Dendrobium Starclass (dendrobium orchid) is one of the most attractive and bright indoor plants, once a year delighting its owners with unusually beautiful flowers with a delicate aroma of jasmine, citrus or anise. How to care? Dendrobium Starclass is a rather capricious beauty that requires special attention and care.
Location and lighting
The leading role in the process of the full development of the orchid is given to light. The growth of roots and leaves, the appearance of peduncles directly depend on the level of illumination. In the winter months, when there is a lack of light, the plant practically stops growing. As a rule, new shoots do not appear in winter, but new bulbs develop.
Spring is best to keep Dendrobium Starclass in a warm and sunny place. The plant in such conditions will quickly increase the green mass and, accordingly, will bloom earlier. The flower should be placed on the eastern or western windows, these are the places that are most favorable for him. In summer, it is useful to leave orchids outdoors, picking upfor this, a place protected from direct sunlight, rain and strong winds.
Temperature and humidity
Dendrobium Starclass, home care for which is quite painstaking, loves temperatures no higher than 30 degrees in summer and about 20 degrees in winter. It is important to know that at higher temperatures, the plant evaporates a lot of moisture, while its roots lose the ability to absorb it, which ultimately leads to the drying of the orchid.
Creating a difference between day and night temperatures is of great importance to Dendrobium Starclass. So, it is necessary that at night the temperature regime is lower than during the day. It is recommended that nighttime temperatures stay below 15 degrees.
Dendrobium Starclass, the care and maintenance of which requires certain knowledge, is recommended to be kept in a room with an air humidity of more than 60%. With insufficient humidity in the warm season, it is useful to spray. And it is best to place the plant on a pallet with wet pebbles or plain water.
Irrigation
To those who are the happy owners of Dendrobium Starclass, it is simply necessary to know how to water this plant. The abundance and frequency of watering depends on the intensity of sunlight and air temperature. The lighter and warmer, the more moisture the plant needs, respectively. It is important to ensure that the soil is constantly moist. In the cold season, especially in winter, watering is limited. This is due to the fact that frequentthe influx of moisture during the period of time when the plant is not growing can cause rotting of the root system. For irrigation, experienced flower growers advise using exceptionally warm (30-35 ° C) and soft water.
Fertilizers
In spring and summer, when Dendrobium Starclass actively grows, sets buds and blooms, every 3rd watering should be fed to the plant, using a special fertilizer designed for orchids for this purpose. Foliar feeding is also useful.
Transfer
In the question of how to care for (Dendrobium Starclass, as already mentioned, the plant is quite capricious), transplantation is of great importance. It should be carried out only when it is clearly visible that the roots of the flower have grown so much that they no longer fit in a pot, as a result of which it loses its stability, its growth slows down. On average, this can be observed every 2 years. There is no need for more frequent transplants.
The pot for an orchid should be selected taking into account the size of its root system, while it is necessary that there is still some free space from the roots to the walls of the pot. For drainage and stability of the overgrown flower, it is recommended to put several large pebbles on the bottom of the container.
Soil selection
Increased attention should be paid to the choice of soil. It should be borne in mind that this plant will not take root in ordinary, dense and heavy soil. To ensure maximum comfort for the orchid, it is worthuse a special substrate, which includes crushed bark of coniferous trees, charcoal and humus. In this case, in no case should the substrate be compacted tightly; it is necessary that it be porous, airy and easily absorb moisture. Often the base of the flower is covered with moss, thereby reproducing the natural habitat of Dendrobium Starclass.
Reproduction
Orchids are propagated mainly by seeds, as their vegetative breeding is quite difficult. When carrying out this process by dividing the bush, you need to remember that each division must have its own roots and at least 2-3 pseudobulbs.
Pests
Learning how to care for (Dendrobium Starclass will certainly thank you for your care with beautiful flowers), it is worth mentioning the pests that affect this plant, as well as measures to combat them.
- Thrips. Their reproduction is facilitated by low humidity and high temperature. Thrips lays numerous colonies on the underside of the leaf, while light dots appear on the upper side, giving the leaf a grayish-brown tint with a silvery sheen. In the case of a mass defeat, the leaves become completely whitish and discolored, and soon turn brown and fall off. Most of all, thrips harm flowers, as a result of which the latter become stained and severely deformed. To destroy this parasite, the orchid must be sprayed with insecticides such as Inta-vir, Aktellik,"Decis", "Fitoverm".
- Shields. Brown plaques appear on the surface of stems and leaves, sucking out cell sap. As a result of such a lesion, the leaves lose their natural color, dry, and after a short period of time fall off. To combat pests, the leaves must be wiped with a soapy sponge, and then the plant is sprayed with a 0.15% Actellic solution (1-2 ml of the product per 1 liter of water).
- Aphids. Aphids can also infect orchids, which damage leaves, buds and tops of shoots. The leaves curl, discolor and fall off. To combat aphids, it is necessary to spray the plant with the insecticides listed above.
The above recommendations on how to care for (Dendrobium Starclass will surely delight you with its unusually beautiful appearance later) for this wonderful plant will help keep the flower in excellent condition.