water drain.

And for seven years now my orchids have been doing very well and blooming every year. After flowering, I cut off the flower shoot under the last fallen flower (and not at the base of the shoot near the leaves, where it would seem most logical to do this). A few weeks after this, the plant very often forms a new shoot, and flowering begins again. However, there will be fewer flowers on such a shoot, and they will be slightly smaller than the first. But then you can extend your pleasure in contemplating flowers for a few more months. It happens that an additional shoot is just starting to fade, and a new shoot is already right there with buds. After flowering, the plant begins to actively grow leaves. With the appearance of a new young leaf, the lower old leaf begins to turn yellow and die off. You don't need to tear it off when it is still soft. Having dried, the leaf will fall off by itself,otherwise the plant may be damaged.

During the entire cultivation period, I transplanted only one orchid into a new pot with a larger diameter, as it became cramped in the old pot, and it got out of the pot along with the substrate. The pots should be transparent so that light gets to the roots. After transplanting into a new pot, the plant was not watered for a week. After some time, the orchid began to grow actively, and the leaves became much larger. Fresh pine bark has a beneficial effect on the plant, as the acidity of the bark is higher than that of the old substrate. Over time, the bark collapses, crumbles, and its acidity (towards alkaline) changes from the tap water with which we water the flowers. In addition, the crumbling bark retains excess moisture in the substrate, and the roots of the plant should not be wet all the time - they must breathe. I thinkthat once every five years, the substrate in the pot must be changed to a new one. Over the years, my phalaenopsis have not been affected by diseases and pests.