Orchid Phalaenopsis: caring for the plant

Orchid Phalaenopsis is a beautiful flower intended for growing in indoor conditions. The plant originates from the Asian countries - Southern China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and also from northeastern Australia.

Orchid Care

Phalaenopsis is a light-loving plant, but it does not tolerate direct sunlight. It is best to put a pot of flower on the east or west window. In winter, you can place it on a southern window, and in summer it is better to move it to a cooler place. Phalaenopsis develops well under a fluorescent lamp, which should give light for 12 hours daily. The life of the plant requires warm, moist air. Optimal contain orchids at a temperature of +20-25 degrees. With a long drop in the temperature regime to +15 degrees, a sudden flowering can occur. When buds appear in young, weak plants buds should be cut.

Favorable temperature conditions, proper care of Phalaenopsis orchids reduce the probability of plant damage by bacteria and fungi. The second important condition for phalaenopsis is the high humidity of the air. For this, next to the plant, you can put an aquarium with water or use artificial moisturizing by means of a special device.

Phalaenopsis Orchid : Care and Planting

Most of the plants in this variety are epiphytes that grow naturally in trees. Therefore, planting should be done in a special substrate, and not in ordinary land. Mixture for an orchid can be bought ready-made or made by yourself. To do this, take the bark of the pine, carefully boil it and dry it. In a few days it must be boiled again - this is done to destroy harmful insects. The resulting material should be cut into small pieces and mixed with chopped sphagnum (moss). After that, the substrate is ready for use.

Plant an orchid in plastic or earthenware boxes or pots, transparent or white, with holes on the bottom. Such pots will not heat up, and they will have ventilation. At the bottom should be placed drainage, for which take small pieces of foam (up to 1 cm). Then, 75% of the substrate is laid and the plant is placed. Do this carefully, so as not to damage the roots - do not press them down. Having established an orchid, the remaining substrate is poured into the pot. The plant needs a transplant no more than once every three years.

Phalaenopsis Orchid: care and watering

Humidification of the substrate is necessary in the summer every two days, and in winter not more often than once a week. It is necessary to watch, that in the intervals between waterings, its complete drying occurs. Water the flower with warm, settled water. For irrigation take distilled or boiled water, as hard water forms salt, which leaves a whitish coating on the leaves. During flowering, spraying is performed in such a way that the liquid does not fall on the buds. Plant nutrition during growth is carried out twice a month at the same time as irrigation. To do this, use special fertilizers that are designed for orchids.

Phalaenopsis Orchid: Care and Blooming

To increase the bloom of flowering, it is necessary to prune the peduncle above the upper sleeping bud in the middle of the plant. This will cause the appearance of a new flower panicle. The phalaenopsis orchid is cut off only after it dries.

Phalaenopsis Orchid: Care and Reproduction

Plant cultivation is performed by bush division, stem cuttings, apical shoots forming roots. With proper care in a couple of years, even from a small shoot, you can get a full-fledged plant, ready for independent blooming, which is capable of forming shoots.