What growing media and propagation methods are used for Phalaenopsis orchids?
Phalaenopsis is an epiphytic plant in the genus Phalaenopsis of the orchid family. The plant sends out long flower stalks from the leaf axils and produces flowers shaped like dancing butterflies, with extremely high ornamental value. So what soil is used to cultivate the “Queen of tropical orchids” Phalaenopsis? What propagation methods are there?
1. What soil is used to cultivate Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis is a plant with aerial roots, so the potting medium should not be soil. Instead, use sphagnum moss, pumice, tree fern scraps, crushed charcoal, etc., or simply fix the young plant onto a tree fern board (snake wood) and let it attach and grow on its own. This cultivation method imitates its original ecological environment. When cultivating, you can choose materials such as pine needles, peanut shells, bark strands, and clay balls as the substrate for growing Phalaenopsis. It has relatively high requirements for the medium, needing breathability, resistance to rot, slight acidity, and good drainage. If you cannot prepare these materials yourself, you can directly buy special orchid soil for Phalaenopsis at a flower market.
2. Propagation methods of Phalaenopsis
1. Natural sowing method
The natural sowing method is to sow the seeds released from already split seed capsules into the pot of the parent plant. This method is simple and easy, requires no complex sterile procedures or operating tools, and is suitable for ordinary home Phalaenopsis growers, but the chance of success with this method is very small and it is rarely used.
2. Flower stalk bud forcing method
In the flower stalk bud forcing method, first cut off the part of the flower stalk that has finished blooming, then carefully use a blade or sharp knife to remove the bracts between the first to third nodes on the upper part of the flower stalk, exposing the buds in the nodes. Use a cotton swab to evenly apply a bud forcing agent or hormones such as indolebutyric acid to the exposed nodes. After treatment, place the orchid plant in a semi-shaded place and keep the temperature at 25-28°C. After 2-3 weeks, the buds will visibly grow leaves, and after 3 months they will grow into small Phalaenopsis seedlings with 3-4 leaves and aerial roots. Cut off the small seedlings and pot them up to become a new orchid plant.
3. Crown cutting bud forcing method
After the growing point of an orchid plant is damaged by some factor, after a period of time 1-2 new shoots will grow from the stem nodes near the base of the orchid plant. This characteristic can be used to propagate Phalaenopsis.
4. Stem cutting propagation method
The principle of stem cutting propagation is to destroy the stem tip growing point to induce dormant buds to grow. Although there are 1-3 dormant buds in the leaf axils of a Phalaenopsis plant, most cannot sprout into plants. You can wait until the plant keeps growing upward and the stem nodes become relatively long, then cut off the upper part of the plant with roots using a sterilized sharp knife or scissors, plant it in a new pot to continue growing, and give the lower part with roots and stem appropriate water management. Before long, new shoots will sprout.
5. Tissue culture method
Using the tissue culture method to propagate Phalaenopsis can obtain excellent genetic characteristics exactly the same as the mother plant. Phalaenopsis seedlings produced by this method are called meristem seedlings or tissue-cultured seedlings. The plant tissue used for meristem culture can be the terminal bud, stem segments, young leaves, or root tips, but currently the most common is to use Phalaenopsis flower stalks.
The above is Tuliuwang's introduction to the cultivation medium and propagation methods of Phalaenopsis. For Phalaenopsis, bamboo woven containers, porous ceramic pots, or specially made orchid pots should be chosen. It is best not to use ordinary plastic pots. It is recommended to choose porous shallow pots, and the best is when the pot height is less than the pot diameter.