Rules for planting and caring for a garden orchid
The garden orchid is a beautiful, delicate and elegant flower that takes pride of place in any garden. In our climate, different varieties of such overseas beauties take root well.
Garden orchid
Varieties of garden orchids
Garden orchids are durable, hardy and very different from indoor orchids. In order not to make a mistake and plant the right plant, you need to understand their varieties.
Varieties for planting in open ground:
- Queen's slipper (Cypripedium reginae), or Venus slipper;
- Hybrids Michael, Gisela;
- Tricytis (Tricytis).
They are not capricious and hardy to weather conditions.
Description
Garden orchids have a lush and beautiful leafy crown. Their flowers delight with sophistication. Asymmetry is the hallmark of these plants. They have elongated sharp leaves with clear veins, alternately going along the stem, a little similar to the lily of the valley family.
Gisela
Gisela is a type of garden orchid suitable for beginners in flower cultivation. It takes root well, withstands frosts. The bush is green, with a lot of flowers, on which a soft creamy lip and 3 purple-brown petals stand out.
The petals are light green, with a delicate creamy tint. In the evening it seems that they glow from the inside.
Slipper
The Slipper variety has a bright red “lips” color. It looks spectacular against the background of white flower petals.
Michael
Hybrid variety with large striped flowers and purple petals. The bush is compact and suitable for small flower beds, combined with other varieties.
Tricirtis
The garden orchid Tricirtis belongs to the lily species. It blooms beautifully, bears great resemblance to a tropical orchid. In height, the stem stretches up to 70 cm, flowers in diameter - up to 4 cm. People call this flower a toad lily. The color is white, pink and cream, with obligatory specks all over the inflorescence.
From the variety of varieties, everyone can choose a suitable one and enjoy the view of unusual flowers.
Planting orchids
Flowers that can withstand cold climates are characterized by symbiosis with a fungus (like trees). This combination helps to survive in cold weather. Large flowers of garden orchids appear in May when planted correctly. Bright multicolor against the background of young grass enlivens the front garden.
Choosing a landing site
Garden orchids love shade. 5-6 hours of sunlight is enough for them. Naturally, they live in forests. When landing, this is taken into account first.
Under the crown of a linden, maple or elm tree, they will perfectly take root and feel at home. Conifers will not interfere with them either. The landing site should not be exposed to drafts.
The soil must have neutral acidity, good moisture permeability and looseness so that the air can circulate freely. When the soil dries out or overflows, garden orchids die.
Planting and caring for garden orchids begins with the preparation of the site. This requires a pit 40-50 cm deep. Expanded clay with a thickness of 8-13 cm is poured onto its bottom in the center.On top, sprinkle with a substrate of a certain composition:
- 2 parts of peat;
- 1 part of limestone (crushed) - up to 2 cm;
- 1 part perlite;
- 1 part of forest land or coniferous and with humus leaves;
- 0.5 parts of river sand;
- charcoal and lava chips.
Coal and chips are needed to improve aeration. To prevent moisture from evaporating, mulching is carried out with coniferous mortar.
The substrate for planting is selected taking into account the garden varieties of orchids. A high calcium content is suitable for a real shoe, the Tibetan Shoe better tolerates humus soil and needs shelter from the autumn weather.
Garden orchids, their varieties and hybrids, differ in the length of the rhizome. It depends on how they fill the space of the flower garden over time. Spotted orchids and Yatabe have a small crown but long roots and thrive well. Large-flowered ones are best planted closer to each other: their roots are shorter, but the upper green cover is larger.
Planting site for garden orchids
Flower care
Caring for garden orchids involves controlling soil moisture, regular watering and avoiding drought in the root zone.
Weeds should not grow in the immediate vicinity of the flower garden. They can drown them: growth will slow down, and flowering will not be lush.
Fertilizers are applied in autumn or spring. They are fed by any means for orchids. Tricirtis garden loves a weak mineral solution. In the spring, before flowering, during the period when the first leaves appear, is the best time for such a procedure.
Reproduction
Reproduction of flowering plants belongs to care. In nature, they do this by self-seeding. Germination occurs due to fungi growing nearby, i.e. symbiosis of orchid seeds with mycelium.
This does not happen at home - it is impossible to grow new plants this way.
For reproduction, the root system is divided so that there are 3 buds in each part. This is necessary for the early development of a new flower. A well-developed adult plant is chosen for the procedure and is carried out every 5 years. A suitable period is in August and early September.
The buds are placed in the ground to a depth of no more than 1-2 cm. This is done in the spring season, before the beginning of the growing season or in late autumn, so that the sap flow is slowed down.
Disease and pest control
The care includes pest and disease control of exotic flowers. Slugs and snails like to nibble on the edges of the leaves. The mucus from them remains on the flowers and stem and damages them after drying.
To combat pests, needles are scattered around the stem.
When rust appears on the leaves, they are sprayed with a fungicide solution. Such a sore passes to a flower with a row of growing apple trees. Orchids should not be planted close to fruit trees.
If the garden tricyrtis is infected with aphids, an insecticide is used.
In the winter-autumn period, there is stagnation of water in the root zone, i.e. soaking and decay of the rhizome. To avoid this, the plant is planted on a hill or special obstacles are made to drain moisture.
Any types of orchids get along well with bones, low conifers, sedges, ferns, etc. Special care is needed when transplanting to avoid problems in the future. If the roots are slightly damaged, the plant will stop growing. With a large loss of the root system, the plant loses its ability to regenerate and dies.
The butterfly eats the foliage of the orchid with great pleasure. A fungicide is used to combat.
Conclusion
The success of growing and breeding orchids depends not only on the choice of planting sites, care and pest control. The main and decisive factor is the love for these unusual colors.