Ammonium chloride for orchids. Ammonia for orchids: application, reviews

Orchids need to be watered only with soft water as the soil dries. During the active growing season, watering should be plentiful, and during the dormant period - moderate. It also depends on the air temperature in the room, humidity, pot size, type of soil, and the variety of the orchid itself.

Together with watering, it is possible to simultaneously feed the plant with nutrients:

So, you can acidify the substrate with coffee or tea.
Quite a lot of potassium is found in onion peel. It needs to be crushed, boiled, insisted well and cooled. Water, diluted with water.
Strained water is also used after boiling potatoes, it contains potassium.
You can feed with infused tree bark, but with a very weak solution.
Many people use water from washed meat with blood, diluted manure for rare watering, but it’s still better not to do this, since there is a big risk of infecting the orchid with dangerous microorganisms.

You can not water the flowers with running tap water, since most often it is hard and contains many different harmful impurities.

How to feed the plant so that it blooms blue?

How to process an orchid so that it turns blue? Need to remember! There are no blue orchids! If this is sold in a store, then it is most likely white, just dyed with a chemical dye that will wash off over time.

For the first time, blue phalaenopsis was presented at an exhibition in the USA in 2011. Then a few months later, in Holland, the famous nursery "Geest Orchideeën" presented to the public the Royal Blue Phalaenopsis (Phalaenopsis Royal Blue), painted using a patented technology.

This dye is natural and does not harm the plant. The secret of this technology is not disclosed. But many sellers, wanting to make good money and not caring about the health of the orchid, try to paint it the right color without any technology. Most often, these are simply injections of ink or blue into the stem or root of the plant. After the purchase, the orchid may simply die.

Japanese breeders have bred the only truly blue species of orchid by introducing the blue-eye gene, but, unfortunately, it is not on sale.

If you still really want to try “coloring”, it is better to use food coloring. Dissolve the paint in water for irrigation. The more saturated the color of the water, the brighter the color of the plant will be. The procedure is simple, but not very effective and not durable.

If you stop watering the dye, the original color of the orchid will return. Flower growers recommend using water in which aluminum alum has been soaked for safe coloring. The injection is more effective, but the damage to the plant is enormous. Most likely it will get sick and require constant care.

It is necessary to think carefully whether it is worth subjecting it to such tests for the sake of a temporary change in the color of an orchid.

What kind of water should be used?

For watering orchids, soft, settled tap water is used, as well as boiled, rain, distilled water, and melted snow.

Rainwater collected in the city and melted snow will not benefit the plants because of the content a large number gases and dust. Country snow and rainwater are stored in a cold place.

If this water is not available, you can boil tap water to soften it and remove bacteria. A water filtration method is also suitable. Oxalic acid helps soften water. And you can remove high acidity with a few drops of lemon juice.

Distilled water is considered dead, it does not contain salts, so it is diluted with tap water: if the water is very hard, then 2 parts of distilled water are taken from the tap, with medium hardness - one to one.

Any water is advised to be enriched with oxygen., pouring it before watering from one dish to another.

Can supplements be used?

Hydrogen peroxide

In small quantities, hydrogen peroxide accelerates orchid flowering and growth, eliminates bacteria and pests, saturates the soil with oxygen, prevents roots from rotting, and strengthens them.

More often, peroxide is used for disinfection and as fertilizer during illnesses., various plant damage. First, dry leaves, rotten flowers are removed from the orchid, and the earth is loosened. Then watered with a solution of hydrogen peroxide (30 ml per full glass of water).

Potassium permanganate

Manganese is involved in plant photosynthesis, and its deficiency (in alkaline soils) or excess (in acidic ones) adversely affects the well-being of the orchid, chlorosis begins. But if you use the right soil (pH 5.5 - 6.5), this should not happen.

At home, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is used to disinfect orchids and as a fertilizer.

To do this, warm water is poured into a glass container and a few particles of manganese are lowered with a toothpick. Stir until they are completely dissolved so as not to burn the plant. Then the solution is mixed with settled water to the desired concentration.

