Detailed Explanation of Phalaenopsis Cultivation Measures and Technical Key Points

Phalaenopsis is a premium flower deeply loved by consumers. It has beautiful flower shapes, bright colors, an elegant bearing, and a long ornamental period. Its cultivation and management requirements are not high. For home cultivation, as long as it is managed properly, it can still bloom the next year, and the flowering period can be regulated to the day you need.

Phalaenopsis is native to the region between 23 degrees south latitude and 23 degrees north latitude. More than half of Guangdong Province lies within this range, so Guangdong has the climate environment for cultivating Phalaenopsis, with fast growth and a short production cycle. For most varieties, after leaving the flask, 16 months of cultivation will produce flowers meeting commercial requirements, and early-flowering varieties take even less time. The optimum temperature range for vegetative growth of Phalaenopsis is 20-30°C. Within this range, higher temperatures favor photosynthesis and the plants grow quickly, but if the temperature is too high, photosynthetic efficiency instead decreases, and scorching is likely to occur. When the temperature is below 12°C, cold protection measures should be taken, otherwise the plants suffer cold damage. In mild cases, flower buds turn yellow and drop; in severe cases, the leaf color turns dark green, the leaves soften and droop, gradually wither, and the plants may even die. Phalaenopsis needs somewhat strong diffused light. Small seedlings need 10000-15000 lux, while medium and large seedlings need 12000-20000 lux. When light intensity is suitable, photosynthetic efficiency is high, the leaves are emerald green, the leaf flesh is thick, the leaves stand upright, and the plants are strong; when light is insufficient, the leaves droop, the leaf color is dark green and the plants become leggy, showing a weakened state. But strong sunlight often scorches the leaves. Phalaenopsis likes humid air and requires a relative air humidity of 60%-80%; seedlings just out of the flask require even higher humidity, about 90%. Too low humidity is unfavorable for growth, and during the bud stage it can also cause bud drop. However, long-term high humidity is also a favorable condition for the occurrence and spread of diseases. If the growing medium of Phalaenopsis remains too wet for a long time or has standing water, root rot is easily caused.

In view of the ecological environment requirements of Phalaenopsis, large-scale production often adopts protected cultivation with facilities. Those with more investment build connected greenhouses for cultivation, using wet pads for cooling in summer and heaters for warming in winter. Those with less investment use simple plastic greenhouses, regulating light intensity with shade nets, strengthening ventilation in summer or using micro-spraying to cool and increase humidity, and covering with multiple layers of plastic film in winter for insulation. For home cultivation in central and southern Guangdong, direct sunlight can be blocked by the shade of plants or buildings, and in winter the plants can be moved indoors to a warm environment for cultivation, so they can grow normally. Phalaenopsis is usually cultivated using sterile seedling plants or tissue-cultured mericlone plants. Sterile seedling plants have high propagation efficiency, and their price is 1/2-2/3 that of tissue-cultured mericlone plants, but they are often uneven in strength and occasionally variant plants appear. Still, seedling plants remain the main type in production. Large-scale production often uses colorless, light-transmitting soft plastic pots for cultivation. The size of the pot matches the size of the seedling: small seedlings are planted in small pots, and after the plants grow larger they are repotted into pots of the corresponding size. The growing medium must have good water retention, aeration, and drainage functions, and must be not easily rotted and convenient for repotting, with slight acidity. In recent years, sphagnum moss is mostly chosen as the growing medium. The plant roots are wrapped with wet sphagnum moss and then placed into the pot, with moderate tightness.

Phalaenopsis roots do not take up much water, so keeping the growing medium slightly moist is enough. Watering measures are determined according to the condition of the plants, the climate environment, and the water retention and drainage functions of the growing medium. When using sphagnum moss as the growing medium, generally water thoroughly once a week; "thoroughly" means wetting the sphagnum moss through. If after watering the sphagnum moss remains too wet for a long time, the plant can be taken out to let the sphagnum moss be exposed to the air so the water evaporates quickly, and after the growing medium dries slightly, the plant can be replanted into the pot.

In addition to the three major elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, Phalaenopsis also needs other elements, so fertilizers with comprehensive nutrients should be chosen, such as special orchid fertilizer, fish fertilizer, and compound chemical fertilizers with relatively comprehensive nutrients. If the fertilizer used has simple nutrients, then when entering the peak vegetative growth season in spring, organic fertilizer should be applied in combination to supplement trace elements. Phalaenopsis grows slowly and takes at least 40-50 days to grow one complete new leaf, so it does not require much fertilizer. If applying chemical fertilizer aqueous solution, about 3 times per month, at a concentration of about 0-1%. Overly concentrated fertilization affects root tip growth and may even cause root rot. During the seedling stage, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for fertilization is 2:1:1, later 1:1:1, and if leggy growth occurs, change it to 1:2:5.

Phalaenopsis completes flower bud differentiation only after experiencing a certain cool-temperature environment. In Guangdong, the natural flowering period is often from March to May. If flowering is to be advanced to festivals such as New Year's Day or Spring Festival, a cool-temperature environment must be provided earlier. According to research, if the plants are kept at a cool temperature of about 20°C for 16-18 hours per day for 3-6 weeks (the length of time varies with variety characteristics), flower bud differentiation is completed. If the temperature is lower (15-20°C), the number of flower stalks can also be increased, but light intensity must be increased; otherwise, low temperature reduces photosynthetic efficiency, and insufficient nutrients will reduce the number of flower buds. After flower bud differentiation, the flower stalk continues to elongate and the flower buds continue to develop. The length of this period varies with variety characteristics and environmental temperature, generally requiring about 100 days. During this period, increasing the temperature can increase flowering. However, too high a temperature will affect the development of the terminal flower buds and the lateral branches of the flower stalk. Therefore, cultivation at cool temperature is still preferable. Large-scale production can use low-temperature greenhouses, wet-pad greenhouses, and other artificial cooling facilities to obtain a cool-temperature environment. But choosing high-mountain cultivation and using the natural low temperature of the local climate can save facility construction costs and energy costs. In the Pearl River Delta area, large seedlings are moved 150-180 days before the planned flowering period to high mountains at an altitude of about 800 m for cultivation. After flower bud differentiation is completed, the time to move them down the mountain is selected according to the development speed of the flower stalk, so the plants can be regulated to bloom at New Year's Day or Spring Festival.

Doing a good job in pest and disease control is an important part of successful Phalaenopsis cultivation. Disease prevention is especially routine work. The cultivation environment must be well ventilated, and the growing medium and air humidity must be suitable. Bordeaux mixture, chlorothalonil, thiophanate-methyl, and other chemicals should be sprayed regularly to prevent diseases. Once pests or diseases occur, apply chemicals promptly for control.