Environmental control of orchid cultivation on balcony

Environmental control of orchid cultivation on balcony

The potted orchid on the balcony is the most difficult to maintain, which is caused by the special environment of the balcony and the special needs of orchid growth. The following is about the control of the balcony environment to talk about their own experience.

I. Lighting characteristics of orchids and regulation of balcony lighting.

Orchids grow on the surface of the forest, is a kind of half-shade and half-yang plant, too strong or too weak light is not suitable for growth. When the light is too strong, the chlorophyll is destroyed and the orchid leaves turn yellow; in severe cases, the mesophyll cells are burned, causing the leaves to wither and die. The light is too weak, the orchid leaf is green, the internal nutrient accumulation of the leaf is less, the leaf is thin and soft, it is easy to droop and bend, the physique is thin and weak, and the resistance decreases. So can the balcony meet the lighting needs of bluegrass?

First of all, from the balcony light, it can be divided into summer and spring, autumn and winter. As China is located in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer sun is almost vertical and very strong, and the oblique sunlight is soft in spring, autumn and winter. The balcony in different directions is different, such as the east balcony receives light from morning to noon throughout the year; Nanyang platform receives light all day in spring, autumn and winter, and summer morning and evening; north balcony shines better before eight or nine o'clock in summer, but there is no light in spring, autumn and winter; the west balcony is similar to Nanyang platform, but the light is less in the morning and longer in the afternoon.

From the light quality of light, there are red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple seven kinds of visible light, and ultraviolet light and other invisible light. Red, orange, yellow and other series of visible light are more suitable for the growth of orchids. These rays are more frequent in the morning due to refraction and reflection.

From the point of view of the light and temperature of the light, the sunshine temperature in the summer morning is lower, which is suitable for orchid growth, while the noon sun temperature is higher, which is not suitable for orchid growth. Light and temperature in spring and autumn and winter are suitable for orchid growth all day long.

In view of this, the amount of light, light quality and light temperature of the east balcony are the most suitable for the growth of orchids throughout the year. The south balcony is suitable for the growth of orchids in spring, autumn and winter, but the light condition in summer is not very good. The north balcony is more suitable for orchid growth in summer, but there is no light in spring, autumn and winter. The west balcony is similar to Nanyang platform. Each family generally has only one or two balconies, which should be used according to local conditions in different seasons. If only the south balcony, the kind of potted orchid is placed on the balcony in spring and autumn and winter, and the north windowsill closed by the anti-theft net can be used in summer. No matter in summer or in spring, autumn and winter, it is covered by one or two layers of sunshade net.

Second, dustproof of raising orchids on the balcony

The leaves of cymbidium grass are easily covered with dust, which not only causes beauty, but also causes diseases, hinders the growth of orchid grass, and even dies. Because the balcony is often in the downtown area, it is a place with a large amount of dust in the air. The dust mainly comes from people on the street, cars, industrial smoke and so on. Wild orchids do not have this worry. Wild orchids grow in an environment where there is little floating dust and the air is very clean. In addition, orchids have a means of self-cleaning, and the dew moistens and flushes the leaves every day, so the leaves of wild orchids are generally clean and dust-free, and there are relatively few diseases. Urban orchid cultivation is best not to face the street balcony orchid, if only this kind of balcony had better be closed up. The second is to pull the sunshade net, which has a certain dustproof effect. You can also regularly wipe orchid leaves with wet toilet paper with a little vinegar to remove dust on the surface of orchid leaves.

Third, humidity control of orchid cultivation on balcony.

Orchids grow mostly in valleys. The air is humid in the early morning, and the leaves are covered with dew. After the sun rises, the air becomes moist and refreshing, and the humidity is generally maintained at about 70 ℅ (except in the dry season), which is equivalent to the humidity when the air is fresh after the spring rain. Generally speaking, there is no problem with the humidity of orchid balcony in the south, but it is difficult to meet the humidity requirement of orchid in the north. The leaves are either too dry, rough and lack of luster, or too wet, tender and weak, with disease spots. The main method is to set up a sink to increase humidity; the second is to do a good job in monitoring: install the hygrometer, observe at any time, and use a humidifier to adjust the air humidity according to the display data. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, there is a long period of continuous rain, few sunny days, and high air humidity, which is very disadvantageous to orchids. The best way is to increase ventilation, strengthen the counterflow of air, and prevent diseases caused by excessive air humidity.

IV. Temperature control of orchid cultivation on balcony

The suitable temperature for orchid growth is 20-30 ℃, and it is not suitable for orchid growth above 35 ℃ or below 5 ℃. The growth period of balcony potted orchid is obviously longer than that of wild orchid. Take Hubei as an example, the balcony pot orchid began to sprout in March, half a month earlier than the wild bluegrass, stopped growing later than the wild bluegrass, and the summer dormancy period was longer than the wild bluegrass. If well regulated, orchids raised on the balcony can grow all the year round. First of all, the closed balcony can be used as a low-temperature greenhouse in winter, and the overcast and snowy days with too low temperature can use a fish tank temperature controller to insert a Yuba lamp to slightly increase the temperature. The open balcony can also use this heating method to build a simple greenhouse. The summer temperature is too high, as long as the orchid is placed in an air-conditioned room at night, the orchid can continue to grow without summer dormancy.

Balcony potted orchid flower bud temperature control is also more important. Take Chunlan as an example, flower buds begin to form in June and July. From December to early February, they need to go through a low temperature of less than 50-60 days below 5 ℃, and then adjust the temperature to 18-23 ℃ before they can blossom smoothly. This is the so-called vernalization phenomenon. Therefore, the spring orchids with flower buds can not be put indoors in winter, otherwise the flower buds may rot and die after the beginning of spring. This phenomenon also exists in Huilan and should be treated with caution.

Orchids without temperature control should also pay attention to anti-freezing. When the temperature is below 0 ℃, it will cause basin soil to freeze, and the orchid root is very prone to frostbite, and no matter how low the temperature is, it will also cause frostbite of the orchid leaves, so the orchid should always pay attention to the anti-freezing. Potted orchids without flower buds can be moved indoors or spend the winter in a closed balcony. Bluegrass with flower buds should be placed in a low temperature place, but in order to prevent the cold wave from coming, if the temperature is too large and the temperature is below 0 ℃, you should also move indoors for shelter. A sudden drop in temperature is also the most likely to cause frost damage. (Liu Jingqiu)