What are kids orchids

Orchid babies are small shoots that appear on peduncles, at the root of the neck, or on the stems. They grow for 5-6 months, release leaves and roots. Then they are separated from the mother plant and transplanted. In this way, a new plant is obtained that retains its varietal qualities.

Orchid children

How and why the children grow back

Orchids often small shoots are released from the sinus of the kidneys that are easy to transplant.The process can be stimulated, but before that you need to learn everything about orchid children and how they appear, to master the basic rules of care.

Not all varieties let children out, or cakes, as they are also called. Most often, this phenomenon is observed in Phalaenopsis – the most popular type of tropical flower, as well as in dendrobium. At the end of flowering, a sleeping bud wakes up on the peduncle (less often – at the root neck or on the stem). From it grows a cake.

The baby at the house orchid looks like a small shoot on the trunk with 2-3 leaves, which is easy to distinguish from the new peduncle. Thin white roots extend from the base. When the cake begins to grow, the kidney first swells. Then leaves come out of it. The roots are formed much later, sometimes they do not grow at all.

Phalaenopsis orchid children develop unevenly, a lot depends on the condition of the plant, conditions and care. In some cases, the roots grow in 2-3 months, in others they delay development for six months.

The process slows down when the plant begins to bloom. If the cake appeared on the stem, the root system does not develop at all. Over time, such processes fade, dry and fall off, so it is better to cut them off immediately.

Reasons for the appearance of children

It is not yet fully understood why phalaenopsis releases children on a peduncle. There are 2 main reasons:

• Poor plant care. Before death, the flower creates offspring to preserve the appearance.
• Good growing conditions. In this case, the plant has a lot of strength, the vegetation is actively going on, which provokes the appearance of processes.

The reasons are completely opposite, therefore you cannot stimulate the formation of a cake on the orchid with a 100% guarantee.

After completion of flowering, it is recommended to cut the peduncle 1.5-2 cm above the sleeping bud. Also use a special paste with cytokines.

How to stimulate the appearance of children

To get a new cake, a number of conditions are fulfilled:

• After flowering is completed, the peduncle is carefully cut at a height of 2 cm over a sleeping kidney. They use sterile scissors or a special sharp knife.
• Provide optimal lighting, put the pot on the windowsill or balcony. In winter, they arrange artificial lighting.
• The room is set at a temperature of 27 ° C-30 ° C. It is in this mode that sleeping kidneys give growth to children. If the temperature is around 24 ° C, new peduncles will grow from the buds.

In most cases, such actions give a good result, accelerate the formation of processes on the branches. If the phalaenopsis baby has not grown up, they resort to additional stimulation.

Germination with cytokine paste

Cytokine paste is a hormone to stimulate plant growth. It is sold in many flower or agricultural stores. With the help of the drug, it is easy to get several children of the Phalaenopsis orchid on one peduncle.

Rules of use:

• The peduncle is cut at a distance of 1.5-2 cm from the sleeping bud.
• With a sharp sterile needle, a small scratch is applied to the surface of the kidney. If necessary, remove dry scales.
• Apply 1.5-2 g of paste (the size of a small pea).
• Put the pot in the light and in a warm place.

The kidney awakens after 7-10 days, depending on the variety. In the same way, stimulate the birth of new kidneys. To do this, determine where the new bud will grow on the peduncle. Then they make a small scratch and grease it with paste. After 2 weeks, the formation of a new kidney is observed, from which a cake will then appear.

Pasta can be used only for healthy plants

Make sure that one peduncle does not give more than 3 shoots, the buds do not grow from one point (the optimal distance between them is 5-6 cm). If the arrow has released more, the weakest are better to carefully disconnect from the branch and throw it away. They feed the plant all this time, monitor the state of the soil and the temperature in the room.

You can’t use paste to resuscitate a dried plant. It is also contraindicated if the flowering vine is sluggish, sick, or has been attacked by pests. It is not recommended to apply it to young flowers and shoots, as well as to root buds. If the homely beauty started the arrows of new peduncles, the stimulation is already useless.

During the procedure, make sure that the paste does not get on the leaves, stems and roots.

Stimulation of root formation

It happens that it was possible to get a new baby orchid, but the roots on it do not develop. Some gardeners say that you just have to wait, stimulation does not help.Others suggest ways to help speed up the formation of roots.

Stimulate with sphagnum moss

Stimulate the roots of an orchid’s baby with sphagnum moss is one of the easiest and most popular ways. Step by step instructions:

• Moss for 30 minutes. soaked in boiled water until it begins to swell.
• Form a lump and tie it with a thread.
• Tie the moss to the base of the growing cake.
• Tie the plant to the props .
• To increase the efficiency, the moss is covered with a film on top. It is removed daily to ventilate young sprouts.
• Sprayed with water every day, use the Kornevin stimulator several times a week.

It is possible to achieve the appearance of roots in a couple of weeks . When they reach normal length, the cake is separated and precipitated. If the method fails, try other methods.

Germination in polystyrene

The technique requires ingenuity and skill. A foam structure is constructed and a container of water is placed there. In this case, the shoot is left on the peduncle, the design is attached to the mother flower.

