Detailed Explanation of Phalaenopsis Cultivation Techniques and Management Key Points

During the flowering period of floral Phalaenopsis, temperature must be strictly controlled, not allowed to be too high or too low. The optimal temperature is 15°C to 18°C at night and 23°C to 25°C during the day. A sustained low temperature below 14°C can cause flower bud growth to be hindered and poor development, and can even cause frost damage to the sepals, deformed flower development, and complete loss of ornamental value. While excessively high temperatures (sustained high temperatures above 20°C at night and above 27°C during the day) will accelerate its metabolism, greatly shortening the flowering period.

The water required throughout the flowering period should be less than usual. On the premise of not affecting the normal growth of the plant, a drier medium helps produce vivid flower colors. Humidity is appropriate when the medium feels moist to the touch when pinched with fingers; it should not be too dry or too wet. If the medium is too dry, it will cause the leaves to wilt, leading to permanent wilting that makes the leaves soft, wrinkled and lusterless, seriously reducing the overall ornamental value. However, if the cultivation medium is excessively waterlogged, the oxygen in the seedling bag is displaced by water. If this persists for a week, plant growth will be setback and the leaves will wrinkle and wilt, seriously affecting flower bud development, with flowers blooming small and lusterless, and petal edges turning scorched yellow, leaving the entire plant with no ornamental value.

The light intensity required by the plant during the flowering period is very different from the earlier stage. In the earlier stage, shade and cooling were needed, but during this period the shading material must be removed. Strong light intensity helps the flowers spread open, the internodes of the flower spike to be uniform, and the flower colors to be vivid. At this time there is no need to increase light intensity, nor is there any need to follow a fixed precise light intensity figure.

Floral Phalaenopsis originates from places of high temperature and high humidity, and requires relatively high air humidity throughout its entire growth cycle, especially in the later stage, when the relative humidity should reach between 80% and 85%. Higher air humidity is favorable for flowers to be vivid and spread open. Relative humidity should preferably not be lower than 80%; if below 60%, the flowers will shrivel and lose their vividness. From noon to afternoon each day, when the air is dry and sunlight is strong, water should be sprinkled on open ground several times to help increase air humidity and also help lower the temperature.

During this period, attention should be paid to indoor air circulation, allowing indoor air to exchange with fresh outdoor air, providing Phalaenopsis with enough fresh carbon dioxide. Within a given space, the more carbon dioxide there is, the more favorable it is for the flowers to remain open for a longer time.

In the later stage, the floral Phalaenopsis plant basically stops growing, or growth is very weak. During this period, fertilization is basically unnecessary, and too much fertilizer will cause root rot. However, the author's comparative trials in production proved that a small amount of fertilization helps flowering, and the flower quality is also good, while unfertilized plants show leggy, hard and brittle flower spikes, excessively long internodes in the inflorescence, and overly large flowers. Apply dilute liquid fertilizer once every half day, with the fertilizer ratio emphasizing phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.