How to prevent orchid root rot? Mastering these measures is key
Orchids are a very common flower in China, and they are also one of the varieties that many flower enthusiasts love to collect. Because there are so many orchid varieties, different methods need to be used when cultivating them. If some flower enthusiasts do not understand the habits of orchids, it is very easy to grow them until the roots rot, so how should this problem of orchid root rot be avoided?
Orchid
In winter, orchids are in a dormant or slow-growth stage, and the potting soil should be on the dry side; in spring and early summer, which is an important period for orchids to grow roots and send out leaves, the potting soil should be kept slightly moist; however, long-term excessive moisture can also easily cause root rot, causing leaves to turn yellow and withered, and even death. Because excess water causes waterlogging in the soil and poor air permeability, resulting in insufficient oxygen, which hinders root respiration and causes the root system to turn black and rot. During the plum rain or heavy rain season, potted orchids must be protected from this harm, because with prolonged rain and excessive moisture, black spots are most likely to appear on new leaves, and the flower buds often show a "rotted sheath" phenomenon, affecting flowering and ornamental value. However, if the potting soil is too dry, it is easy to cause the pseudobulbs to shrivel or other tissues to lose water and affect metabolism, which will also lead to weak tissues and poor plant growth. In autumn, the potting soil should be on the moist side, to help leaf growth and proper flowering the following year. Therefore, orchid growers should understand the key principle of "not wet in winter, not dry in autumn." The above explains the different water requirements of orchids at different stages, so the amount of watering should be strictly controlled according to these requirements. At the same time, improper fertilization of orchids can also easily cause root rot. For example, applying too much fertilizer, too concentrated fertilizer, or pouring liquid fertilizer into the leaf sheaths will all have adverse effects on orchids. When fertilizing, the amount of fertilizer should also be increased or decreased according to the amount of watering, so that they grow in harmony.
Causes of orchid bud rot in summer and preventive measures
Orchids are an indispensable ornamental plant in the home and have been deeply loved by people since ancient times. As summer gradually arrives, temperatures change greatly. If orchids are not properly maintained and managed, they will suffer root rot and bud rot, seriously affecting their normal growth. Today I will take everyone to talk about the causes of orchid root rot and the preventive measures, respectively.
Causes of orchid bud rot:
1) Careless watering or misting causes splashing into the center of the bud, or the plant is exposed to rain for a long time; combined with insufficient light and not-high temperatures, the water cannot be absorbed; even after heavy rain, new buds may be soaked in water, and if drainage is not timely, bud rot occurs.
2) Careless repotting and division, pruning of old leaves, daily watering, fertilizing, and pesticide spraying, or accidental injuries cause damage.
3) When applying liquid fertilizer, it accidentally splashes into the bud center and no effort is made to clean it out, causing rot.
4) The mother plant is infected with pathogens and is not treated in time; combined with the weak disease resistance of young buds, this leads to bud rot.
5) Scale insects, aphids, and red spiders suck the sap of the buds, and rats bite and eat the sweet tender buds and young leaves, causing damage.
6) Bud rot caused by root rot.
Methods to prevent orchid bud rot:
(1) For daily watering and fertilizing, it is best to use a ladle or spoon to pour from the edge of the pot; avoid spraying the orchid plant with a hose, to prevent soil and dirty water from splashing into the center of the bud. During the seedling stage, try not to spray water on the orchid plant. If spraying is necessary, a fine-hole nozzle must be used, and the water droplets should not be too large, with the leaf surface not dripping as the standard. If a coarse-hole nozzle is used, the new buds must be covered.
(2) During the plum rain and continuous overcast-rainy seasons in summer and autumn, pay attention to rain protection. Either set up a temporary rain shelter over the orchid plants with nylon cloth or plastic film, or move the orchid plants to a place where rain cannot reach before rainfall. Also pay attention to watching weather forecasts. Once heavy rain or extremely heavy rain is expected, emergency measures must be taken for prevention; if there is no time to avoid the rain, the accumulated water in the pots must be drained promptly after the rain.
(3) In the intense heat of midsummer, prevent strong light exposure, high-temperature baking, and poor ventilation; in the severe cold of winter, pay attention to cold protection and warmth, and avoid frost damage; in winter, the water temperature for watering should be close to the air temperature and must not be too high, otherwise it is easy to cause scalding.
(4) Sterilize and kill insects in time. During the orchid growth period, regularly spray carbendazim, thiophanate, or other sterilizing agents to prevent problems before they occur. Once pests are found, promptly spray insecticides such as dimethoate, imidacloprid, profenofos, and fenitrothion. In daily life, also do a good job of safety and security in the orchid garden to prevent human-caused and accidental injuries.
The above is all the content learned today about the causes of orchid bud rot and preventive solutions. I hope flower enthusiasts will find this article helpful after reading it. If you want to learn more, please continue to follow our Succulent Flower Garden, and we will provide you with more related knowledge!
How to treat flower root rot? How to prevent root rot
Autumn has arrived, but the weather is still muggy. If you are a watering enthusiast, and the soil happens to be poorly ventilated, and the air happens to be stagnant, then your flowers will definitely suffer root rot! So how do you treat, judge, and prevent root rot? Huahua will tell you right away!
1. How to treat root rot
When plants suffer root rot, we must first treat plants differently, such as succulents, orchid family plants, woody plants, and herbaceous plants. These major categories also involve individual varieties. Not all plants with root rot are treated the same way. Friends should learn flexibly and apply accordingly, and must not blindly copy.
The common treatment methods for plant root rot are mainly divided into the following three types:
1Clean up and replant
Clean up the rotted parts, then disinfect, dry, and replant. This method is mainly for plants whose roots have not completely rotted, such as clivia, orchids, and so on. The specific operations are as follows:1. Take the plant out of the flowerpot, pick away the surrounding old soil, find the rotted root area, and use scissors to cut off the rotted roots from their base.
