Question : Can you shorten an Orchids hibernation period?
Can i control that part of my plants, I've managed to keep three orchids alive and blooming (part of the year) for a few years now. I wonder if i can get them on a cycle where one is at least blooming.
- asked by leroy
All Answers:
Answer #1
if u in crease the fertilizer u will only create big leggy plants,they r like
everything else they have regular growth cycles
- answered by artcherman
Answer #2
Orchids, as with any other plant, have periods of dormancy or semi-dormancy,
when a period of rest is required in order to produce optimum growth and
flowers. If you "speed up" this process artificially, by providing intense
light and fertilizer, you will get poor, weak growth that will become prone to
disease and insect damage. Healthy plants have been through normal cycles of
growth and rest, and respond by producing healthy flowers, which is why they are
grown in the first place. You may be confusing shortening the dormancy with
forcing, which is a greenhouse grower's process of allowing the plant to have
dormancy, but altering certain conditions in the controlled environment of the
greenhouse so that it produces growth and flowers at different times as opposed
to that found in nature. The plants are still allowed to rest but this is
altered to produce successions of flowers on different plants. That is why we
can get orchids year-'round, as well as almost any other flower you can imagine.
An example of this is the poinsettia, which is subjected to various greenhouse
conditions, such as concealing them from all light for most of the day, so that
they set bloom in time for Christmas.
- answered by steviewag
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