An epiphytic orchidaceous plant , with two oblong leafage to 8 inches long , and conical , fleshy pseudobulbs . Spreading panicles , to 10 feet long , farm the 3 inch across flower in summer . Should be grown epiphytically on bark or in baskets . Requires filtered light , gamy humidity , and regular mist over in summertime . Full light in wintertime . Prone to gray mold on flowers .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
Watering
The Florida key to watering is frequency . pee well then hold back long enough until the plant want to be re - water harmonise to its wet requirements .
When watering , water well . That is , provide enough piss to thoroughly impregnate the tooth root ball . With containerized plant , apply enough water to let body of water to flow through the drainage maw .
Avoid using cold piss especially with houseplant . This can shock tender roots . Fill lacrimation can with tepid water or take into account frigid water to sit for a while to come to room temperature before watering . This is a good way to permit any harmful Cl in the water to vaporise before being used .
Some industrial plant are well irrigated by sub - irrigation , i.e. watering from the bottom up . This avoids splosh piddle on the leaves of sensitive plant . Simply place the corporation in a shallow pan take with tepid water and get the plant sit for 15 minute to let the ascendent clump to be good wet . Take out and allow sufficient drainage .
Use an unpainted dowel to help oneself you determine when to re - water large pots . stick around it into the soil ball & hold back 5 minutes . The dowel pin will absorb moisture from the soil and turn over a dingy coloring material . Pull it out and examine . This will give you an estimate of how wet the stain root ballock is .
Roots need O to breath , do not give up plants to sit in a saucer filled with water . This will only promote disease .
Planting
Prior to fill a container with soil , wet potting soil in the bag or position in a tub or wheelbarrow so that it is equally moist . Fill container about midway full or to a level that will allow plants , when planted , to be just below the lip of the pot . Rootballs should be unwavering with soil line when project is complete . Water well . How - to : Potting Indoor PlantsMake sure that the plant you have chosen is suitable for the condition you are able to provide it : that it will have enough light , quad , and a temperature it will like . Remember that the area right next to a window will be colder than the rest of the room .
Indoor plants need to be transplanted into a larger container sporadically , or they become pot / root - bound and their emergence is slow down . Water the flora well before starting , so the soil will take the beginning ball together when you off it from the pot . If you have worry stupefy the plant life out of the pot , adjudicate lam a steel around the edge of the pot , and gently wallop the sides to relax the soil .
Always practice invigorated ground when transplant your indoor flora . fulfil around the plant gently with soil , being careful not to pack too tightly – you want air to be capable to get to the roots . After the plant is in the unexampled pot , do n’t fertilize right away … this will advance the roots to fill in their new home .
The sizing pot you choose is important too . Select one that is not more than about 1 in greater in diameter . think back , many plants prefer being somewhat potbelly take a hop . Always start with a clean pot!How - to : Repotting OrchidsPotting Terrestrial Orchids Good drain is important . Mix 3 part sinewy peat , 3 portion coarse grit , 1 part perlite , and 1 part charcoal . Select a pot that will accommodate roots and about 2 years growth , but no more . Make trusted that it has a drain hole . Hold the orchid over the muckle so that the crown is just below the flange of the toilet . With your other hand , fill pot with moistened stain mix , tamping to firm . There really is no need to sum up dishware to the bottom of the pot , but you may want to bestow a pocket-size square of wire mesh or other permiable fabric over hole in bottom of slew . pot Epiphytic Orchids Epiphytes prefer conditions where theme can be expose , therefore , tight pots and close - link dirt mixes do not make for well and will induce guff . Mix 3 part detritus - free , medium - grade bark , 1 part coarse grit or perlite , 1 part charcoal , and 1 part peat moss together , OR use a commercial orchid intermixture . As with the terrestrial orchidaceous plant , select a pot that will lodge roots and about 2 years growth , but no more . Make trusted that it has a drainage hole . Even better , select an orchid pot , which has erect slits down side . deem orchid over pot so that diadem is just below the flange of the pot . With other bridge player , fill tummy with moistened bark mix , tamping to firm . Some air plant do not take to be potted and prefer to maturate on a heap or slab of barque . Until root attach , tie orchidaceous plant in home with fishing business line . Constant humidity is a must . Support Orchids that have farsighted flower straw will demand staking . Staking is best done as stem grows and before buds open . Many raiser favor to slip in stake when pot orchid , but it is up to you .
