Some wonder why the queen of flowers is called the rose and not the dendrobium orchid. This plant is not just beautiful, it is magnificent, unpredictable, delightful. The fatal beauty of an orchid falls in love with itself immediately and for life. There are more than a thousand species of this wonderful plant, and about two hundred thousand varieties and hybrids (according to some sources, up to three hundred).
With such an incredible variety and with all its dazzling charm, dendrobium orchids are not particularly capricious. Anyone who is willing to make some effort to create suitable conditions for them can grow them at home in pots.
The trouble with orchids and those who are in love with them is the relatively short life of beauties. In order for them to please the eye and soul for many years, you need to be able to multiply them. Then the renewal of aging instances will be constantly carried out.
A rare indoor plant does not attract all sorts of small pests - insects and microbes. The orchid is also unable to escape this fate. You need to know the parasites "by sight" in order toget rid of them favorite plant.
In our article we will share the secrets of what care the dendrobium orchid requires, how to properly propagate it, how to destroy pests, how to deal with diseases, how to make the orchid live on the windowsill for a long time.
General information
The beautiful and romantic name "orchid" is translated from Greek as "male (or other large mammals) testicles". For some reason, the ancient Greeks saw the similarity of the shape of the rhizome with this part of the human body. "Dendrobium" is closely related to the word "dendro", which in Greek means "tree". Everything is clear here, because dendrobium orchids, one might say, live on trees. At the same time, they only cling to strong trunks, making their way along them towards the sun. Flower beauties do not receive any nutrients from their living support. On this basis, they belong to the group of epiphytes.
On Earth, orchids exist for about 145 million years and are considered one of the oldest representatives of the floral flora. In an apartment, each specimen lives for about 4 years, although there are cases when, with good care, their life span was extended to 5-6 years. Stores usually sell blooming orchids. When buying them, be prepared for the fact that your beauty, having pleased you for several weeks, will fade forever. This happens if the plant is stuffed with stimulants or fertilizers with prolonged action. Your task is to cure your flower, for which you need to follow the rules for caring for it.
Growth area
It is always important to know whichnatural conditions lived the progenitors of indoor flowers. Scientists have found that each plant has a genetic memory that plays an important role in the life of the descendants of the population. By creating conditions for your green pets that are close to those in which their relatives once lived, you provide approximately 80% of the success in caring for the plant. In nature, dendrobium orchids are found in the tropical forests of many southern countries - in China, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Nepal, the Himalayas and Vietnam. They are accustomed to warm and humid weather during the growing season and to cool weather with occasional rain during dormancy. They need to provide the same regime in the apartment.
Botanical description
Extraordinarily attractive flowers - dendrobium orchids. It is thanks to their unusual and infinitely diverse form that this plant is so beloved and popular among flower growers. Despite the huge number of varieties of shapes and colors, all orchid flowers have three petals and the same number of sepals. Sometimes they are fused, forming something like a small helmet. When the buds open, it is clearly visible that the sepals frame it from the outside and always open first, followed by the petals.
They can be round, oval, pointed, spiral, but almost always the two extreme petals are the same in size, and the one in the middle differs from them. It's called a lip. In different varieties, it can be round, saucer-shaped, tubular, mobile (swing on a thin thread) andmotionless. The flowers of many types of dendrobiums have a delicate aroma with hints of vanilla. The inflorescences of this plant are racemose. They can have from 5 to 25 individual flowers. At the same time, the diameter of each (depending on the variety) is from 30 to 90 mm.
The leaves of dendrobium orchids are deep green. They are ovoid, oblong or oval. There are deciduous and evergreen species.
The roots of the plant are well developed. Outside, they are enveloped by velamen. This is the dead tissue covering the aerial roots of all epiphytes.
Pseudobulb of this orchid species is of interest. At first, it grows to almost a meter, and in some varieties - up to one and a half meters, and then it becomes bare, gives daughter outlets and dies. Initially, the pseudobulbs are erect, but with growth they droop. Their thickness is up to 2 cm. Some call them a thick stem.
Orchids need these formations to accumulate water and nutrients, which they begin to gradually consume with the onset of adverse climatic conditions, such as drought.
Where to find a flower place in the house
The dendrobium orchid at home feels good if it has been provided with an existence close to what its ancestors had at home. Since this beauty hails from the tropics, she should be placed at home in a warm, sunny place. A window sill on the south side is well suited. However, direct sunlight should not fall on the orchid. She will also be comfortable on the windowsills on the southwest and southeast sides. If all the windows in your house face north, but you really want toto have a dendrobium orchid, you will have to arrange artificial lighting for it.
When placing a flower in a bright place, one should not forget that the species of orchids in question in its homeland is a seasonal plant. This means that he has pronounced periods of rest and vegetation. During intensive growth and flowering, the orchid needs not only light, but also warmth. The temperature on its windowsill should reach +28 ° C during the day and up to +20 ° C at night. In summer, it can even be taken out into the garden or onto the balcony in a light shade, making sure that the sun does not shine on it for a long time. You also need to protect the plant from drafts.
