How to grow an orchid without soil?

Not every grower can decide to grow orchids without soil. This is not at all difficult to do. In this case, the key to success is the knowledge of how to properly care for the specified representative of the flora.

Practice shows that it is quite possible to engage in growing plants without soil through seven-hydroculture. With this technology, plant roots are placed in water. However, before doing this, the orchid must be immersed in an inert and non-degradable material in advance.

The success of this growing technology lies in the capillary features of the material used. Expanded clay should be lowered into a pot selected for planting an orchid, and filled with water to a level of 0.04 m. Under the influence of capillary properties, the level begins to rise and reaches the roots of the orchid. In this way, it is possible to saturate the roots of the plant with moisture.

Features

Many flower growers are interested in the question of whether the plant can survive in such conditions. It is possible to do this, but only if the constant moist environment has not become familiar to the roots of the flower. As you know, tree bark and other components used are needed only to maintain the flower. However, if you resort to the help of a skewer or something like that, then in the soil as such there is no need.

In winter, it is recommended to water orchids less often. As for the spring season, when the flower begins to grow actively, the frequency of watering should be increased.

Advice! In addition to watering, you must monitor the lighting. For orchids in the room, you can choose any window with the exception of the south, since direct sunlight is unacceptable for these colors.

Advantages of this landing method and possible problems

This method of growing orchids, as hydroponics, has a number of advantages:

1. Using this technology, it is possible to prevent the plant from decaying or the occurrence of parasites in the soil. This property is of great importance, because rot in the root system is a common problem for this representative of the flora.
2. Growing plants in this way, you can refuse orchid transplants.
3. Dissolution of useful trace elements in a liquid helps prevent their deficiency or excess.
4. The lack of soil allows the culture to remain strong and healthy, since the plant receives the required amount of useful trace elements, as a result of which its roots do not dry out.

However, when growing orchids, an open system of automatic type is used, which will reduce the time needed to care for flowers. The main thing in this case is not to forget to add water after a certain period of time. Thus, the need for watering the orchid disappears for several weeks, and this does not harm the plant in the least.

As for the difficulties in caring for orchids, flower growers can encounter them only if the rules for caring for the plant are violated. Yellowed leaves may become the first such problem. It is one thing when old leaves turn yellow and fall off. The situation is completely different if young leaves begin to turn yellow. This can happen if:

• Overmoistening has occurred. Then, along with yellowing leaves, one can observe the process of root decay.
• An overdried substrate can also lead to leaf wilting. This can happen when the plant is not sprayed and the air in the room is overdried.
• Direct sunlight in the summer can cause such a negative reaction.
• A draft or a cold room in winter can provoke yellowing of leaves.

Important! In addition to leaves, a problem may arise in the root system of orchids. Here you can see how the roots simply begin to rot due to waterlogging. In this case, the plant requires an urgent transplant.

Orchids can sometimes not please the eye with their flowering. This may be due to lack of lighting. And finally, the plant can suffer from the negative effects of pests and some diseases. In the first case, it can be a mealybug or spider mite.

Components Used Instead of Ground

As experience shows, in most cases, these regal plants feel quite comfortable not in humus-rich soil, but on the branches, trunks or roots of a tree (can I plant a flower in ordinary soil?). The plant needs the useful elements required for its development not from the soil. The power source of the flower is the atmosphere..

This flower needs soil only so that it can somehow gain a foothold and hold on to a particular area. Therefore, choosing components that will be used instead of soil, you should be guided by their permeability to moisture and air.

In the vast majority of cases, wood bark is a key component for homemade soil. It can be picked either independently or bought in a special store. Orchid lovers often choose pine bark. But the bark of oak trees, conifers, etc., is quite suitable. To collect bark for planting orchids, use sawn logs or dead wood.

To ensure the safety of the plant and its protection from unwanted insects or bacteria, pieces of bark should be cleaned of softened areas and thoroughly dried. In addition to bark, flower growers use sphagnum moss as a substrate, which gives the soil looseness, retains moisture without compacting the soil, absorbs harmful salts and has a bactericidal property.

Attention! In addition to the bark of trees and moss, expanded clay is very actively used, as discussed above. Charcoal is also endowed with similar properties to expanded clay, which, among other things, has disinfecting properties.

You will learn how to choose a substrate for a plant in this article, and which soil has the most correct composition and which is better - to make at home or buy ready-made, read here.

Capacities for growing plants

As it has already become clear, an orchid is a plant that does not grow in the ground, but is attached to other plants by its roots. Therefore, it is important to choose the right capacity for growing the indicated representative of the flora. Otherwise, it is fraught with the fact that its root system will begin to rot.

Pots for the indicated representative of the flora should choose such a type and structure that would enable the orchid to develop, and not to dry out and not be exposed to the negative effects of overdried air in the room where the plant is located.

When choosing pots, preference should be given to those made of glass, plastic or ceramic containers. In addition to the above requirements orchid pots must meet the following conditions:

1. they must have a drain for water;
2. the volume of the tank and the size of the plant must be consistent with each other;
3. the volume of the pot should be such that the root system of the orchid is located freely and does not touch the walls.

Proper care

Looking ahead, it should be noted that there is no fundamental difference in the care of orchids planted in the ground and plants that grow from other components of the substrate. Therefore, to ensure comfortable conditions for the plant, it will be quite enough to adhere to the general principles of its content.

So, excessive moisture should be avoided when caring for an orchid. It is much easier to tolerate short drought. From the point of view of controlling the level of humidity, it will be excellent if the orchid grows in a container with transparent walls. So visually it will be possible to determine whether an orchid without soil needs watering.

Advice! It is also recommended that the roots and the ground part of the plant be sprayed with soft water daily. This will help provide the required level of humidity.

As for lighting, the daylight hours for an orchid should be at least 10 hours. You can replace the sun's rays with artificial lighting - fluorescent lamps. If we talk about the temperature regime, then the overwhelming number of varieties of the indicated plant feels quite comfortable during the day at a temperature of 18-27ºС of heat, and at night - 13-24ºС.

If you follow all the recommendations made, then no difficulties and difficulties when caring for the plant should arise. It will only delight the eye of the inhabitants of the house.

Watch the video: Converting your orchids to water culture. What to expect the first month. (May 2024).