Amateur gardeners engaged in the cultivation of tropical plants at home, sooner or later encounter a problem - how to plant, transplant an orchid or other exotic flower.
In order for the plant to please with beautiful flowers in the future, it is well developed and grown, before the procedure it is worthwhile to carry out several preparatory steps. If everything is done correctly, the orchid will respond with abundant flowering, strong stems, and a healthy look than before.
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How to plant an orchid
Those involved in the cultivation of indoor flowers know that transplanting for a plant is always stress, so it is necessary to observe the rules for transferring the flower to a new place of residence.
First of all - the timing. In spring, the orchid leaves the dormant period and is gaining strength for future flowering, so the spring months are optimally suitable for planting. It is during the months of prolonged daylight hours in the pot that the most high-quality material for transplantation occurs. A more suitable time is the beginning of March.
Of great importance is the frequency of transplantation. Usually, experts recommend doing the scheduled procedure, if there are no urgent cases, every 2-3 years.
There are several reasons for transferring a plant to another dish:
- Insufficient capacity of the orchid. During the period of activity, not only peduncles grow, but also the root system. It can fill the space of the pot so much that it begins to displace the substrate, small root processes tightly intertwine, which negatively affects the state of the plant as a whole.In this case, the flower is transferred to a larger container;
- Replacing the old substrate. With prolonged growth, the soil loses its properties, cannot support the release of all the necessary nutrients for the orchid, so the plant is poorly developed. If the pot is filled with a substrate in which sphagnum moss predominates, transplantation is carried out once every 2 years, with a predominance of bark in the soil - once every 3 years.
Before transplanting an orchid, stock up on the necessary tool. It should be:
- a small pruner for indoor plants or well-sharpened scissors;
- if the orchid is planted - several transparent pots, in case of transplant - one, but of a larger volume;
- activated charcoal, wood ash, another bactericidal preparation for dusting cut points;
- the right amount of substrate, suitable precisely for the species that is planted.
It must be remembered that all tools should be disinfected. Exotic beauty should not get infected when transferred to a newer place.
Step by Step Actions
Adhering to the necessary recommendations, the entire procedure for transplanting orchids will be painless for the flower and the transferred stress will not affect the further growth of the plant.
- First of all, the plant is extracted from an old pot. This must be done extremely carefully. If you can’t get the flower without damage, then it’s better to cut the pot.
- All roots are cleaned of old soil. This can be done painlessly for a plant under running running water or by soaking the roots in a container of water.
- After the root system is freed from the old substrate, it must be examined for pests, parasites or rotten roots. If insects are noticed, then the plant is treated with the drug from the species that is noticed.
- Dead, damaged or starting to rot roots, are carefully trimmed with secateurs, the place of the cut is sprinkled with ash or crushed activated carbon. During this procedure, care must be taken not to prune a healthy root. Otherwise, the plant may become ill.
- Pruning are also yellowed or beginning to fade the lower leaves. Professional flower growers recommend removing hollow soft bulbs. Slices, as well as when removing the roots, are sprinkled with ash or coal.
- Prepared in this way, the plant must be dried for at least 8 hours. In the newly prepared substrate, orchids are planted only with a dried root system.
- A drainage layer is poured at the bottom of the pot. It doesn’t matter what procedure is ahead - planting or transplanting a plant. As already mentioned, the future capacity should be transparent and, if this is a simple transplant, a few centimeters larger than the old one.
- A thin layer of substrate is placed on top of the drainage layer; a flower is placed on it in the center of the container. An important condition is that the substrate is poured neatly and evenly distributed between the roots of the plant. The soil is not compacted, but slightly squeezed. But it is not allowed that the flower hangs freely in the container. Do not bury the air processes.
- During the pouring of the substrate, the growth point is monitored. It should be at the level of the soil surface, it is extremely undesirable to fill it up.
Tanks and drainage must be sanitized before the procedure, just like pruning shears or shears. The substrate should correspond to the variety of orchids.
Phalaenopsis
This is a delicate orchid, plant it, as well as all exotics. The difference is that when transferred to other pots on the roots, it is allowed to leave a small amount of the old substrate. Complete replacement of the soil mixture can cause severe stress in the plant, and it will hurt for a long time.
