Orchids

A family of orchids( orchids, or, in another way, orchidae, Orchida-seae) is the most numerous group of flowering plants. They number more than 25 thousand species, growing both in the cold taiga and temperate zones, and in the humid rain forests of the tropics. The largest number of species lives in the countries of South-East Asia and South America.

In the XIX and XX centuries.the world's largest botanical gardens and flower companies organized expeditions to hard-to-reach areas of the rainforest specifically to collect these plants. There is even such a thing - "hunters for orchids."The travels of naturalists and plant collectors were fraught with enormous difficulties and hardships. But the end justified the means, because orchids were very expensive plants. And in our time, orchids are a real treasure for the lover. Of course, the employees of the "flower" firms no longer collect them in the stuffy rain forests among the malaria marshes, they are not attacked by wandering ants, leopards and other dangerous forest dwellers. Many species of these beautiful plants have learned to grow and multiply in conditions of greenhouses, greenhouses and even living rooms, however this is not at all simple.

If you decide to have an orchid, add an element of a unique exotic to your plant collection, we recommend that you carefully study this chapter. The most important thing is to understand if you will be able to provide all the necessary living conditions for a beautiful python. Perhaps it will require a high level of heat, atmospheric humidity, light, a special composition of the soil. Some requirements are simply impossible to satisfy in the conditions of living quarters. Most of the orchid cultivated by the amateurs belong to the epiphyte group( search the site).However, given the specific characteristics of orchids, we found it possible to put them in a separate chapter. Reproduction of orchids in room conditions can be difficult. For this reason, we do not provide methods for reproduction for each genus. The species with large pseudobulbs reproduce well in a vegetative way. When transplanting, you can separate bushes and rhizomes, but so that each fragment has at least 3-4 kidneys. After the separation, the wound is sprinkled with soaked activated carbon, and the cuttings are tied to the support. With a good grooming.and the correct division of the new roots appear after 1 week. Seed multiplication is possible only in special laboratories. Seeds are very small, pulverous, without endosperm( nutrient tissue).Therefore, fungal infection is required to develop the fetus. The fungus supplies it with all the necessary substances.

medium, in a Petri dish. The composition of the medium can be as follows( according to Knudson): for 100 cm3 water is added - MgS047H20 0.25 g, Ca( NO3) 2-4H20 -1 g,( NH4) 2S04 0.5 g, K2HP04 0.25 g, FeS04 - 0.025 g, sucrose - 20 g, agar-agar - 8 g. The mixture is heated, sterilized, poured into plates and cooled. PH = 5.1( slightly acidic medium).The incubation of the seeds is carried out in an illuminated thermostat at a constant temperature. Seedlings appear after 2-3 months. Dive into containers only after a year or even 15 months.