With the cessation of flowering of the dendrobium orchid (it lasts up to 3 months) and "leaving" for rest, it needs to provide a temperature of up to +18 ° C during the day, and up to +10 ° C at night. Short-term deviations from the specified temperature regime are allowed, but long-term deviations can cause the death of the flower.
It is not necessary to change the light level during the dormant period.
Pot Requirements
Having bought an orchid in a store, do not rush to immediately transplant it into "your" land. Most likely, she is not bad in the store substrate, since she blooms magnificently. A dendrobium orchid will need to be transplanted when its roots begin to crawl out of the pot, pushing out the substrate, or in case of illness.
What potty should she choose? There are no special requirements for the material from which it is made. It can be ceramic, transparent or opaque plastic. The main thing is that it has drainage holes. The size of the pot also does not matter much, as long as the rootthe system is in it. If you take too small a pot, the orchid will soon have to be transplanted. If you take too large a pot, the plant will need to provide good ventilation of the soil, which will have to take a slightly larger volume. These nuances must be taken into account.
Many flower growers prefer clay pots because they "breathe". But orchid roots tend to stick to ceramics, which complicates plant transplantation. There is no such problem with plastic pots.
Now there are openwork pots for sale especially for orchids. They have a lot of side holes that form various patterns for a better aesthetic look. Perhaps these pots are the most suitable for an exotic beauty.
Soil requirements
If an orchid is indifferent to the appearance and volume of its "home", then it makes some wishes to the soil. Since it grows on trees in its homeland, it does not require fertile soil. The orchid needs to be planted in a special mixture. Its cooking options may vary slightly:
- 1st way. Take the bark of a pine tree (or any conifer that grows in your area), add sphagnum moss, humus and charcoal. The bark must be taken from a dry tree, crushed, boiled and dried again. Such bark can be stored in a glass container for several years, spending as needed. All ingredients must be mixed and moistened. Only after that they fill the pot, on the bottom of which a drainage layer is placed.
- 2nd way. Mix coniferous bark, crushed expanded clay, coconut flakes, sphagnum moss,charcoal.
- 3rd way. Prepare a special block for the orchid (sold in flower shops) without soil and fill it with sphagnum moss.
With any composition, the pot first needs to be about half filled with drainage material, and only then pour soil into it.
Irrigation requirements
During the growing season, the orchid should be watered as the soil in the pot or moss in the block dries out. They usually do this every other day. In addition to watering, you can simply put the flower pot for a short time in a container of water, which should be warm and settled. After that, it is placed on a cloth so that excess moisture is removed from the pot. In summer, the orchid must be regularly sprayed with warm water from a spray bottle.
During the dormant period, watering the dendrobium orchid is reduced to a minimum, and spraying is stopped. If it is flooded with water, as in summer, moisture will accumulate in its cells, which will cause them to rot.
At the end of the dormant period (early spring), you can stimulate the awakening of the orchid by watering it more often. But before that, the plant must have 3-4 months of rest. Otherwise, early awakening will ensure the appearance of not buds, but rosettes of leaves.
Feeding
If you follow all the above recommendations, your dendrobium orchid care will be easy. In addition to watering and spraying, it will need to be fertilized.
With top dressing, you need to be careful and adhere to the principle "it is better to underdo it than overdo it." Orchids get sick from excess fertilizer,may even die.
Top dressing for them is done foliar (by spraying) and root (regular, in the ground). They need to be alternated. It is best not to engage in amateur activities, making up a nutrient mixture, but to purchase special fertilizers for orchids in flower shops. They must include nitrogen and phosphorus.
Flower growers recommend spraying plants with a growth stimulator once a month.
If the dendrobium orchid has faded, and living buds are visible on the pseudobulb, then pruning cannot be done. In other species, you need to look to see if the peduncle has begun to dry out. If yes, then it must be removed.
Reproduction
At home, the reproduction of the dendrobium orchid is carried out in two ways - cuttings (pseudobulbs) and children. The first method is not laborious, but the result takes a long time to wait. This is how orchids are propagated by those who do not like the almost leafless stem - the bulb. It is separated from the plant with secateurs, leaving a small stump, which must be sprinkled with charcoal powder. All leaves are removed from the handle, the remaining material is cut into fragments up to 20 cm long (each fragment should have internodes with buds). These pieces are also sprinkled on both sides with powdered coal and placed in a container with sphagnum moss. Before this, the substrate is moistened. Having placed fragments of cuttings on the moss, the container is closed and placed on the north window.
Reproduction of the dendrobium orchid by children is both faster and easier. Recall that children develop from those kidneys,which did not produce flowers. They represent an adult flower in miniature. It is not necessary to separate the dendrobium orchid baby from the mother plant immediately, but when the “baby” has already grown good strong roots. To optimize this process, the plant is fed with complex fertilizers, taking them half the specified rate. The baby is planted in compliance with the same rules that exist for an adult orchid.