Yeast

Yeast is a good top dressing for orchids, affect their growth, help to cope with diseases and some pests.

The solution is prepared at the rate of 1 gram of dry yeast per liter of water and infused for one day.

The solution can be both watered or sprayed. It is also advised to add a teaspoon of sugar or a few drops of valerian for a stronger effect of top dressing.

cytokinin paste

Cytokinin paste is, first of all, phytohormones that promote the growth of shoots and buds. It is applied with a needle to the kidney and after about ten days a shoot appears from it.

The paste also helps to "raise" a dying orchid. But it should be used in very small quantities.

Ammonia

Ammonium chloride is used for orchids as fertilizer and as protection against certain pests (mites, midges), but you must be very careful with it so as not to burn the roots and poison the plant. Therefore, the solution should be minimally concentrated (preferably 10%).

It must be remembered that all these substances are beneficial only in small doses. Concentrated solutions can harm the orchid even more and even lead to death.

Fitolavin

Phytolavin is a systemic antibiotic and treats plants mainly from rot. This is a fairly safe and effective remedy both for the prevention of diseases and in the early stages of a flower disease.

For orchids, phytolavin is often used for vascular wilt. The solution is prepared quite simply: 2 ml of antibiotic per 1 liter of water. Spray only with freshly prepared solution.

What are the results of improper watering?

Improper watering can lead to the death of the orchid. Although this plant is moisture-loving, it is still better to underfill than overflow. Otherwise, the roots will simply rot. Indeed, in nature, orchids grow on stones and tree branches.

Do not allow stagnation of water in the pan and in the orchid pot. This will cause the roots to rot and the plant to die.
With an excess of moisture, edema appears on the leaves., which are not amenable to treatment, they only need to be removed.

We must not forget that an orchid is a capricious plant, and proper watering is one of important conditions his health. Subject to simple rules, the orchid will please with its flowering for a long time.

How to correct errors?

If the overflow nevertheless occurred, the leaves wrinkled, and the flowers or buds fell off, it is necessary to transplant the orchid. In no case should you dry a flooded orchid near heaters or other sources of heat.

You need to get the flower out of the pot, without damaging the roots, clean the ground from them and soak in water for 15 minutes.
Then let it dry and examine each spine.
Remove all soaked or sick with a fungus with secateurs, and treat the cuts with charcoal.
Disinfect and transplant a new pot without tamping the ground.

If almost all the roots have died, then you can not immediately transplant. The orchid should be placed in a plastic jar of water so that its remaining roots almost touch the water. Maintain water at this level, and spray the plant. When the roots reach at least 5 cm, you can transplant (?).

Practice shows that One of the main reasons for the death of orchids is improper watering. Therefore, in order to avoid mistakes, especially for beginner flower growers, you first need to study how the orchid grows in nature, how it eats, and, starting from this knowledge, try to recreate it as much as possible natural conditions.

Useful video

You will learn from the video so that there is no decay:

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Orchids grown at home most often belong to the group of epiphytes that can do with a minimum nutrients, therefore, fertilizer for orchids should not be too nutritious, so as not to burn the roots of the plant.

Adapted to live on trees and feed on rotting wood soaked in water, such plants consume significantly less minerals and trace elements than horticultural crops. But even plants that are so unpretentious in terms of nutritional value of the soil need a certain amount of top dressing. As a rule, they use special fertilizers for orchids, although sometimes they use regular ones, making the concentration 3 times less than indicated in the instructions.

If necessary, to feed the orchid at home, you can use the usual mineral supplements used by gardeners. But if the store has a special fertilizer for orchids on sale, it is better to take this particular top dressing. It should be borne in mind that at different periods of flower growth, they need top dressing with different ratios of minerals and vitamins. When choosing a top dressing for an orchid, you need to read its composition and choose the one that suits the plant in this moment time.

During the period of growth of green mass, the orchid is fed with a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content. With the beginning of flowering, the type of fertilizer changes to containing an increased amount of phosphorus. For the formation of buds, in addition to phosphorus, potassium is also required. During the supply of phosphorus to obtain beautiful and vibrant colors.

During the growth period of a young orchid, fertilizer should also contain an increased amount of phosphorus. The criteria by which it is determined whether it is already possible to feed the orchid or whether it is still in a state of hibernation look at the presence of a new leaf that has emerged from the growing point. If the leaf began to grow, the orchid can be fed with a composition containing nitrogen.

Root dressing for orchids is applied to perfectly healthy plants. Foliar top dressing is used during root growth, in case of damage to the roots and in diseases. You need to spray orchids with nutrients either early in the morning so that the liquid has time to dry.

In the absence of the opportunity to buy specialized fertilizers or because of the belief that natural organics are better, some orchid growers use orchids growing in " folk remedies”, Feeding the plants with tea leaves, horse and cow manure, bird droppings, potato broth and other organic matter, theoretically making up for the lack of nutrients. In fact, it is never possible to say exactly what ratio of substances is in such fertilizers.

Organic substances in such dressings are in the form of complex organic compounds that can harm the orchid. In addition, all types of litter are nitrogenous fertilizers, which should not be used during flowering plants. The best fertilizer for orchids is one that contains nutrients in the most accessible form for the orchid.

Fertilizer rules

When feeding orchids, certain rules must be observed. An incorrectly carried out fertilization procedure is extremely painful for plants of this family. It is better for an orchid to undernutrition than to overdo it with them. When making, you need to know how to properly fertilize, how to fertilize orchids and when you can not add fertilizer to.

You can not feed the orchid immediately after transplantation. She must first adapt to the new conditions.
Also do not fertilize a diseased plant.
If there is any doubt about the concentration of the solution, it is better to further dilute the fertilizer, since in case of an overdose of top dressing, the plant may get sick.
Foliar dressings are not used in the morning, so that the rising sun does not burn the tender leaves.
You can not fertilize in a dry substrate, first you need to thoroughly wet the soil in which the flower grows.
You can not feed a plant that has just been brought from the store. At home, orchids are fed only after flowering, which must pass from the moment of purchase.
Do not use dry fertilizers. Due to the specifics, which are pieces of bark in which the flower grows, the dry matter will not be distributed evenly throughout the container, even with very heavy watering.

General principle: orchids do not fertilize during dormancy. Usually, plants are at rest in winter, and in the summer, in the heat, the growth of orchids also slows down.

When choosing fertilizers, you should pay attention to the formula of the main fertilizer ingredients indicated on the label. Fertilizing orchids during flowering is carried out with fertilizer with the formula NPK = 4-6-6, that is, the proportion of the main components: nitrogen 4 parts, phosphorus 6 parts, potassium 6 parts. This top dressing stimulates the flowering of orchids. The composition of the fertilizer for growing leaves NPK = 4-3-3.

Phalaenopsis Fertilizer Features

Phalaenopsis, especially its cultivated hybrids, belongs to long-flowering orchids and has its own characteristics when choosing and giving dressings. Due to the semi-annual flowering, it is believed that phalaenopsis does not have a dormant period. In fact, its nutrient requirements are reduced in winter and during summer heat. This can be seen in the slowdown in leaf growth.

How to fertilize orchids is determined by their condition. In the case of a set of green mass, phalaenopsis is offered nitrogen fertilizers. With the growth of the peduncle, potassium-phosphorus. In no case should fertilizers be applied during the flowering period of phalaenopsis. Top dressing will speed up the flowering of the plant.

Experienced orchid growers recommend a new complex top dressing from Bona-Forte as a fertilizer for phalaenopsis orchids. Fertilizer can be applied both root and foliar. Top dressing contains nutrients in the most convenient form for assimilation. The concentration of this top dressing is very low and does not harm orchids. In addition, the product contains vitamins C, B, P, which strengthen the immune system of the plant. In the absence of this brand, when deciding how to feed an orchid, it must be borne in mind that other complex fertilizers must be used in a concentration 10 times less than indicated in the instructions on the label.

