The birthplace of one of the most beautiful plants - the Paphiopedilum orchid (photo below), or Venus slipper - is considered to be New Guinea, China, India, Asia, the Himalayas and the Solomon Islands.
Back in 1869, the first and very successful artificial hybrid Paphiopedilum was launched, which laid the foundation for the creation of new plant varieties. Nowadays, there are approximately 100 species of plants and more than 1 thousand hybrids.
Orchid Paphiopedilum, description
Paphiopedilum translates as "shoe from Paphos" - the city in which the goddess Venus was born. The peculiarity and main decoration of the plant is an unusual flower, similar to a women's shoe. In America, this flower is called "moccasin flowers", and in England - "shoe".
Paphiopedilum is a ground orchid, orchid family, sympodial. The presence of a shifting apical kidney is its feature. A pseudobulb with a sleeping kidney comes out of it and the plant develops. In Paphiopedilum, instead of a pseudobulb, a leaf rosette forms on the roots. Leaflets oblong, belt-shaped. They can be leathery, soft and juicy depending on the conditions of detention and the type of plant.
Flowers of different colors, but mainly white, green, brown and yellow shades predominate. Petals are dense with a wax coating or coated with fluff.
Paphiopedilum, the flowering of which depends on the species and variety, delights with flowers for several months.
The flower has six petals, one of them differs from the others in size and shape, it is the “shoe of Venus”. From the outlet of leaves of the plant, an upright peduncle rises, on which are multi-flowered and single-flowered inflorescences.
Paphiopedilum orchid is demanding of high humidity of the earth and air in the apartment, it shifts a little shading and high temperature quite calmly. Easily cope with short-term drought due to the juicy and leathery leaves that are able to accumulate moisture.
Root system
The roots of Paphiopedilum have those that differ from other plants in an unusual structure. Orchids can exist on other plants and trees, feeding on them through their roots. They serve as a key indicator of flower health. Paphiopedilum is always sold in transparent pots, so that it is easy to determine the state of the root system and the need for watering the plant.
If the roots have acquired a light gray color, then the plant must be watered. A container with a flower is lowered into a container of water at room temperature. Healthy roots are green.
A plant in the process of growth appears aerial roots. And their excess amount (more than two) is due to increased humidity as a result of irrigation errors. The roots rot and the plant may die when there is too much water.
Location in the apartment
An ideal place is considered to be a window sill by a window facing the east side. On the south side, the plant should be shaded from direct sunlight, especially on summer days between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Bright light does harm to the orchid: spots form on the leaves from burns, the edges of the petals become pale, the orchid stops blooming. It is undesirable to put Paphiopedilum near heating appliances. Windows on cold autumn and winter days, on which there are pots with orchids, are not covered with curtains.
Light mode
Paphiopedilum (orchid family), with leathery leaves, needs more light than a plant with soft leaves. Before the buds form, the flower pot is rotated from time to time so that the stem and leaves do not bend.
For lush flowering orchids need daylight hours for 16 hours. With its lack of photosynthesis is reduced. In such cases, artificial lighting comes to the rescue. Fluorescent lamps are located 15 cm from the plant. You can increase the flow of light in the following way:
- wash the windows;
- wipe the dust from the leaves;
- place the plant in a room with light walls and a ceiling.
Temperature
Paphiopedilum is not as whimsical to heat as some orchids. For its growth, the temperature in the winter is + 13-16 0 , the maximum summer temperature can reach +24 0 . The plant will die if the thermometer readings fall below +8 0 or rise above +32 0 .
Paphiopedilum (photo below), with spotty leaves, grows well with moderate warmth and dim sun, and with green foliage loves cool contents. In inclement weather and in winter, both plants prefer low air temperatures. To control the temperature regime near the plants, a thermometer should be installed.
One of the conditions for the abundant flowering of Paphiopedilum is the obligatory observance of a difference of night and day temperatures by 5 degrees. You can lower the temperature by airing, watering or spraying (without getting on the flowers) plants. When performing water procedures, it is necessary to ensure that the water is boiled, filtered or rain at room temperature. The moisture that remains in the leaf sockets is removed with a napkin to protect them from decay.
