Grow orchids this way: no yellow leaves and blooms every year
Orchids have always symbolized nobility and elegance, and they are a type of flower that many gardening enthusiasts love to grow. But very few people manage to grow orchids well. Today, Huahua will introduce how to care for orchids so they grow better.
Potting Soil Section
Gardening Encyclopedia
"To keep fish, cultivate the water; to grow orchids, cultivate the soil." This shows the importance of soil for orchid growth, and it is also the issue orchid growers care about most. Huahua will introduce several secret potting soil recipes to make sure your orchids bloom more and more.
1. Leaf mold + rice husks + honeycomb coal cinders
Mix leaf mold, decomposed rice husks and honeycomb coal cinders in a 2:1:1 ratio. Crush the honeycomb coal, rinse it with water, and after mixing, spread it out to dry in the sun for 2 days. This soil is not prone to compaction, has good fertility, and helps orchids develop thick, strong roots.
2. Coconut coir + coal cinders
Mix coconut coir and coal cinders in a 1:1 ratio. Choose coarser coconut coir that has been fermented and decomposed, and rinse the coal cinders with water. This soil has good air permeability and is suitable for orchids with weaker roots.
Watering Section
Gardening Encyclopedia
As the saying goes, understanding how to plant an orchid takes a moment, but mastering watering takes three years of effort. Watering is an often-repeated topic, but whether you water correctly determines success or failure in growing orchids.
1. Early flowering stage
In spring, when the temperature is around 20-25°C, you can spray water once every 2-3 days before the orchid blooms, and give a deep watering once a week. Too much water will make the orchid plant grow leggy and make it hard for flower buds to form. If water is lacking, orchids are prone to bud blasting.
2. Flowering stage
If you want orchids to bloom more beautifully, you must control water during the flowering stage. When the orchid's flower stalk elongates and the flower bud is about to shed its bract, give the orchid one thorough watering. The orchids that bloom this way have a beautiful appearance and a long flowering period.
3. Daily care
Follow the principle of not watering until dry, and watering thoroughly when you do. You can insert a bamboo skewer into the soil for 10 minutes, then pull it out. If the surface of the skewer is dry, it needs watering; water thoroughly in one go until water flows out from the bottom of the pot.
Light and Temperature Section
Gardening Encyclopedia
Light determines whether the orchid's flowers have a beautiful color and whether the leaves are glossy and healthy.
1. Increase the temperature difference
If you want to promote orchid flowering, you need to increase the day-night temperature difference. The most suitable range is 18-21°C during the day and 7-10°C at night, which makes it easy to produce more flowers.
If the nighttime temperature is too high, orchid leaves tend to become soft and flower buds drop. If the temperature is too low, leaves tend to develop spots.
2. Light
Generally, orchids need 2 to 3 hours of light. Under normal conditions, if the orchid leaves are glossy and firm, it is fine; if they are dark green and soft, it means more light is needed; if the leaves are pale yellow, it means light should be reduced.
Red and yellow orchid varieties: during the flower bud formation stage, place the orchid on a brightly lit balcony or by a window, and the flowers will have a deeper color.
Green and white orchid varieties: reduce light intensity when the buds first appear, then increase light after flowering. This helps the flowers bloom more elegantly and subtly.
Fertilizing Section
Gardening Encyclopedia
Whether an orchid can develop strong roots, grow vigorously, and produce many beautiful flowers is related to many factors, but fertilizing is the most critical step.
1. Growing period
You can apply a top dressing of fully decomposed, dilute cake fertilizer water at about 15%, or 0.1% urea fertilizer water plus 0.2% monopotassium phosphate fertilizer water, once every 15-20 days.
2. Flower bud differentiation stage
During the flower bud differentiation stage, apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, such as monopotassium phosphate, once every half month, 2-3 times in total.
3. Flowering stage
During the flowering stage, spray the leaves 2-3 times with a 0.2% monopotassium phosphate solution to promote the development of roots, stems and flowers.
Potting Section
Gardening Encyclopedia
Potting can be said to be the step gardening enthusiasts dislike most, as it is both tedious and easy to damage the seedling roots. Today, Huahua will explain in detail how to pot orchids correctly.
1. Root trimming
Before potting, first trim the orchid's roots, cutting off roots that are too long or too short, hollow roots, black roots and broken roots. Keep 3-4 healthy roots per seedling.
2. Soaking in carbendazim
After trimming the roots, soak the entire orchid in a carbendazim solution.
3. Make an air-permeable cover from a plastic bottle
Poke holes in a leftover drink bottle, and use scissors to cut several small triangular notches along the bottom edge of the lower part of the bottle.
Place it at the bottom of the flower pot; it can both retain water and prevent waterlogging. Use plastic foam blocks to secure the drink bottle.
4. Putting the orchid into the pot
Place the orchid seedling in an appropriate position in the pot, with the pseudobulb (lu tou) about 1 cm above the flower pot, and add the growing medium evenly by hand.
5. Tapping the flower pot
Shake the flower pot or gently tap it so that the orchid roots and growing medium fit together more closely and no large gaps form.
That is all for today's orchid care tips
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