Detailed Guide to Orchid Daily Care in October
October is the season of crisp autumn air. In October in our country, the ambient temperature in most regions is very suitable, and the temperature difference between day and night is also large. It is the golden season for orchid growth in the year, and at this time the daily care of orchids becomes relatively important. So how should orchids be cared for well in October?
Orchid
Comprehensive fertilization to promote growth. October has crisp autumn air. In most regions of our country the temperature is suitable and the temperature difference between day and night is large, making it another golden season for orchid growth in the year. Comprehensive fertilization according to the actual condition of the orchid seedlings is very necessary. For robust orchid seedlings, apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to enhance their cold resistance and lay a solid foundation for early and strong sprouting next year; for orchids sprouting autumn shoots, apply more organic fertilizer with complete nutrients to meet the various nutritional needs of orchid growth and promote strong growth before winter arrives. But in principle, fertilization work should stop at the end of the month.
Let orchids bathe in sunlight. This month has the two solar terms Cold Dew and Frost's Descent. The sunlight is soft, and no shading is needed during the day. You can safely let orchids receive full-day sunlight, which is greatly beneficial for promoting orchid growth, enhancing the resistance of the orchid plants and helping them overwinter safely.
Increase the humidity of the orchid room. This month has little precipitation and the air humidity is on the low side. The potting medium dries out very easily, so attention should be paid to increasing the air humidity of the orchid room to prevent orchid leaves from withering at the tips and scorching at the ends. In areas with good air quality, orchids can be left to be rained on during autumn rain, but during continuous rainfall they still need to be covered. Never let the orchid plants be rained on for a long time, to prevent waterlogging and root rot and the breeding of black spot disease on orchid leaves.
Pay attention to extreme weather and prevent frost. If extreme weather occurs in the last ten days of this month, early frost may come to Jiangnan, and temperatures in the temperate zones and high-cold regions of the north may sometimes fall below 0°C. Those who grow orchids outdoors should pay attention to weather forecasts and be ready at all times to prevent frost and freezing.
Daily Care and Management of White Orchid (Michelia alba)
White orchid (Michelia alba) is one of the famous fragrant flowers of our country. It is also known as miangui and huanggelan, and in Guangdong it is called baiyulan. It is an evergreen tree of the Magnoliaceae family. Its leaves are emerald green. It blooms in summer and autumn, with flowers as white as jade and a fragrance like that of an orchid. Its scent is strongest when the buds are about to open, refreshing to the heart. The white orchid has a long flowering period, from June to October. The white orchid is a single-petaled flower with plump and thick petals and a relatively long bud stage, but after a few days it will suddenly open. It gives off an exceptionally delicate fragrance. If you put one flower in your pocket, or place a few beside your pillow in the bedroom, the fragrance can last for more than ten days without fading. At the same time it can also be used to scent tea and extract essence. In various places it is mostly cultivated by those who sell flowers. The white orchid is also a traditional precious flower for pot cultivation in northern regions. Placed in apartment rooms and on balconies, it can be enjoyed for its foliage indoors in winter and for its flowers and fragrance in summer, and is deeply loved by people.The white orchid by nature likes a sunny, warm and humid climate and is very intolerant of cold. The most suitable soil is a slightly acidic sandy loam rich in humus and with good drainage.
In northern regions, white orchids are generally potted using seedlings shipped from the south. The white orchids supplied on the market come in two types: potted and with a mud ball. Those with a mud ball should be potted after Qingming; buying too early makes them prone to freezing damage. For potting white orchids, you can use homemade culture soil mixed with 1/4 perlite and a small amount of base fertilizer. After potting, water thoroughly and place in a warm, semi-shaded spot. After about 15 days, they can be moved to a sunny spot on the balcony and shifted to normal care and management.
The white orchid is neither tolerant of drought nor of wetness. In summer and autumn, when the weather is hot and evaporation is fast, the water requirement is high, so watering must be timely and the potting soil should be kept slightly moist. Its roots are thick and nearly fleshy and are most afraid of waterlogging, so do not let it be rained on during the plum rain season. If the potting soil is constantly wet without drying, the roots will rot, causing the leaves to yellow and fall off and the plant to die, and it is very hard to save. In winter the potting soil should be slightly dry, watering once every few days. If the inner soil in the pot is not dry, by no means water it. Sometimes the surface looks dry, but in fact the inner soil in the pot is not yet dry; watering at this time easily makes the potting soil constantly wet and causes death.
