Treatment of orchids with copper sulfate
Orchids need copper to form flower stalks. Copper sulfate is used for feeding adult indoor flowers with a developed root system. Seedlings or cuttings must be treated with "Bordeaux liquid" so as not to burn the leaves and root system of plants.
To determine which drug can be used to feed an orchid, examine its root system.
An annual plant spends all the nutrients it receives from the soil to form new roots. The active growth of the root system occurs in the autumn. The young roots of the orchid are similar to the green shoots of the aerial part. As the root system develops, the color of the roots becomes pale silver.
Orchid leaf development
After new roots have formed, the orchid forms a peduncle leaf. In the first year after planting in a container, the plant will form only one such leaf. If there are enough nutrients, the orchid will bloom. If there is little copper and nitrogen in the soil, then after the formation of the peduncle, the orchid will enter a dormant period. It will bloom only in the second year after planting.
A young plant can be fed with one percent Bordeaux liquid. This way, you will add copper to the soil, which will help the peduncle develop, and will not burn the young roots of the orchid.
The way an orchid grows is similar to that of citrus crops, which store nutrients in leaf blades. Since the aerial part of an adult orchid is sufficiently developed, the plant can accumulate a large amount of nutrients. The orchid spends these nutrients for flowering during dormant periods, so the periodicity of growth in adult orchids is not as noticeable as in young plants.
An adult orchid with three or five peduncles can be fed with a copper sulfate solution, since the root system of such plants is lignified. She will not get chemical burns.
Preparation of a solution for feeding orchids
Copper sulfate must be dissolved in warm water at a temperature of 40 ° C. One or two crystals of the active substance are dissolved in 1 liter of water. To feed an adult orchid, two liters of solution are enough.
If you are going to feed a young plant, then for this:
- Dissolve 10 g in 500 ml of water copper sulfate;
- in 500 ml of water - 20 g of lime;
- mix both solutions.
Thus, you get 1 liter of one percent "Bordeaux liquid". Top dressing with this solution is carried out twice a month during the fall.