How to control the early blooming of large cattleya orchids
Plant knowledge section, sharing with you the explanation of other flowers such as large cattleya orchids, how to control the early blooming of large cattleya orchids, next, the editor will introduce to everyone.
Blooming out of the main sales season not only fails to command a good price but also has limited sales volume. What factors contribute to the early blooming of large cattleya orchids? When early blooming is detected, how should producers respond and make up for it? Mr.樱间智彦, who has been engaged in related work of large cattleya orchids for 32 years at the Japanese Kono MERICLONE Corporation, shared his experience.
Large cattleya orchids
Choose good varieties and keep production records
To control the phenomenon of early blooming, it is necessary to first understand the causes of early blooming. Mr.樱间智彦 analyzed that there are many reasons for the early blooming of large cattleya orchids, including variety characteristics, weather conditions, the time for leaving flower buds, and factors such as temperature, light, and fertilizer conditions in the facility. Regarding varieties, it involves the source of the varieties, and currently, the main varieties cultivated in China are Japanese seedlings, usually obtained through tissue culture. These varieties are mostly bred by crossing European large flower types with local Japanese varieties, aiming for blooming around the New Year in Japan. Therefore, for production around the Chinese New Year, early blooming often occurs. In this regard, Mr.樱间智彦 suggests that producers should first choose different varieties with early, medium, and late blooming periods based on their own base climate conditions and existing facility conditions.
Weather conditions and facility environment are also important factors affecting the blooming period of large cattleya orchids. In the second half of this year, places like Kunming and Yuxi in Yunnan have mostly clear weather, which speeds up the growth of flower buds, and most producers use simple greenhouse temperature control equipment, leading to early blooming. Mr.樱间智彦 told the reporter that some producers in Yunnan use greenhouses originally used for producing grass flowers or cut flowers for large cattleya orchid production, although they have been modified, they still cannot meet the requirements for temperature and light control for the blooming period of large cattleya orchids. Professional facilities are a guarantee for effective blooming period control.
The time for leaving flower buds has a direct impact on the blooming period, and producers usually count back from the optimal sales period to determine the time for leaving flower buds. For example, large varieties usually require four to five months from the appearance of flower buds to market, and it usually takes about 40 to 50 days from the beginning of bud formation to the opening of the first flower bud. If it is to be sold in January, flower buds in August are suitable, which is a routine. However, producers, considering factors such as weather and pot size, often leave the buds early, fearing that the flowers will not bloom during the sales season. In addition, for the same variety, a four-year-old plant tends to bloom earlier than a three-year-old plant with the same bud leaving time, which is also a reason for the early blooming of some large cattleya orchids this year.
In this regard, Mr.樱间智彦 says that data is the best basis for production operations. Producers need to arrange operations based on their own actual conditions, master the regional climate and greenhouse characteristics, and record various data of different varieties blooming each year, such as when to remove buds and how many times to remove them, for reference next year. Accumulating experience year by year is necessary to control the blooming period in a region.
Shading and cooling during the flowering season to control the blooming period
By the end of November this year, many large cattleya orchids in Yunnan had opened their buds. Kono Jiao Da Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. in Yunnan has been controlling flowers from two aspects: one is to pull up the sunshade net, with one layer of 50% external sunshade and two layers of 30% internal sunshade, and all three layers of sunshade nets are pulled up from October to November. In early December, the light intensity in Kunming is about 90,000 lux, and after three layers of shading, the light in some areas can be reduced to a few thousand lux, which is more suitable for controlling very early blooming varieties; the second is to ventilate and cool, opening both sides of the greenhouse for 24-hour ventilation, allowing cold air into the greenhouse at night. If the greenhouse temperature can be kept below 20°C during the day and 4°C at night, the blooming period can be effectively controlled. "We have done experiments, and in a room with a temperature of 5°C to 7°C and no light, large cattleya orchids basically hibernate and do not grow, and the flower buds will not change color. Based on this phenomenon, different degrees of early blooming symptoms can be controlled with different degrees of shading and temperature control," Mr.樱间智彦 said.
Some producers are concerned that low temperatures are not conducive to ensuring the quality of large cattleya orchids. Mr.樱间智彦 said that as long as the temperature is not too low, there will usually be no effect, and it can even improve the quality of some varieties, such as pink flowers, which benefit from low temperatures for coloring, making the flower color better. For some varieties that have already colored before shading, if only shading is applied and the temperature cannot be lowered, the flower color may gradually fade, and only a slightly lower temperature can ensure the flower color while achieving the purpose of controlling blooming. During the shading period, the pots should be very dry before watering. At this season, the Kono Yunnan base usually waters every three to four days, and excessive water can lead to basal stem rot.
When it is time for the flowers to bloom, the light exposure rate should be gradually increased. The practice of Kono Jiao Da is: first, remove the two layers of internal shading to increase the light exposure and raise the temperature slightly before opening the external shading; watering also gradually transitions from every three to four days to every two days, and then to every day. If all the shading nets are suddenly opened and the flowers are directly exposed to the sun, it can easily cause dry buds.
During the shading and flowering control period, some varieties may also show different behavior from normal flowering periods. For example, 'Pianist' tends to have softer flower stems under shading conditions, and if not supported in time, they can easily bend. Mr.樱间智彦 suggests using flower stem牵引挂钩 to adjust the position of the stems at any time, keeping the finished flower stems upright and sturdy.
The above () introduces a comprehensive introduction on how to control the early blooming of large cattleya orchids, hoping to bring some plant knowledge to green plant enthusiasts.