The white orchid likes fertilizer but dislikes strong fertilizer. In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, potted white orchids should be watered once every 7-10 days with decomposed bean cake fertilizer or fishy water. Master the principle of applying light fertilizer frequently and in the evening. The north is mostly an area of alkaline water and soil, so some ferrous sulfate should be mixed into the soil to make the soil slightly acidic, so as to promote vigorous plant growth and moist, lustrous leaf color. After the autumn cool sets in, fertilization is not advisable. Every 2-3 years, the pot should be changed once.
The white orchid fears cold and likes sun, so it should be placed in a sunny spot on the balcony and should receive more than 10 hours of sunlight every day. Even in winter, when it is moved from the balcony indoors and enters dormancy, it must not be kept in long-term shade; it should be placed in a spot indoors with sufficient sunlight, otherwise flowering the next year will be affected. The indoor temperature should be kept at around 15°C. In mid-April it can be moved out of the room and placed on a wind-sheltered, sunny balcony for care. Summer and autumn are the periods of vigorous growth and bud formation and flowering for the white orchid, so there should be even more sufficient light. With sufficient light it grows luxuriantly and will bloom more and more fragrantly.
When the white orchid is in bloom, the pot can be moved from the balcony indoors for viewing, in order to prolong the flowering period. Indoors, prevent the polluting effects of stove and coal smoke, and place the flowers in a ventilated spot. The number of days kept indoors must not be too long, otherwise it is unfavorable to its growth and it is prone to harm from red spiders and scale insects.
White orchids can be propagated by methods such as air layering and grafting. The white orchid has poor regenerative capacity, and cuttings do not easily take root and survive, so this method is mostly not adopted. In the north, grafting gives better results. Generally, 2-3 year old seedlings of Xinyi or huanglan are used as rootstock. In June, approach grafting can be carried out on the branches of the white orchid plant. The cuts on both should be 3-5 cm long. After joining, bind tightly with plastic strips so that the cambium layers of the two are closely combined. After about 3 months, the rootstock and scion have basically grown together, and they can be cut away from the mother plant, and the upper part of the rootstock removed, thus becoming a new plant.
Air layering is carried out in June. First take a 2-year-old fully developed branch, pierce the epidermis with a knife or make a ring cut (the ring-cut strip is about 3-4 cm wide), then split a bamboo tube in half and clamp it around the debarked part of the layer (or use plastic film to enclose the cut wound or the lower part of the ring-cut branch and tie it firmly, then turn it upward into a bag shape). Fill the tube or bag with culture soil, finally tie it with plastic rope, and keep the soil in the tube or bag moist. After about 60 days it will root, then separate it from the mother plant and it becomes a new plant.
Cultivation and Care of Chinese Orchids
China Landscape Network, August 4 news: Special correspondents Wang Haiyong and Yang Jie report that orchids are perennial evergreen herbaceous plants with a great many species and varieties and unique ornamental value, and at the same time they require relatively high cultivation skill.
1 Morphology, biological characteristics and varieties
Chinese orchids originated in the mountain forests of the provinces south of the Yangtze River in our country, with about 500 genera and more than 10,000 species. They have horizontal underground stems with swollen nodes and relatively thin internodes. The aboveground part grows only leaf clusters and flower scapes. The leaves are long and sword-shaped, tough in texture, emerald green and glossy. Although the flowers are small, they are rich in variation and have a strong fragrance. The orchids we usually cultivate for viewing generally refer to several main varieties in the genus Cymbidium, such as Cymbidium sinense, Cymbidium ensifolium, Cymbidium goeringii, Cymbidium faberi, Cymbidium kanran, Cymbidium lancifolium and Cymbidium kanran, etc. Most of these orchids grow in soil, so they are also called terrestrial orchids. They are perennial root flowers that stay green all year round, and orchids of different varieties bloom in each season.
2 Propagation and cultivation management
Chinese orchid seeds are powdery, and sowing is quite difficult. At present, division is used for propagation, but because orchids only produce new roots and new leaves once a year, their growth is slow. Generally they are divided once every 3-4 years, and the division time varies with the species. For orchids that bloom in winter and early spring, such as Cymbidium sinense, Cymbidium kanran, Cymbidium goeringii and Cymbidium faberi, division should be carried out in autumn in September-October after growth stops. For orchids that bloom in autumn, such as Cymbidium ensifolium and Cymbidium lancifolium, division should be carried out in early March-April.