To buy ready-made soil for orchids is in a specialized store. You need to choose one where there is no peat. It is better to avoid the presence of sphagnum moss. They can simply cover the substrate from above.Moss is replaced every 2-3 years.
Pieces of pine bark should be added to the prepared soil for Phalaenopsis orchids, but they should be without signs of tar. Before mixing with the rest of the substrate, the bark is boiled for 2-3 minutes, then dried in the oven and broken into small pieces.
Mixing into the substrate and charcoal is well perceived by Phalaenopsis. The allowable ratio is 4: 1 (4 parts of soil, 1 coal).
Dendrobium
The name in translation means - growing (living) on a tree, the most numerous genus of the family. It grows to 90 cm, so when planting a flower, one should take into account the sizes, select the appropriate pot taking into account the growth of its roots. In this case, the dishes under the flower can be any: ceramic, wooden, glass. The main condition is the presence of drainage holes.
With good care, the plant begins to bloom in the fall and ends in the spring, but flowers can appear at any time. It all depends on the speed of development of the life cycle of Dendrobium. It can bloom at the most inopportune time for flowering.
Seating methods
Orchids can be planted using several methods popular with gardeners:
- division of a plant. The method is good for adult orchids. The pot must have at least 3 mature plants. The procedure is carried out in accordance with step by step instructions. Orchid is divided by the number of shoots that is necessary. All sections are sprinkled with bactericidal preparations;
- young shoots. Often, many processes are formed when the plant is in a room with a high temperature. In this case, juveniles for seedlings are abundantly watered to obtain high-quality material. The processes are called - aerial kids, since they grow at the expense of the mother bush. In this case, the process is cut off from the main plant and placed in a separate pot. This method is most accessible to beginner gardeners;
- side cuttings. The method is good for fast-growing orchids. For the cuttings, the apical part with leaves and aerial roots is selected. The separated material is immediately placed in a separate container, watering is performed one day after planting;
- bulbs. Most often used when transplanting orchids in a new pot. Bulbs with several roots are selected, cut with a sharp knife, slices on the flower and planting material are disinfected. Bulbs are placed in a dry substrate, which does not need to be watered for about two weeks. Enough daily spraying of a new plant.
In many respects, the future development and flowering of the plant depends on the chosen method.
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The correct seating of blooming orchids
Orchid is a rather capricious plant, and during the flowering period it is especially weakened, so it can get double stress from a transplant and will not recover. Professional flower growers advise planting a blooming orchid only in critical cases, when the plant is threatened with complete withering.
If transplant procedures cannot be avoided, then before starting work, it is necessary to cut off all peduncles by 2-3 cm. So the plant is easier to tolerate a stressful situation.
The remaining actions must be carried out according to the step by step instructions.
How to care for an orchid after a transplant
Equally important is the care of the flower after transplantation
First of all, the pot with the plant must be shaded or placed on the windowsill, where the sun is rarely. The air in the room should not be warmed above 22 degrees.
The first watering of a new settling is done no earlier than 5-6 days later. A flower pot is placed in boiled water for half an hour. After that, the orchid is left alone for a couple of weeks. At the same time, you need to spray the plant from the sprayer, but without fanaticism. Water should be settled and warm.
The first top dressing is carried out a month after transplantation. The best option would be fertilizers for orchids.
Is it possible to plant an orchid in winter?
Often amateur gardeners are interested in this issue. Experts recommend that if there is no emergency indication for a transplant, then it is better to leave the flower alone until early spring.
This applies to cases when the orchid does not want to bloom at all, and to cases where the plant blooms all winter.
Possible problems after transplantation
Most often, orchids refuse to grow in an improperly selected substrate. Therefore, it is so important either to buy soil in a specialized store specifically for orchids, or to cook it yourself, in compliance with all the nuances.
Another problem can be improper watering. If the roots dry, the leaves become sluggish - this can only mean one thing - lack of moisture. In this case, the flower pot is placed for half an hour or an hour in a bowl of water.
Following all the rules for transplanting or transplanting orchids, and picking up several varieties of a flower, you can admire flowering plants all year round.