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Among the thousands of species of orchids only a small fraction settles on the ground, others prefer using powerful roots to climb the trunks of trees, rocky ledges and grow roots in places where the soil is almostnot. Therefore, pots for home-grown orchids are very different from the usual flower containers.
What should a grower manage when choosing a tank for tropical beauties? How to find a suitable pot?
Which pot is needed for an orchid?
Epiphytes and lithophytes are plants that do not tolerate waterlogging of the roots. And when choosing a pot for an orchid, it is important to start from precisely this basic, but not the only requirement.
Specialized containers for plants of this family should provide:
- a good outflow of moisture;
- active aeration of the root system and the substrate inside the pot;
- safe extraction of rich, long rhizomes, which often diverge far beyond the container;
- acceptable temperature for orchids.
Among the orchids there are species in which the roots not only absorb nutrients and moisture, but also actively participate in the process of photosynthesis.
What kind of pot for an orchid is needed in this case? Strange as it may sound for novice lovers of this culture, for such orchids it is necessary to purchase a fully transparent container.
How to choose a pot for an orchid from clay, colored or transparent plastic? Epiphytic plants do not need a large amount of substrate, and therefore a large pot is not needed. The main thing is that:
- at its bottom and bottom of the walls were holes for drainage;
- tank height was equal to the width of the neck;
- volume corresponded to the size of the root system.
Most often you can see indoor orchid in a pot, as in a photo made of plastic or ceramic. There are also breathable baskets for free growth of roots.
It is better to refuse a glass pot. He can injure not only the flower, but also the person, moreover, he does not allow the roots to breathe. It is better to use such capacity as a spectacular planter for orchids planted in transparent plastic.
Plastic orchid pots
This is the most common and preferred orchid pot. Plastic containers do not allow the root system to dry out, they are easy to maintain and can serve more than one plant.
In addition, the design of a similar orchid pot provides several openings for draining excess moisture, which means that there is no need to worry about the moisture in the substrate. If the existing drainage holes are not enough, the florist can independently, without the risk of destroying the container, make new ones.
Plastic easily tolerates being on a brightly lit window sill and in the shade, reliably protecting the root system of the flower from overcooling or overheating.
Sometimes during transplantation, orchid lovers encounter a situation where overgrown roots have gone out through drainage holes, and removing a sheet rosette without damaging the pot or plant will fail. In this case, the plastic is easy to cut with economic scissors without damaging the roots, which is impossible if you use a ceramic or glass orchid pot.
Transparent pots are offered for species whose roots are involved in the process of photosynthesis. However, it is convenient to use such containers not only for planting phalaenopsis and similar plants. Through the plastic is clearly visible:
- how the root system develops;
- how moisture is consumed;
- as a substrate dries.
Therefore, such containers can be recommended to flower growers without much experience in maintaining orchids. For a room orchid in a pot, as in the photo, it is easy and interesting to watch. Even the slightest damage to the roots or signs of overflow will not be covered from a close look.
But with a lot of advantages, this type of container has its drawbacks:
- rhizomes firmly stick to the porous surface of ceramics, which is fraught with flower injuries during reproduction and transplantation:and on the state of the orchid roots.
When going to use a clay container, the florist should know how to plant an orchid in a pot.
Before planting the plants, the clay orchid pots are disinfected properly, heated in an oven, and then soaked in clean irrigation water for a couple of hours. If a vessel used previously is used, it is useful to immerse it in acidified water. This will help get rid of the salt stains on ceramics.
