If you are an orchid enthusiast, sooner or later you'll be aware of the necessity to prune your plants. The 2 reasons you want to do this are to grow more flowers or assist your orchid to grow by developing more leaves. The big worry, of course, is to recognize the timing of when your plant is ready to be pruned and should you prune for blossom growth or stimulate leaf growth.
If your orchid has just ended a bloom cycle it may be ready to produce another one. If you examine the bloom spike you'll see that there nodes which appear along the length of it every three or four inches. If the nodes appear to have a greenish color and otherwise look healthy and there is no new leaves developing then you can go for another crop of blossoms.
However, if the nodes appear to be dry and have a brownish color you'll most likely want to prune so that your orchid will concentrate on leaf growth. This is especially the case if you detect the beginnings of a new leaf.
Before you start your surgical procedure you're going to need the correct equipment available for the job. You can pick either a scalpel or a good pair of sharp shears. Whatever you decide on it's imperative that you sterilize this equipment so you don't allow disease to infect the plant. You can accomplish this by thoroughly wiping them with alcohol or applying heat from a torch or gas flame.
Now comes the time to make your cut. If your plan is to develop more orchid flowers cut the spike at about one half inch above the second node from the base. If, however, you want to promote more leaf growth cut the spike off at the base.
When the surgery is done borrow a little bit of cinnamon from your spice rack and tap a little bit on the exposed wound covering it completely. This will help to keep disease from getting into the plant.
Now that your work is done it's just a matter of time. The new bloom spike may take one or two months to appear and it may take a month or longer before you see any blooms. If you're promoting new leaf growth it will likewise be a month or so for new leaves to be fully grown.
If your orchid has just ended a bloom cycle it may be ready to produce another one. If you examine the bloom spike you'll see that there nodes which appear along the length of it every three or four inches. If the nodes appear to have a greenish color and otherwise look healthy and there is no new leaves developing then you can go for another crop of blossoms.
However, if the nodes appear to be dry and have a brownish color you'll most likely want to prune so that your orchid will concentrate on leaf growth. This is especially the case if you detect the beginnings of a new leaf.
Before you start your surgical procedure you're going to need the correct equipment available for the job. You can pick either a scalpel or a good pair of sharp shears. Whatever you decide on it's imperative that you sterilize this equipment so you don't allow disease to infect the plant. You can accomplish this by thoroughly wiping them with alcohol or applying heat from a torch or gas flame.
Now comes the time to make your cut. If your plan is to develop more orchid flowers cut the spike at about one half inch above the second node from the base. If, however, you want to promote more leaf growth cut the spike off at the base.
When the surgery is done borrow a little bit of cinnamon from your spice rack and tap a little bit on the exposed wound covering it completely. This will help to keep disease from getting into the plant.
Now that your work is done it's just a matter of time. The new bloom spike may take one or two months to appear and it may take a month or longer before you see any blooms. If you're promoting new leaf growth it will likewise be a month or so for new leaves to be fully grown.
About the Author:
Growing and maintaining gorgeous orchid plants is a very rewarding pastime because these plants grow some of the most magnificent flowers on earth. If you would like more information about orchids you can visit our website at http://www.secretsoforchidcare.com. One of the factors to successfully growing orchids is determining when to prune them and you can discover more about this over here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment