| December & January Culture Notes..... For the Wairarapa region (New Zealand) |
| In General..... |
| CULTURE CORNER |
| Regular watering is now quite important as our weather is really starting to warm up, we can hopefully expect some higher temperatures & bright days from now on. Morning watering is the order of the day if possible, as this allows the plant to take up moisture from the media during the heat of the day but be reasonably dry by nightfall. A damp plant on a hot humid night may be susceptible to rots setting in. Avoid overhead watering if there is any likelihood of the sun directly on the leaves, as the combination of sun & water will burn the leaves in a very short time. Your orchids will need to have good ventilation, humidity & light now but watch that they are not left in the hot burning sun from mid morning trough to late afternoon. An overhead spray (the plants head not your!!) of a teaspoonful Epsom Salts in about 10 litres of water is a good idea to brighten up the leaf condition a bit. If your media does dry out due to lack of watering, the best way to get it to take up water again is to soak it for a couple o hours in a tub of water. During December the nitrogen feeding can be switched to a potash (Phostrogen) to help in initiating good spikes. Keep an eye out for both fungus & other pests, & spray accordingly. CYMBIDIUMS, to help get a nice healthy flower production of to a good start, you need to be feeding with a potash type fertilizer every two or three waterings. All cymbids should be repotted up by now, but if you still have more to do WATCH you don’t damage the new growth shoots. Young plants can continue to be fed a Nitrogen type fertiliser right through till the cooler weather arrives. Keep pots off the ground so that there is good ventilation & the air can circulate all around them. Cymbids enjoy good morning sun, but need to be shaded from the intense afternoon sun, to prevent the leaves from burning. On hot evening a sprinkle of water over the leaves & bulbs will help to give that drop in temperature required at this time of year to initiate next years spikes. CATTLEYAS like high humidity & plenty of good ventilation, combined with regular watering now to ensure that the mix doesn’t dry out completely. Feed the same as for cymbidiums. VANDAS leaves can be burnt if they have water left on them in strong sun light, but they do like good light all day, Ensure these plants plenty of ventilation & high humidity. LAELIAS can be put out into a shady area where they will benefit from that extra ventilation. Feed as with the cymbids. PHAPIOPEDILUMS should be just damp but not sodden. Feed every third watering with a potash fertilizer at about half the strength you use for cymbidiums, unless you are using the 214 ORCHID FEED, then feed at the recommended strength. If you don’t have cymbids, you better get some so you know how strong to make their feed. Paphs only need about 50% of natural light at this time of year. Watch that any water is not left on the leaves or crown of the plant. PHALAENOPSIS only needing 50% natural light. Give them a feed at every third watering. Make sure that they have plenty of humidity & air movement on hot days, most important. Don’t leave any water resting in the crown of these plants as rot will set in rapidly. NOBILE TYPE DENDROBIUMS need good light, & can be watered every day in the hotter weather, feed with a Phostrogen type food only, as this helps prevent the plants putting up weak growths that will not mature. Feed two to three times a week right through to autumn. AUSSIE DENDROBIUMS should be repotted now to prevent the growth bunch against the sides of the pot.. As a rule dendrobiums should be repotted every two years, if there is room between the pot & the plant for one & a half growths the repotting will wait till next year. SARCOCHILUS As flowering finish, remove the browned off flower racemes from the plant, any that are still green but are not showing any signs of flower buds & do have live Bracts, should be left as these may from into plantlets. If this happens they should be left until the roots are well formed, then they can be removed & planted out. RAFTS should be misted morning & night. The night misting will stay on the roots & leaves for several hours, giving the plant plenty of time to absorb water. A dunking for about 10 - 15 minutes once a week is very beneficial to the plant, as it washes away any salt residue & refreshes the plant. |