The optimum humidity for this variety of orchids - from 40% to 60% - can be maintained if you put the pot with the plant on a tray with moistened pebbles.
For the successful cultivation of Paphiopedilum, fresh air is necessary, so the room should be periodically ventilated without drafts. Near the orchid, it is recommended to put a fan, including it on slow mode.
Watering
One of the reasons for the death of orchids is waterlogged soil. Watering Paphiopedilum and spraying is carried out in the summer in the morning, once or twice a week, and in winter - no more than twice a month. Before watering Paphiopedilum, you need to check the soil moisture with your hand and decide whether it is time to water or you can still wait.
How to water?
For watering orchids use a watering can. The substrate is moistened with water until it appears in the pan. You can use another way. A pot with a plant is immersed in a container of water to the soil level and kept there until the soil surface becomes wet. After the procedure, Paphiopedilum is taken out, allowed to drain water and put it in a permanent place.
Paphiopedilum: home care. Top dressing
You can only feed completely healthy plants. In a flower shop, they buy fertilizers for orchids and water them with plants in accordance with the attached instructions.
In spring, nitrogen growth is required for plant growth, potassium is required for flowering in autumn, and indoor flowers are dormant in winter and are not fed. The composition of complex fertilizers, in addition to those listed, includes other components:
- phosphorus strengthens the root system;
- potassium promotes flower formation;
- trace elements improve the color of leaves.
Transplant and landing, reproduction
For successful development, young Paphiopedilums require an annual transplant. When replacing the substrate, a little old is left on the roots. For adult plants of the Paphiopedilum orchid, home care requires a transplant once every three years:
- the pot became small;
- rotted substrate;
- the plant is flooded with water;
- discovered pests or disease.
The best time to change the ground is spring. Plants that are healthy and well developed are transplanted during flowering.
There are two ways to propagate the Paphiopedilum orchid. Home care allows you to cultivate them by dividing the bush and planting seeds. In the first method, the plant should be divided into parts so that in each of them there is an shoot with roots. The more shoots there are, the more abundant Paphiopedilum will bloom. For breeding "shoes" it is preferable to use the first method.
The day before the transplant, the plant should be abundantly watered. The next day, carefully remove it from the pot, putting it to the side and passing the knife near the walls. The substrate, which has decomposed, is shaken off, low-quality and long roots are cut off, the sections are dusted with charcoal.
The new pot should be about 5 cm larger than the old one. In order to plant Paphiopedilum (Venus slipper), a flowerpot with a diameter of 9 cm will fit. A quarter of the capacity is filled with drainage (crushed stone, pebbles, expanded clay), the substrate is added slowly, compacting it. The roots of the plant are straightened, the soil layer should not exceed one and a half centimeters above the shoot base, the top of the earth is mulched with a moss layer of 2 cm.
The pot with the plant is placed in a bright place, protecting from direct sunlight, monitor the moisture of the soil, periodically sprayed. Three weeks later, when the plant grows stronger and new roots appear, Paphiopedilum is placed in a stationary place and care is carried out in the usual way.
Flower pot
For the cultivation of Paphiopedilum orchids (home care which is not particularly difficult), clay or plastic pots are used. The walls of the pottery have pores and pass air to the roots of the plant, but the substrate quickly dries up in it. In transparent plastic, it is good to control the root system, but the walls of the pot can become covered with greenery, so it should be placed in a pot. Plastic containers are convenient for transplanting; it is easy to remove a plant from it.
For the convenience of transplanting, the neck of the pot is always wider than the base. There should be a hole in the bottom of any flowerpot to drain excess water, and if it is high, holes are also made from below in the walls.
In flower shops you can buy various hybrids of Venus shoes. Their appearance is very unusual, they really look like real little shoes. The long flowering of this plant decorates the home and pleases the eye almost all year round.