The base of the cake, where the roots are expected to appear, is lowered into the water. They make sure that it does not dry out, and the process does not rot. The root stimulant is poured into water 1-2 times a week to make the root system develop better. Be sure to check if the shoots are rotting, if they have signs of any disease.

Germination in a greenhouse

With this method, it is recommended to separate and plant the orchid children in a separate pot. The optimal age of the appendix is ​​4 months. It is cut off along with part of the peduncle. Then transferred to a shallow container with a substrate, but do not drip too deep. Top cover with sphagnum moss and a plastic bottle to make a small greenhouse.

Sprayed with water once a day. Make sure that the liquid does not fall into the center of the outlet from the leaves. Rooting lasts 4-6 months. All this time they check to see if the shoot has rotted. To accelerate, stimulants and fertilizers are periodically applied.

When choosing a shoot for rooting, it is taken into account that the orchid baby developing on the trunk will not take root at all, it cannot be planted. If it formed near the root of the neck, the process will be slow.

The strongest cakes grow from peduncles. But such processes are not always possible to root. The best stimulator of development is the mother’s flower, which gives all the necessary substances. When disconnected, the small shoot often dies.

Care for the orchid with children

The flower needs careful care

Phalaenopsis babies develop on the mother plant for about six months. So that they do not die, are healthy and capable of independent life, you need to properly care for the flower.They recommend starting events when it blooms, and continuing until the shoots are separated.

An adult vine is watered when the ground under it has become dry. If the air is too dry in the room, this is done 1-2 times a week. When the soil remains wet for a long time, watering is carried out every 10-12 days. From time to time, a shower is arranged for the home flower. This allows you to wash off dirt and dust, prevents the appearance of pests.

The leaves are wiped 3-4 times a week from the bottom. This is where most stomata are located, through which air enters. When they become clogged, growth slows down.

Plant nutrition is carried out when flowering ends. For this kind of plants, special fertilizers are used. If they are not, take the usual dressings for indoor flowers with a low nitrogen content, but reduce the dose by a third or a quarter.

It is not recommended to use dry fertilizers in the form of sticks or tablets. They are poorly distributed over a substrate consisting of tree bark and moss.

At the first feeding, the dose of fertilizer for orchids is reduced by half, and for other flowers – by 3-4 times. Then it is gradually increased. Top dressing is done through one watering. First, water is poured under the roots, waiting for it to be absorbed. After about 30-40 minutes. make fertilizer. If during the development of the cake the plant begins to bloom, top dressing is stopped.

Separation and transplantation of children

Separation of children from the mother orchid is carried out when they form 4-5 leaves and 2-4 roots. The length of the roots should be about 5 cm. Such a young plant is strong, has all the possibilities to grow independently. The growing season depends on the species, variety, and also the conditions of detention.

If the cake is formed on the peduncle, it is advised to cut it with a sharp knife or scissors along with a branch. 1 cm of the maternal peduncle is left on both sides.

The root baby on the hemp of the mother’s orchid is more difficult to separate. First remove the top layer of the substrate and see if the root system is well formed. Then determine the spine from which the cake grows. It is cut off, retreating 1 cm from the base of the appendix. Carefully removed from the pot so as not to damage the young seedling. Phalaenopsis babies formed on the stems are simply removed. There are no roots on them and they are not able to live on their own.

Transplanting orchid children

So that the planting of orchid children is successful, they prepare soil and a container for growth in advance. The substrate is prepared from pine bark, cutting it into small pieces about 1 cm in size. Sphagnum and a little peat are added to it. Special soil is also sold in stores. A transparent plastic cup or a cut bottle is used as a pot. Drainage holes are made in the lower part.

The cut process is dried in the open air for 30 minutes.Then sprinkle the roots with crushed charcoal and cinnamon, half the substrate is poured into the pot. They try to plant the orchid baby there so that its root neck is at the level of the upper edge of the container. Carefully fill up the substrate, but do not tamper it: this will harm the roots. Top cover with a thin layer of sphagnum moss.

Immediately after planting, you can’t water the flower – it is irrigated after 4-5 days.

Child Care

Phalaenopsis and other types of tropical flowers develop for a long time. Planting and growing them requires patience. Throughout the year, young seedlings require greenhouse conditions.

Then, for another 1-2 years, it is recommended to take care of a baby of a house orchid in the same way as an adult plant. Only after that it will blossom.

What rules are recommended to adhere to:

• Humidity in the room where the cake grows should be increased.
• The temperature is maintained at 27 ° C-30 ° C during the day and 18 ° C-20 ° C at night.
• To create ideal conditions, cover the pot with a plastic or glass cover to make a mini-greenhouse. From time to time, the sprout is ventilated by removing the cap for 2-3 hours, humidity and temperature are controlled.
• The cake is watered as the substrate dries.
• A small amount of growth stimulants are added to the water once and fertilizers. They make half the dose from special top dressing, a few drops of root or epin.
• When the leaves begin to grow intensively on seedlings, growth stimulants are canceled.

Caring for children of an orchid in a small pot lasts 6-10 months. Then they are transplanted into a large container. If everything is done correctly, after 2-3 years it is easy to get an adult blooming beauty. An entire greenhouse can easily be made from one domestic flower. The main thing is to have patience and not lose interest.