Culture method of crab claw orchid

Crab claw orchid, also known as Christmas cactus, crab claw lotus and cactus flower, is a plant of the genus Cactus in the cactus family. Light green, the new stem node is reddish, the main stem is round, easy to be lignified, branched, nodal, spiny hairs on the thorn seat, flowers born on the top of the stem node thorn seat. Common cultivated varieties are bright red, pink, apricot yellow, and pure white. Because of the joint diameter, it is shaped like a crab's secondary claw. Leafy stems flattened and jointed, fleshy, ovoid, bright green, apex truncate, margin coarsely serrate. The flower is born at the top of the stem, the perianth opens and rolls upside down, and the colors are lilac, yellow, red, pure white, pink, orange and two colors.

Morphological characteristics

The leaves of the crab claw orchid are tender green, the new stem nodes are reddish, the main stem is round, easy to lignify, branched, nodal, spiny hairs on the thorn seat, flowers born on the top of the stem node. The common cultivated varieties are red, pink, apricot yellow and pure white. It is named crab claw orchid because the joint diameter is shaped like the secondary claw of a crab. In the western countries that believe in Christianity, it is also called "Christmas cactus" because it is suitable for "Christmas" to bloom. Crab claw orchid node stem is often too long, and overhanging, so it is often made into a hanging orchid for decoration. Crab claw orchid blossoms on Christmas and New year's Day, the plant type hangs, the design is bright and lovely, suitable for windowsill, entrance and exhibition hall decoration, bustling, immediately full room glow. However, due to the way of feeding, some crab claw orchids are regulated to bloom in October. The flowers are delicate and graceful, bright and beautiful, especially loved and praised by people. Crab claw orchid has been produced on a large scale in Japan, Germany, the United States and other countries, and has become one of the main indoor potted flowers in winter. Crab claw orchid has been introduced in China since 1980s.

Crab claw orchid is an epiphytic shrub. Leafy stems flattened and jointed, fleshy, ovoid, bright green, apex truncate, margin coarsely serrate. The flower is born at the top of the stem, the perianth opens and rolls upside down, and the colors are lilac, yellow, red, pure white, pink, orange and two colors. Flower breeders have done a lot of cross breeding research.

Growth habit

Crab claw orchid is a short-day plant, like scattered light, avoid the scorching sun; like moisture, but afraid of waterlogging. In the natural environment, it is often attached to trees or wet valleys, so the cultivation environment requires semi-shade and moist. Avoid hot sun and rain in summer and warm and sunny in winter. The soil needs a fertile mixture of rotten leaf soil, peat and coarse sand with a pH of pH5.5~6.5. The suitable temperature for the growing period is 18: 23 ℃, the suitable flowering temperature is 10: 15 ℃, no more than 25 ℃, and the best temperature is 15 ℃, and the winter temperature is not lower than 10 ℃. Crab claw orchid is a short-day plant, so it can bud and blossom under short-day conditions. Crab claw orchid is pollinated by birds in its original place, and artificial pollination is needed in indoor cultivation to bear fruit normally.

Cuttage propagation

1. Cutting substrate: nutrient soil or river sand, peat soil and other materials used for cutting. Family cutting is limited to the conditions, it is difficult to get the ideal cutting substrate, it is recommended that the cutting substrate has been prepared and sterilized; medium and coarse river sand is also fine, but it should be washed with clean water several times before use. Do not use sea sand and river sand in saline-alkali areas, they are not suitable for the growth of flowers and plants. In early spring or late autumn (the highest temperature at noon is not more than 28 ℃ and the lowest at night is not less than 15 ℃), cut the leaves or stems (with 3 or 4 leaf nodes), insert them into the substrate after the wound is dried, spray the cuttings and substrate slightly, as long as the substrate is not too dry or water-stained, roots and new buds can grow quickly. When the temperature is high from late spring to early autumn, cuttings are very easy to rot, so it is best not to cut them.

2. Potting: when the seedlings are installed in the basin, the thick coarse-grained matrix of 2~2cm or ceramsite is first put into the bottom of the basin as a filter layer, and then sprinkled with a layer of fully mature organic fertilizer as base fertilizer, with a thickness of about 1~2cm, and then covered with a substrate with a thickness of about 1~2cm, and then put into the plant to separate the fertilizer from the root system and avoid root burning. You can choose one of the following substrates for potting. Vegetable garden soil: slag 3ve1; or garden soil: medium coarse river sand: sawdust (dregs) 4RU 1RU 2; or one of paddy soil, pond mud, rotten leaf soil. Or peat + perlite + ceramsite = 2 + 2 + 1; vegetable garden soil + slag = 3 + 1; peat + slag + ceramsite = 2 + 2 + 1; sawdust + vermiculite + medium coarse river sand = 2 + 2 + 1. Pour water once after putting on the basin and keep it in a shady environment for a week.

3, humidity management: like the dry air environment, overcast and rainy days last too long, easy to be infected by bacteria. For fear of rain, keep the leaves dry at night. The optimum relative humidity of the air is 40-60%.

4. Temperature management: the optimum growth temperature is 1532 ℃. It is afraid of high temperature and muggy heat, and goes into dormancy when the summer temperature is above 33 ℃. Avoid cold frost, the overwintering temperature needs to be kept above 10 ℃, and when the winter temperature drops below 7 ℃, it will also enter a dormant state. If the ambient temperature is close to 4 ℃, it will die of frostbite.

5. Summer management

① enhances air convection so that the temperature in its body can be released.

Put ② in half shade, or give it 50% shade.

③ sprays it properly, 2-3 times a day.

6. Winter management

① moved to a brightly lit place for maintenance.

② is outside. You can wrap it in film for the winter, but you have to uncover the film every two days when the temperature is high at noon to let it breathe.

7. Light management: the leaf color will be more beautiful when you keep it in the semi-shade or shade it by 50% in summer. In spring and autumn, because the temperature is not very high, it is necessary to give it direct sunlight to facilitate its photosynthesis to accumulate nutrients. In winter, keep it indoors where there is bright light for maintenance. Usually put in the indoor maintenance, should be placed in the southeast near the doors and windows, in order to receive light, and every month or one and a half months, to move to the outdoor maintenance for two months, otherwise the leaves grow thin, yellow, new branches or petioles slender, elongated internodes, in a state of overgrowth.

8. fertilizer and water management: it has a strong ability to withstand drought and can grow under dry environmental conditions, but this does not mean that it does not water or fertilize it; its roots are afraid of water stains, if there is water in the flowerpot, or if it is watered and fertilized too frequently, it's easy to cause rotting roots. The principle of watering it is "dry and wet, dry and thoroughly dry, not dry, water thoroughly". When watering, avoid wetting the plant during the day:

① spring and autumn: these two seasons are its peak growing season. Fertilizer and water management circulates according to the sequence of "Huabao"-clear water-"Huabao"-clear water. The interval period is about 2-4 days for outdoor maintenance and 3-6 days for indoor maintenance.

② summer: the summer high temperature period it often enters the dormancy state, does not require much to the fertilizer and water, even wants to control the fertilizer and water. Fertilizer and water management according to the "Huabao"-clear water-clear water-"Huabao"-clear water-clear water cycle, the interval period is about: 3-5 days of outdoor maintenance; 4-7 days of indoor maintenance, the interval period is shorter during sunny or high temperature periods, longer interval periods or no watering time during rainy or low temperature periods as far as possible when the temperature is low in the morning or evening. And spray the plants frequently.

③ winter: during the dormant period in winter, the main task is to control fertilizer and water. The management of fertilizer and water circulates according to the order of "Huabao"-> clear water-> clear water-> "Huabao"-> clear water-> clear water. The interval period is about 7 to 10 days, and the watering time is arranged as far as possible when the temperature is high at noon on a sunny day.