Young plants from the hands of the experienced orchid breeder score with unbeatably low purchase prices. Careful care measures are essential to ensure that the delicate tiny plants transform into royal flower beauties. Find out how to do it right here.
How do I properly care for young orchid plants?
Orchid young plants need a sterilized, fine-grained substrate, a bright location at 23-25 degrees Celsius and daily spraying with water. They grow better in communal pots and should only be separated if there is not enough space.
The right substrate for baby orchids – tips for sterilizing
Young orchids are grown under the sterile conditions of in-vitro propagation in a special nutrient solution. The breeder therefore presents the young plants to you in a special glass or bottle. When the baby plants leave the protected environment, they are subject to special stress factors, such as bacteria and fluctuating humidity.
Therefore, choose a fine-grained substrate for young orchids. If necessary, you can also cut up the pine bark pieces with scissors. To prevent pathogens or insect eggs from hiding here, the substrate is sterilized. To do this, pour it into a fireproof bowl, spray it with water and place a lid loosely on it. In the oven on the middle rack, all threatening contaminants are killed at 150 degrees top and bottom heat.
Potting orchid young plants - this is how it works
Pour the sterilized and cooled substrate into a transparent culture pot. Ideally, set this up as a community pot, as baby orchids in close proximity motivate each other to grow. How to proceed:
- Insert the young plants into the substrate in each pot at a distance of 3-5 cm
- Determine the planting depth so that the root neck is exposed
- Place in a greenhouse or put a transparent cover over each container
- Set up in a bright location with temperatures of 23 to 25 degrees Celsius
Since orchids as young plants do not yet have storage organs, they are constantly at risk of drying out. Spray the substrate daily with lukewarm water. Once a week, dip the pot in lime-free water and add liquid orchid fertilizer (€7.00 on Amazon). Only when there is a lot of space in the communal pot do you separate the young orchids.
Tip
If there is a baby orchid in the propagation bottle, hobby gardeners puzzle over the best method to get the young plant out of the glass cage. Instead of breaking the bottle and damaging the floral gnome, it's better to use a chisel. Use this to cut off the bottom of the bottle and pull the small orchid through the opening.