During transplantation, you can use another method of reproduction - divide the orchid rhizome into fragments, each of which should contain roots and buds. Wounds must be disinfected with charcoal. This method is good because young orchids bloom the very next year. The disadvantage of this method is that pathogenic microbes can penetrate into the wounds and destroy the plant.
Diseases and pests
If the orchid is properly cared for, observing watering and lighting regimes, it usually does not get sick. The following can happen to her:
- Pseudobulb wrinkling. This is a signal that insufficient watering and top dressing is being carried out.
- Dry dark spots on the leaves indicate burns. It is necessary to rearrange the flower pot in a place where direct rays of the sun will not fall on the plant.
- Rotting spots on the leaves - an indicator that the orchid is sprayed at low temperatures. This contributes to the development of gray mold.
- Dendrobium orchids turn yellow leaves. What to do? Nothing if these leaf plates are lower, and the whole plant looks normal. Yellowing indicates that the leaf platejust got old. If young leaves begin to turn yellow, you need to reconsider the mode of lighting and top dressing.
- The orchid is he althy but doesn't want to bloom. This is an indication that she was not allowed to rest, starting too early to stimulate the growing season.
Dendrobium orchid diseases are often provoked by pests that feed on the juice of its leaves and roots.
Flower growers advise, bringing the plant home from the store, put it in a container of water, which should be on the edge of the pot. After a few minutes, insects hiding in the ground should get out. They are collected and destroyed.
In the process of life on your windowsill, an orchid may be attacked by such parasites:
- Ticks (spider web and flatworm). They suck the juice from the leaves, as a result of which the leaf plates become discolored and dry, and the buds fall off before blooming. The mites parasitize on the underside of the leaves. Traces of their vital activity are clearly visible to the naked eye. In the case of a spider mite, this is a white cobweb, and in the case of a flatworm, silver-brown spots. They fight pests by spraying Fitoverm orchids according to the instructions.
- Onion mite. This parasite settles in the roots and gnaws them from the inside. The plant weakens, refuses to bloom. If you find empty roots in your orchid (this can be understood by feeling them), the damaged parts must be removed, and the soil should be poured with Fitoverm.
- Scales and false scales. They differ from each other in appearance, but both parasitize on the underside of the leafplates, sticking to it and drinking juices. If light brown or darker dots-crusts are found on the orchids, they need to be picked off, the leaves thoroughly washed, the wounds smeared with brilliant green or sprinkled with charcoal, and the entire orchid is sprayed with Fitoverm.
- Worms. These parasites are like tiny pieces of cotton wool. They live in the axils of leaves and roots. If they settled in an orchid, its leaves begin to turn yellow, the plant gets sick, does not bloom. If at least one worm is found, dry scales and leaves must be removed on the flower, and then sprayed with Fitoverm. But even after processing, it is required to inspect the orchid every day for the discovery of new worms. They can be removed manually. A week later, the treatment with Fitoverm must be repeated.
- Thrips. These insects live on many plants. They are dangerous because they lay their eggs inside the leaf, as a result of which spots appear on them. The leaves are dying. To destroy thrips, the orchid should be sprayed with Aktelik.
Types of Dendrobium orchids
Let's repeat that there are over 1000 species in the Dendrobium genus. To name a few:
- Dendrobium Parisha. It has powerful thickened stems that can be erect or hanging down. In length, they grow up to 40 cm. Each such stem has a thickening at the nodes and is shrouded in a white base of leaves. They are oblong in the Parish dendrobium orchid, with a slightly incised tip. The flowers of this species are large, up to 100 mm in diameter. Petals are pink or purple. Towards the edge the color is always moresaturated than in the middle. The lip of this orchid can be round or diamond-shaped, lighter than the petals. Has two contrasting spots at the base.
- Dendrobium Lindley. This orchid has short (up to 8 cm), bulb-like stems. Each has only one large leathery leaf. The peduncles of the plant are long, hanging, the flowers are yellow, very fragrant, with a pubescent lip.
- Dendrobium Kinga. This orchid is characterized by stiff stems, thinning towards the top. In length, it grows up to 30 cm. The brush is few-flowered, consists of small fragrant flowers of various shades - from white to purple. The lip of this orchid is interesting. It has three blades. At the same time, the sepals are fused.
- Dendrobium nobile. This orchid is given the epithets "magnificent", "noble", "noble". This variety of dendrobium orchid has many varieties and hybrids. Their beauty can be admired tirelessly. Her flowers can be of various shapes and colors, white, pink, purple, speckled and striped. At the same time, the lips of the flowers are always very bright, contrasting, they are smooth and fringed, with and without spots. The leaves of the representatives of the species are mostly sessile, arranged in pairs or alternately. Stems strong, erect. The Dendrobium nobile orchid will make a lovely addition to any home.