Fertilizer brands suitable for orchids

The former mineral fertilizers were replaced by preparations containing substances in the most accessible form for assimilation. One of these fertilizers is the Finnish brand Kemira. For orchids, one of the types of dressings of this company "Kemira Lux" is used. This form is suitable not only for orchids, but also for other indoor flowers and garden crops. How to fertilize an orchid with Kemira Lux top dressing can be found in the instructions for packaging.

is an important event. The beauty and health of the orchid depends on how moisturizing will be. Not observing or doing it with violations, novice flower growers are surprised at the drying and death of their pet. Even if it is possible to take measures in time in this case, they will save her, but she will not gain color for a long time.

For watering orchids (but with the recommended and without fanaticism), it is recommended to use ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, cytokinin paste and yeast, but it is strictly forbidden to use a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Also the flower is contraindicated organic fertilizers: manure and compost, as their use causes damage to sensitive roots.

To make it bloom blue

Some flower growers water the orchid with colored water. As a result, the pet acquires blue tint on leaves, roots and flowers. They act imprudently, causing harm to her. It depends on how strong he is, whether she survives or not. Why paint the buds blue, using ink or blue for watering, if such a procedure is harmful? The natural shade always looks more natural and richer.

What kind of water should be used?

An orchid is a plant that in nature lives in conditions of heavy rains with a relatively small amount of salts. What to water indoor flower? The best is rainwater, but when it gets into the ground, it is enriched with salts. It is difficult to predict their concentration, as it depends on the region, type of soil, etc.

Reference. Orchid roots are sensitive to cold water. If you pour it with water that is not at room temperature, it will experience stress.

It also threatens if you do not pay due attention to the quality of water. Tap water is a "storehouse" of unnecessary salts. It is not suitable for watering orchids. To remove salt and improve its quality, there is special methods. Which?

It is not always and not everywhere possible to collect it in order to use it later in watering orchids. When collecting it, make sure that it is clean. The collection is carried out outside the city, where cars practically do not drive and where there are no traces of civilization. Finding perfect place keep it clean at all times.

After collecting rainwater, choose the right place to store it. A dark, secluded and cold corner will do. Darkness and cold prevent the growth of bacteria in it.

Advantages:

Cheapness.
Naturalness of rain water.

Flaws:

Difficulties in finding a place to collect.
Impossibility of organization special conditions for storage.

boiled

Having boiled water, flower growers achieve temporary removal of rigidity from it. Salt turns into scale. If everything is normal with the hardness of the water in the region, boiling is the ideal method.

Advantages: Simplicity.

Flaws: Ineffective if the tap water in the region is too hard.

distilled

If the grower has two or three orchids, you can buy distilled water in a flower shop. It is diluted with tap water, but taking into account the following nuances:

Strongly hard water - 1 hour tap + 2 hours distilled.
Medium hardness - 1 hour tap and distilled.

Advantages: Possibility of independent control over the content of salts.

Flaws: The high price of distilled water.

filtered

On a note. Stores sell flow filters and jugs. Both remove salts, making the liquid immediately after filtration suitable for irrigation.

Sometimes a single filtration is not enough, as the water is hard.

Advantages:

Simplicity.
Low cost filters.

Flaws:

Slow filtration speed.
The need for periodic replacement of cartridges, so as not to harm the flower.

settled

This method is the least expensive and optimal. A day after pouring water into a bottle, it is ready for use. The main thing is not to shake it, as there is always sediment at the bottom.

Is it possible to use solutions?

Not all solutions that flower growers use to ensure abundant flowering, leaf growth, etc. other plants are suitable for watering orchids. Which ones can and can't be used?

Hydrogen peroxide is a stimulator of growth and death of pathogenic microorganisms. It is used for soil treatment and substrate disinfection. It saturates the roots and leaves with oxygen, resuscitates the flooded orchid, whose roots have begun to rot. In order not to harm, but to help the plant, the proportions are strictly observed when mixing peroxide with water.

Pest Control: 2 tbsp. l. 3% water peroxide per liter of water. The resulting solution is sprayed or watered with an orchid.
Resuscitation: per 1 liter of water 3 ml of peroxide.
Regular watering: 5-10 drops of water per liter of water.