Cultivation techniques of crab claw orchid

Crab-claw orchid is a perennial flowering plant in the Cactaceae family. The flowering period is from November to January of the following year. Single flowers can bloom for up to a week, and groups can be viewed for more than a month. It is a flower that has been popular for many years and is suitable for winter viewing. There are more than 200 varieties in the world, with extremely rich flower colors and patterns.

The key to cultivating crab claw orchid is to pay attention to the following points: ① The cultivation medium is mainly loose peat with good aggregate structure, pH 6.0. ② It is suitable to be placed in a warm and humid environment, but the pot soil should not be too wet. The principle of "dry thoroughly and water thoroughly" should be followed. Watering can be done once every 2 to 3 days in hot seasons, and watering at noon is avoided; in winter, when the temperature is low, watering can be done once a week. Once; avoid watering in the evening. ③ Apply thin fertilizer frequently. After 30 days of cutting, you can start fertilizing when new leaves come out. EC value is 1.0~2.0. It prefers potassium fertilizer, followed by nitrogen fertilizer and phosphorus fertilizer. The ratio of N, P and K fertilizers is 30:15:20 or 40:20:30. Stop fertilizing in winter. In order to increase the flowering rate, spray 1000 times potassium dihydrogen phosphate liquid fertilizer on the leaves once a week. ④The suitable growth temperature is 20~25℃. When it reaches above 22℃, it is best to use ventilation equipment. Growth will stop if the temperature is above 35℃ or below 2℃. ⑤The relative humidity should not exceed 75%. ⑥In order to obtain a good plant shape, when the plant has more than 3 to 4 stem nodes, it is necessary to shape the plant and remove all the leaves above the 3rd to 4th stem node in the lower part. Short-day treatment is carried out one week after the plants are established. Flower buds can be seen forming in 3 weeks. ⑦Flowering period control. Crab orchid is a short-day plant, and the flowering period can be controlled by adjusting the light time. To promote flowering, start short-day treatment 60 to 70 days in advance of the desired flowering time. There are 8 hours of natural light every day, and the rest of the time is shaded. The light intensity within the shading net cannot exceed 5 lux. The temperature should not exceed 25℃. Note that shading must be continued without interruption. Generally, flower buds can be seen after 20 days. ⑧Suppress flowering. The natural flowering period of crab claw orchid is November and December. If you want to bloom during the Spring Festival, you must take measures to delay the flowering period. Generally, long-day treatment begins in mid-to-late September. The darkness can be broken by providing 2.5 hours of light from 23:00 in the middle of the night to 1:30 in the morning of the next day. You can install 60-watt incandescent lamps in the shed, one lamp per meter, 90 cm away from the plants.