How to grow an orchid at home

Today, flower shops delight us with a large assortment of different colors, including orchids. Among all the variety are especially unpretentious phalaenopsis - a variety of orchids, which is also called the Malayan flower. These blossoming bright specimens, for a time bloom in our apartments. But at home, rarely do any orchids take root, and give new flowering shoots.

Therefore, in this article we will consider in more detail - how to grow an orchid, bought in a store. If you can keep your flower, then you can grow an orchid from bulbs, or even from seeds.

How to grow an orchid:

Orchid is a saprophytic organism. For his food, he uses organic substances, which are formed by the decomposition of other organisms. Therefore, the remnants of dead organics - bits of bark of pine, moss, or wood shavings - are necessarily added to the substrate.

An example of a substrate for terrestrial orchids is a mixture of two parts of a pine bark, one part of a top (half-decomposed) peat, one part of a mature compost and a small amount of clay. Such a substrate will contain few nutrients, have good air permeability, and it will not retain excess water. To prevent decay, a small amount of charcoal must be added to the soil mixture.

Orchids prefer to grow in bright places with high humidity. But they do not tolerate direct sunlight. When watering, one should take into account the fact that the substrate should normally be slightly dry to the touch. Before watering the orchids boiled water must be softened. Orchids need proper watering. To do this, the pot with the flower is put into the water for about ten minutes, then remove the pot from the water and wait for it to leave the drainage holes, and only then place the pot in a decorative pot.

Fertilize orchids are best in the warm season, special complex fertilizers for orchids, 1-2 times a month. In this case, the flowering of the plant will be more lush. But with an excess of fertilizers, your plant can grow, and flowering will be absent.

How to grow an orchid from a bulb

Bulbs of orchids, or pseudo-bulbs (bulbochki) can be bought in a flower shop. If your orchid has grown very much, then in this case you can divide the rhizome, which has overgrown with pseudo-bulbs in several parts. On one layer, 2-3 pseudo-bulbs are left, and they are transplanted into a new, or disinfected pot.

In order not to carry additional infection, the knife must be pre-disinfected, and the cut places are sprinkled with crushed coal. For disinfection, a strong solution of potassium permanganate can be used .

How to grow an orchid from seeds

Rarely does anyone decide to independently grow this wonderful flower from the seeds. Many argue that this is possible only in sterile laboratory conditions. Nevertheless, amateur flower growers are looking for a lot of information on how to grow an orchid from seeds.

Seeds of orchids are very small, they can be compared even with dust. When comparing orchid seeds with wheat seeds, they lose 15,000 times. Seeds of orchids are devoid of endosperm, therefore at the moment of germination they can easily be destroyed by pathogenic organisms.

Therefore, for experiments with orchids, we will need special, previously sterilized equipment. In particular, we need a flask. We will replace it with a jar from under the baby food. You can sterilize the jars in the oven.

The nutrient medium for the orchid must contain all the necessary substances and must also be sterile. The composition for the nutrient medium is very complex, it is based on agar-agar, organic and inorganic substances. Therefore, it is best to buy a ready-made mixture, dilute it according to the instructions, and sterilize in a pressure cooker for twenty minutes. During this time, a jelly-like mass is formed, into which the sowing will be carried out.

In each jar should be 20-30 ml. Mixture. After seeding, the jar must be sealed. The seed of the orchid sprouts very long, almost 9-10 months. To transplant a plant in a flower pot is possible only after 2-3 years. And as many as you have to wait for the moment when your orchid for the first time will please you with its flowers.

Orchid is a very whimsical flower, but those who master all the secrets of caring for it, the orchid will please long and lush bloom, creating a special microclimate not only in the house, but also in the family.

We hope that the information in this article has helped you, and you learned how to grow an orchid at home.