2.1 Division propagation
2.1.1
Stop watering before division, spray water into the air 1-2 times a day, and after a week the fleshy roots lose water and soften.
2.1.2
Take the orchid's root ball out of the pot, gently shake off the soil from the plant roots, and use both hands to naturally separate the connected parts of the orchid roots. Each plant must retain more than 3 pseudobulbs.
2.1.3
Cut off rotten roots and broken roots. When pruning, do not injure the leaf buds and fleshy roots. At the same time cut off the withered and yellow upper leaves, then wash the roots clean with clear water.
2.2 Cultivation management
2.2.1 Culture soil
Orchids like warmth and humidity. For pot cultivation they require an acidic culture soil with good permeability, fertility and looseness, with a pH of 5.5-6.5. In the north, brown peat or pine needle soil can be used directly. In the south, red mountain soil is mostly sun-dried and broken into small pieces for potting.
2.2.2 Potting
The pot is generally a fired clay pot with good drainage and aeration, with a pot diameter of about 20 cm. Place 5-6 pieces of broken tile at the bottom of the pot and put in some broken wood blocks. To avoid breaking roots easily during potting, the prepared plant can be placed in a cool, ventilated spot for 4-5 h to let the fleshy roots dry in the shade, and potted when the roots have slightly shrunk. When potting, the roots should extend naturally and not curl, and the culture soil should be in close contact with the roots. When the soil has been added to half the depth of the pot, lift the plant gently by 1-2 cm so that the roots extend straight, and after filling, lift the pot and tap it firmly on the ground; do not press it down with your hands.
2.2.3 Temperature and light
Orchids are semi-shade plants. The most suitable temperature for orchid growth is 18-25°C. Orchids can grow normally within the range of 8-33°C; outside the range of 8-33°C growth is slow. In summer there should be a good shading environment, and in autumn and winter give sufficient sunlight and strengthen ventilation.
2.2.4 Watering
Strengthening fertilizer and water management is the key to growing orchids well. Watering depends on seasonal changes and the degree of dryness or wetness of the potting soil. The relative humidity should be between 70-85% and must not be lower than 50%. In early spring after the new shoots emerge, the temperature is still relatively low and the potting soil should be kept on the dry side, watering once every 2-3 d; early summer is the growth period of new roots and leaf buds, so water once in the morning and once in the evening; after mid-September the amount of water should gradually decrease, generally watering once every 2-3 d; after being brought indoors in winter, the soil should be kept on the dry side, generally watering once every 10-15 d. Orchids also have certain requirements for air humidity. In summer, in addition to watering, the ground should normally be misted or sprayed with water 4-5 times. For indoor display, it is best to place the potted orchid above a water tray. When watering, master the principle of watering thoroughly when dry, and not watering when not dry. It is best to water with rainwater, river water or cool boiled water to prevent the soil from becoming alkaline. If the leaves turn yellow, water once a week with a 1/500 FeSO4 aqueous solution.
2.2.5 Fertilization
Orchid fertilization should be light rather than strong, and less rather than more. From new shoot germination to before winter dormancy, apply decomposed bean cake fertilizer water once every 15 d, with a fertilizer-to-water ratio of about 1:10. After fertilizing, spray a small amount of clear water to prevent the fertilizer liquid from sticking to the leaves. Before the flower scape is drawn, use chopsticks to make holes around the outer edge of the potting soil and drip sesame oil into the holes. You can also apply 0.1% ammonium sulfate and monopotassium phosphate to supplement the nutrients needed during the flowering period.
3 Pest and disease control
Orchids do not have many pests and diseases. Common ones include brown spot disease, white silk disease and anthracnose, mostly caused by poor ventilation during the rainy season and the greenhouse care stage, potting soil that is too wet and long-term lack of sunlight, and careless sprinkling of water that lands on the leaves. In areas with severe disease, in addition to cultivating disease-resistant varieties, the pots should be spaced farther apart during indoor care, misting should be reduced after disease occurs, attention should be paid to ventilation, and at the same time 800-**** times diluted carbendazim solution should be sprayed, once every 3 d, for 3-4 consecutive sprays. It is best to cut off the severely diseased leaves and burn them. Ordinarily, if scale insects are found, they can be sprayed with 0.2-0.3% lime sulfur mixture.