If you handle care with routine composure, propagating orchids is the next step on your horticultural career ladder. This guide explains step by step how cuttings and seedlings turn into young orchids.
How to propagate orchids?
Orchids can be propagated by various methods: 1. Cuttings of monopodial orchid species such as Vanda, 2. Head cuttings, 3. cuttings of terrestrial orchids such as vanilla orchid, and 4. seedlings of popular species such as Calanthe, Epidendrum or Dendrobium. When propagating, pay attention to a clean working method and optimal growth conditions.
Guide to propagation with cuttings – Here’s how it works
Noble Vanda orchids and other monopodial species produce cuttings from their branching main axis. After some time, the young colony thrives with its own aerial roots, so that it is possible to separate it from the mother plant for a self-sufficient orchid life. Here's how to do it correctly:
- Cut cuttings from a height of 20 cm and with at least 2-3 aerial roots
- Fill cultivation pots with an airy, loose mix of peat and sphagnum
- Plant one cutting at a time and moisten it with lime-free water
In a partially shaded location with warm room temperatures, keep the substrate slightly moist for the following 1 to 2 months. The cuttings do not receive any fertilizer in this phase so that they put a lot of effort into rooting. Once a vital system of strong, plump aerial roots has formed, repot the young orchids. From this point on, you care for the offspring like an adult plant.
First cultivate the head cuttings - then cut them off
The chances of success for a head cutting depend on how many aerial roots it is supplied with. There should be at least 2-3 - a larger number optimizes growth. Therefore, while the cuttings are developing on their mother plant, cover the aerial roots with moist sphagnum. This moss pack has a revitalizing effect on the young orchid organism until it can be separated with a sharp cut.
Propagate terrestrial orchids with cuttings - it's that easy with terrestrial orchids
As hobby gardeners, we are in more familiar territory when propagating a terrestrial orchid is on the agenda. Since these types of orchids are rooted in the ground, they offer us similar propagation options as classic houseplants. The procedure is illustrated below using the example of the climbing vanilla orchid:
- Cut off non-flowering vines in early summer
- These vines divide into cuttings 10 to 15 cm long
- Leave the lower half of each shoot, plant it in lean potting soil and support it with a stick
- Moisten the substrate with lime-free water at room temperature
Under the protection of a transparent hood, keep the potting soil slightly moist with soft water. A location with bright, not full sun lighting conditions and temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius is now ideal. The cover is ventilated daily until fresh shoots appear on the cutting and can then be removed. Once your pupils have completely rooted through the cultivation container, they are repotted and from this point on they are cared for like an adult orchid.
Multiplying orchids with seedlings – How to do it right
Popular orchid species such as Calanthe, Epidendrum or Dendrobium give us tiny daughter plants. These seedlings unexpectedly thrive on the bulbs instead of flowers, sprouting small leaves and aerial roots. The children initially require a lot of patience, as it takes several months to a year before they can be separated from the mother plant. This is how the reproduction takes the desired course:
- Only cut off seedlings when they are 15-20 cm tall and have several aerial roots
- Planting in a loose mixture of moss and peat
- Water regularly in the heated mini greenhouse and spray with soft water
A warm, humid microclimate has a beneficial effect on the growth of children. If an indoor greenhouse is not available, simply place a transparent plastic bag over the growing pot with small wooden sticks as spacers. To prevent mold from forming, the greenhouse and hood are ventilated several times a day. Once the seedlings have developed into strong young orchids, they can leave the propagation house.
Meticulous cleanliness is a top priority
Orchids are among the most sensitive plants for indoor cultivation. This applies even more to cuttings and seedlings. Therefore, please only use cutting tools that have been carefully cleaned and disinfected with high-percentage alcohol. The scalpel has proven to be excellent in practice for separating the offshoots and children from the mother plant. The smoother the cut, the lower the risk of disease and pest infestation.
This also includes that substrate used in propagation should be sterilized beforehand. To do this, fill the growing soil into a heat-resistant bowl and place a lid loosely over it. After 20 to 30 minutes, any fungal spores, viruses and bacteria that may be present will be destroyed in the oven at 150 degrees top and bottom heat.
Tip
Some of the most beautiful orchid species allow the gentlest and simplest form of propagation. Popular species, such as Cymbidium, produce numerous pseudobulbs. If an orchid has at least 8 bulbs, these can be pulled apart by hand into segments with 4 bulbs each in connection with repotting in the spring and placed in their own culture pots with fresh substrate.