2. Use 0.1% potassium permanganate solution to disinfect the wound, or apply clean plant ash to the wound, then repot or plant in the ground again.
3. When potting or planting in the ground, the wound and the severely damaged parts of the root system should be surrounded and filled with clean wet sand, then covered with clean cultivation soil, to promote new roots to sprout at the wound.
4. While repotting, the branches and leaves should be heavily pruned. Sometimes, to ensure survival, 80%-90% of the branches and leaves should be cut off.
5. During the process of the plant recovering growth, keep the potting soil airy, absolutely do not fertilize, and do not let the potting soil be exposed to rain, to prevent root rot from occurring again.
2Use branches and leaves for cuttings
For example, succulents, gloxinia, peperomia, geraniums, wax begonias, and so on, when the roots rot, can be propagated anew using branches or leaves. Of course, they must be healthy branches and leaves, not rotted and still vigorous.3Discovered too late, beyond saving
Some large woody potted plants, such as money trees and the like, once their roots rot, the possibility of saving them is less than 10%. In most cases, they will slowly die, because by the time root rot is discovered, it is already too late.Therefore, you must usually observe plants more, discover early, and treat early. So how do you discover that a plant has root rot? Below are some tips. Let us learn together.
2. How to judge flower root rot
The root system is one of the most important organs for plant growth and development. If an accurate diagnosis can be made in the early and middle stages of root rot and some rescue measures are taken, the death of some plants can be avoided.
1. Look at the potting soil
In summer and autumn, for normally growing flowering plants, water thoroughly once on a clear day, then check the potting soil at the same time the next day. If the potting soil is drying and shows slight whitening, the root system is normal;If the potting soil is not drying and whitening, but still in a moist state, it indicates that the plant roots have already suffered root rot;
If after 2-3 days it is still as moist as before, it indicates that most of the plant's root system has rotted.
2. Look at leaf color
If there are several pots of the same kind of flowering plant, place them together. If you find that one of the plants has leaves that lose green color and luster, appearing grayish-white, or the plant's leaves appear wilted, or the lower leaves turn yellow and fall off in large numbers outside the leaf-changing season, it indicates that the plant's nutrient fibrous roots have suffered root rot due to waterlogging, fertilization, or sudden heavy watering after excessive drought.3. Look at leaf shape
If the leaves of potted flowering plants show longitudinal wrinkling and deformity, it also indicates that the plant's root system has rotted. This mainly appears in flower species with fleshy roots, such as bird of paradise, clivia, and so on. Because the lower nutrient root system rots, the parts of the leaves connected to it cannot obtain the proper water and nutrients, causing those parts to stop growing or even shrink. Growth becomes unsynchronized, leading to longitudinal folding and deformity of the leaves. Although this situation may not cause the plant's death, it will also affect the plant's normal growth and ornamental value.4. Look at leaf tips
For some flowering plant species, after being grown for a period of time, the tips of the leaves will become scorched and withered. There are two reasons for this situation.One is that the plant's root tips extend and press against the pot wall. When watering under conditions of higher air temperature and soil temperature, the part of the fleshy root tip performing nutrient functions is damaged and rots, so water and nutrients cannot be transported to the leaf tips, causing necrosis of the leaf tip parts.
The other situation is that the pot is large and the plant is small, and the potting soil remains waterlogged for a long time, causing the root ends to rot and lose their nutrient function. If yellow-brown patches appear in the middle or at the edges of the leaves, then the possibility of disease should be considered.
5. By feel
For some flowering plants or tree stumps, such as five-needle pine, cypress species, podocarpus, orchids, camellias, and so on, when their leaf color is found to be abnormal, you can gently stroke their leaves with your hand and judge by feel. For plants whose leaves lack vitality due to root rot, the feeling at the fingertips is dry and warm, without the moist, cool feel of normal leaves.3. How to prevent root rot
Root rot is truly one of the biggest killers of plants. So in order to avoid this situation, you should usually pay attention to the following points:
1Water moderately
Water moderately, not too frequently. This is a mistake many beginners at growing flowers often make. You should master the principle of watering when dry and stopping when wet. This should be paid even more attention to during the dormancy period of potted plants and the early stage of potting and repotting.2Fertilizer must be decomposed
The various organic materials mixed into the cultivation soil, such as leaf mold, pen manure, sawdust, farmyard manure, stable manure, organic garbage, and so on, must all be used only after a long period of full fermentation and decomposition. Absolutely do not use raw fertilizer, otherwise when raw fertilizer ferments, the temperature is too high, which will cause the root system to be burned and rotted.3Fertilize scientifically
When topdressing potted plants, the amount and concentration must not be too large. Try to follow the principle of "small amounts, many times." If the amount is too large, it will also burn and rot the roots.4Soil must be airy
Ensure that the potting soil drains well. When watering potted flowers, if water accumulates on the surface of the potting soil and does not seep down for a long time, this situation has the following causes:1. The newly potted soil is clayey soil, containing no organic matter or fine sand, so it is very difficult for water to seep through. Therefore, organic humus, river sand, furnace slag, coal ash, and other ingredients should be added moderately to ensure that the substrate has good aeration and water permeability.
2. The tile pieces on the bottom hole of the flowerpot block the hole, or the gravel layer placed at the bottom of the pot is too thin, or no gravel drainage layer is placed, so water seepage is not smooth.
3. The potted flower has not been repotted for many years, and the roots have filled the pot and formed a ball, so water is difficult to seep down. Therefore, excess fibrous roots should be cut off; otherwise, over time, waterlogging will cause root rot and death.