If you take care of them with routine and calmness, the propagation of orchids is the next step on the horticultural career ladder. This guide explains step by step how cuttings and seedlings turn into young orchids.

Orchids are easy to propagate from cuttings

Guide to propagation with cuttings - Here's how

Noble Vanda orchids and other monopodial species produce cuttings from their branching main axis. After some time, the young colony thrives with its own aerial roots, so that it is possible to separate it from the mother plant for a self-sufficient orchid life. Here's how to do it correctly:

  • Cut cuttings from a height of 20 cm and with at least 2-3 aerial roots
  • Seed pots (€16.68) fill with an airy, fluffy mix of peat and sphagnum
  • Plant one cutting at a time and moisten with lime-free water

In the semi-shady location with warm room temperatures, keep the substrate slightly moist for the next 1 to 2 months. The cuttings do not receive fertilizer in this phase, so that they take a lot of effort with rooting. Once a vital system of strong, plump aerial roots has formed, repot the young orchids. From this point on, you care for the offspring like an adult plant.

Nurture the head cuttings first - only then cut them off

The chances of success for a head cutting depend on how many aerial roots it is supplied with. There should be at least 2-3 - a larger number optimizes growth. Therefore, while the cuttings develop on their mother plant, coat the aerial roots with moist sphagnum. This moss pack has a revitalizing effect on the young orchid organism until it can be severed with a sharp cut.

Propagating terrestrial orchids with cuttings - It's that easy with terrestrial orchids

As hobby gardeners, we are on familiar ground when it comes to propagating a terrestrial orchid. Since these orchid species are rooted in the ground, they open up similar propagation variants to us as classic indoor plants. Using the example of the climbing vanilla orchid, the procedure is illustrated below:

  • Cut off non-blooming tendrils in early summer
  • These tendrils split into cuttings that are 10 to 15 cm long
  • Defoliate the lower half of each shoot, plant in lean potting soil and support with a stick
  • Moisten the substrate with lime-free water at room temperature

Under the protection of a transparent hood, keep the potting soil slightly moist with soft water. A location with bright, not full sun light conditions and temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius is now ideal. The cover is aired daily until a fresh shoot appears on the cutting and can then be removed. Once your protégés have fully rooted the seed pot, they are repotted and cared for like an adult orchid from this point on.

Multiplying orchids with seedlings - how to do it right

Popular orchid species such as Calanthe, Epidendrum or Dendrobium give us tiny daughter plants. These seedlings unexpectedly thrive on the bulbs instead of flowers by sprouting small leaves and aerial roots. The children initially require a long line of patience, because it takes several months to a year before they can be separated from the mother plant. So the propagation takes the hoped-for course:

  • Only cut off seedlings when they are 15-20 cm tall and have several aerial roots
  • Plant in a loose mixture of moss and peat
  • Water regularly in the heatable mini greenhouse (€7.95) and spray with soft water

A warm, humid microclimate has a beneficial effect on the growth of children. If no indoor greenhouse is available, simply put a transparent plastic bag over the growing pot, provided with small wooden sticks as spacers. To prevent mold from forming, the greenhouse and hood are aired several times a day. Once the seedlings have developed into strong young orchids, they can leave the nursery.

Meticulous cleanliness is the top priority

Orchids are among the most sensitive plants for indoor culture. This is even more true for cuttings and seedlings. Please only use cutting tools that have been carefully cleaned and disinfected with high-percentage alcohol. The scalpel has proved excellent in practice for separating the offshoots and children from the mother plant. The smoother the cut, the less risk of disease and pest infestation.

This also includes the fact that the substrate used in the propagation should be sterilized beforehand. For this purpose, fill the potting soil in a heat-resistant bowl and cover it loosely with a lid. In the oven at 150 degrees top and bottom heat, any fungus spores, viruses and bacteria that may be in it are destroyed after 20 to 30 minutes.

tips

Some of the most beautiful orchid species allow the most gentle and simplest form of propagation. Popular species such as Cymbidium produce numerous pseudobulbs. If an orchid has at least 8 bulbs, these can be pulled apart by hand into segments of 4 bulbs each in connection with repotting in spring and placed in their own culture pots with fresh substrate.

Category:

Indoor plants