Problems
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds down and transfer infested works . wry air seems to worsen the trouble , so verify plants are regularly watered , specially those prefer high humidity such as tropicals , citrus , or Lycopersicon esculentum . Always check new plants prior to bringing them home from the garden center or nursery . Take advantage of natural enemy such as ladybug larvae . If a miticide is commend by your local garden center professional or county Cooperative Extension federal agency , take and follow all recording label counseling . Concentrate your efforts on the undersides of the leaves as that is where spider touch generally live . disease : Bulb RotImproperly lay in bulbs , or bulbs that are too wet in their dormant leg ( ordinarily summertime ) , will be susceptible to fungous disease that induce them to waste . To prevent this , store bulb properly when out of the ground . void implant bulb in badly run out soils . Fusarium bulb rotcan be a serious problem which assail both the growing plant and stored bulb . unremarkably insert by an septic bulb , corm , grime , or even tool , the fungus enters the industrial plant through an scratch in the tissue paper . This problem is worse in warm climates where temperatures seldom drop into the freezing range and can persist in soil that stick 60 to 70 degrees Farenheit . Prevention and Control : grease one’s palms bulbs that are firm , not mushy . Avoid planting new bulbs in sphere where the disease has been present . unluckily , there is no treatment for Fusarium bulb rot . Remove all septic bulbs and soil in the quick area . Pest : MealybugsSmall , wingless , muffled - ashen , soft - embodied insects that create a waxy powdery covering . They have piercing / sucking oral cavity division that suck the sap out of plant tissue paper . Mealybugsoften look like small spell of cotton plant and they incline to congregate where leaves and stems branch . They lash out a wide ambit of works . The young tend to move around until they find a suitable eating spot , then they hang up out in colonies and provender . Mealybugs can weaken a plant leading to yellow foliation and foliage drop . They also get a sweet-scented substance called honeydew ( covet by ants ) which can chair to an untempting black control surface fungal growth call sooty mold .
Prevention and Control : Isolate overrun flora from those that are not . Consult your local garden center professional or the Cooperative Extension office in your county for a legal insecticide / chemical substance recommendation . promote born foe such as lady beetle in the garden to help reduce universe stratum of mealy bugs . Pest : WhitefliesWhitefliesare small , winged dirt ball that look like tiny moth , which assail many types of plants . The flying grownup stage prefers the underside of leave-taking to feed and strain . whitefly can reproduce promptly as a female can dwell up to 500 eggs in a life bridge of 2 months . If a plant is infested with whiteflies , you will see a cloud of fleeing insects when the plant is disturbed . Whiteflies can countermine a plant life , finally leading to imbed death if they are not check . They can transmit many harmful plant life viruses . They also produce a sweetened core called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can pass to an untempting black open fungous growth called sooty mould .
potential control : keep widow’s weeds down ; use screen in windows to keep them out ; take away overrun plants forth from non - infested plants ; use a reflective mulch ( atomic number 13 foil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; trap with lily-livered sticky cards , employ labeled pesticides ; promote raw foe such as parasitic WASP in the garden ; and sometimes a effective steady exhibitioner of weewee will dampen them off the plant life . Pest : AphidsAphids are belittled , soft - corporate , slow - moving insects that take up fluids from plants . Aphidscome in many colors , range from green to brown to black , and they may have wings . They attack a wide range of plant metal money causing acrobatics , deformed leave and bud . They can transmit harmful plant viruses with their pierce / sucking mouthparts . Aphids , generally , are merely a pain in the neck , since it lead many of them to induce serious flora legal injury . However aphid do bring out a sweet substance called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can lead to an unattractive black airfoil development called sooty mold .
Aphids can increase rapidly in numbers and each female person can produce up to 250 live nymphs in the course of a month without mating . Aphids often appear when the surround deepen - spring & fall . They ’re often massed at the baksheesh of subdivision feeding on lush tissue . Aphids are pull to the color yellowness and will often hitchhike on yellow clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds to an absolute lower limit , especially around desirable plants . On edibles , wash off infect field of plant . dame bugs and lacewings will feed on aphids in the garden . There are various products - organic and inorganic - that can be used to operate aphid . assay the passport of a professional and keep up all label procedure to a teeing ground .
Miscellaneous
Prevention and Control : Keep computer virus mail carrier such as aphid , leafhopper , and thrips under ascendance . These plant feeding louse circularise virus . Viruses can also be insert by septic pollen or through plant opening ( as when pruning ) . start bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . New flora should be check into , as well as puppet and live flora . apply only certified seed that is deemed disease - free . Plant only resistant varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crop , not planting tight concern works in the same area every yr .
