How to Cultivate Phalaenopsis at Home
This article provides a core guide on how to cultivate Phalaenopsis at home and discusses the knowledge of planting techniques for this flower. Let's follow the editor to see the specific content!
Caring for Phalaenopsis at home can be quite challenging. Many hobbyists worry about not being able to care for their Phalaenopsis properly, but it's usually because they haven't found the main reasons and corresponding methods. In fact, it's only a few key issues.
Main Reasons for Failure in Home Care
1. Overwatering. Phalaenopsis enthusiasts often worry about insufficient watering, ignoring the moisture level of the substrate, and end up watering every day, eventually leading to severe root rot.
2. Low temperature. Most Phalaenopsis are available for purchase in early spring and can be admired as soon as they are brought home. The sudden transition from professional growing conditions to lower room temperatures at home, along with reduced humidity levels, can lead to weaker growth of Phalaenopsis. Therefore, it's normal for some Phalaenopsis not to bloom.
3. Over-fertilization. Some hobbyists believe that plants will grow rapidly in fertile substrates, so they frequently apply additional fertilizers without paying attention to the concentration. Each plant has different fertilizer requirements; some prefer thick fertilizers, while others prefer thin ones. Phalaenopsis prefers the latter, so reducing the amount of additional fertilization and lowering the concentration is the right approach.
4. Planting a large plant in a small pot. A large pot does offer more space and better capacity for substrate and fertilizer, but Phalaenopsis does not require a large pot for care, as this can affect the ventilation of the substrate.
Specific Care Points
The primary task of caring for Phalaenopsis at home is to maintain the temperature. First, understand its growth habits: Phalaenopsis thrives in high temperatures, with the optimal growth temperature not below 15 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the temperature range of 15 to 30 degrees Celsius can be considered the best growing stage. Maintaining such temperatures in winter can be challenging, even in the south.
If there is a heating function at home, it is easier, but most homes do not have this. When the standard growth temperature cannot be achieved, external tools such as plastic film can be used. Phalaenopsis has a special stage where it can be cooled down, which is the flowering period. The purpose of cooling is to extend the blooming period.
Phalaenopsis requires fertilization throughout the year unless the temperature is consistently low. Flower buds of Phalaenopsis sprout in winter, and it's best not to stop fertilizing under non-severe conditions, or there may be no flowers or fewer flowers. Spring is the growing stage for Phalaenopsis, and it's sufficient to apply fertilizer three to four times a month, with each application as dilute as possible. Organic fertilizers or special nutrient solutions can be used, and care should be taken to avoid the flower buds when spraying, as this can cause them to drop prematurely.
Flowering management is in late spring. Once the flowers wither, the remaining flowers should be removed as soon as possible to reduce nutrient consumption. Especially the long flower stems, which not only affect the plant shape but also hinder the subsequent growth of Phalaenopsis. The best pruning method is to start from the base of the flower stem to promote the growth of new branches, with new leaves usually sprouting around May.
The above information provides an overview of how to cultivate Phalaenopsis at home and the planting methods, hoping it is helpful to you!