Orchid cultivation
orchid seem to do best if a greenhouse is devoted solely to their cultivation , though some types such asOdontoglossum grandeandCoelogyne cristatawill come through very well in a oecumenical aggregation of works .
At the outset , it is as well to consider the eccentric of orchidaceous plant collection you want to raise or to allow for for sum up further sections of this large family . A universal ingathering of orchids under one ceiling bear many species from widely dissent habitats is perhaps the most satisfying type of collection . From it , you may gain a very broad intellect of the plants . The often wide temperature tolerance of many orchid species makes such a solicitation possible . Some may wish well to establish a collecting devoted to perhaps one genus , such asCymbidium .
The ideal method acting is to part a small greenhouse into two sections , one for plants expect cool condition , the other for those needing warm condition . If an existing house is being take over for orchids , and it provide cool conditions only , a small area could be enclosed with expectant gauge polythene and a dirt - warm up cable system install . This would allow the development of warm type in the enclosure and the cool - growing type could be kept in the master trunk of the star sign .
The staging in the house should be of the bivalent type , with a gap of about 16 cm ( 6 in ) between the upper and lower stage . The upper microscope stage can be of the open Mrs. Henry Wood - spline type for place the industrial plant on and the under stage should be covered with crushed rock or ashes . This is referred to as the moisture scaffolding and is frequently sprayed with water to keep up the humidity of the house . A gravel route which can be sprayed is also very useful for this function .
The case of plant will determine if the staging should be flat or in steps . A wire framework placed on top of the level , if shape like a serial publication of step - ravel , willhouse many more plantsif they are string up on the frame . Thin metal pole attached to the master beams of the sign just above the path but not over the stage will supply more space , and this system is ideal for the coinage that favor morelight and many of the smaller orchid .
breathing apparatus should be preferably under the staging and in the cap . The breathing apparatus find in many greenhouses in the upright glass sides of the theater are not advisable for the orchidaceous plant theater because drouth are produced and extravagant dry out out will pass off .
There are many heating systems useable to theorchidgrower today . The once much - favor boiler - heated weewee pipe of 10 centimetre ( 4 in ) diameter have many advantage include a considerable degree of ascendence . Many efficient electric systems with thermostatic ascendance are much used and the nursery fan type of fastball is especially suitable . attention should be take up to put in a organization adequate to of provide somewhat above the minimum winter temperature decide on for the particular subdivision of the family grown . Paraffin heat is a controversial study among orchid agriculturalist .
Many use this mannikin of heating to cater a supplementary source of heat on very inhuman winter nights and also for emergencies such as power cold shoulder . Double glazing with polythene on the inner side of the glass can concentrate estrus loss and an increase in temperature of 5 degrees and more has been take with the usage of double glazing .
A diverseness of plants can be manage quite successfully under one roof , because despite attempts to produce consistent conditions in a greenhouse , some parts will inevitably be that much warm , brighter , or moister , and this with a fiddling experimentation can be sprain into a considerable plus . It is well known that with aplant that is loath to floweror a slow grower , better results can be had by moving the plant about the home until it responds to a different environs .
Ventilation The greater number of cultivated orchids require plenty of fresh air which is essential at all times , peculiarly in the cool and average sections of the orchid family . Besides furnish an sizeable flow ofair around the plants , airing is also used to help to regulate the temperature . In the warmer orchid houses , less strain is need as the temperature would be made too down in the mouth if the house was over - ventilated . Definite formula are unmanageable to posit , but one of the most significant is that draughts should be avoided as they can cause more legal injury than under - ventilate .
The employment of top ventilators in the nursery roof must depend on the focussing of the wind and its force . They should be open just a little at first and the opening night gradually increase if the temperature prove . Considerable amounts of moisture will be lost if thesevents are openfor too long . In a small greenhouse which heats up very quickly , the vents must be opened wide and frequent damping down will be necessary to counteract the moisture loss . Conservation of moisture is most significant until the autumn when moreair can be acknowledge to ensure ripening of the plant .
The bottom breathing apparatus on the depleted side of the business firm can be used more often , particularly if the heating plant pipe are under the theatrical production . The air go in from these vents is warmed as it passes over the organ pipe . In the nerveless and intermediate section these vent can be left open at nighttime when it is not too dusty , and with the cymbidiums a little ventilating system can be used on all but the coldest days . If both top and bottom breathing apparatus are to be open at the same clip they should be open on the leeward side , which will reduce lineal line flow . unremarkably it is skillful to open one set of vents only , the top being undefendable when the bottom is close and vice versa . If the theatre has ventilator in the glass side of meat these should not be used as too much wet would be hit and draughts would be caused .
In general , airwave should be admitted whenever possible in both summer and winter provide that inordinate moisture and temperature going are void and drouth are not permit to develop . Light and shade Orchids , in general , require pile of light but not the directrays of the sunlight , especially during late spring and summertime . Some provision for blending will be want . The diligence of a shading key such as ‘ Summer Cloud ’ can provide the proper density of shading and is loose to apply , but it is more or less permanent until it is removed and it thus furnish nuance on boring Clarence Day when it is need less , as well as on bright days . If the lasting shading is to be used it should be in position by the end of March or a piffling later if atmospheric condition are slow . The only really effective method is to jibe moveable blinds . These can be of the slat - wood type or of one of the plastic types such as ` Tygan ’ . Light canvas can be used but does not give such long help .
An air space between the glass and blinds is all-important as this helps to keep a more placid temperature in the menage by allowing a free circulation of melodic phrase over the glass . screen other than the wood - slat type , if preserve flat on the glass , can cause considerable heating system of the glass and hence of the air in the house . Blinds can be usefully lour in the winter on very inhuman nights and perhaps even on the very coldest day when an east wind is blowing , as they give some protection .
blind have the great advantage of command ; earlymorning and late evening lightcan be allowed to reach the plants to their great benefit . On days which are expected to be bright they can be lowered before you leave the house and raise again in the evening . On lustrous days from May onwards , screen can be down from about 8 am to 6 pm GMT . Spring days need the most precaution in the role of blinds when many cutter youthful growths are present on the industrial plant which can very easily be scorched . As the late summertime progress into autumn more ignitor should be allow in ; a gradual increase helps to ripen thebulbsand makes the plants generally loyal .
Cattleyas , cymbidiums and specially dendrobiums requireabundant luminousness to make them flower , while type such as genus Paphiopedilum and masdevallias are emphatically spook - loving . Slat blinds if used for the latter do not provide the correct compactness of shade , and hence a very swooning lotion of shading such as ‘ Summer Cloud ’ to the glass will be need . The blind can be lowered on the brightest days . This additional shading is also utile as a precaution against damage should the master blinds be neglect . In large township heavy fog causes a disconsolate bank deposit on the glass in winter . This should be lave off , as orchidaceous plant need all uncommitted luminosity at this time of year .
Feeding
The feeding of orchids is a controversial issue and the founding father is advised not to feed orchids at the start . plant grow in osmunda compost generally have enough nutrition provided as this material get out down slowly . The various treebarkcomposts are said to be short of some plant foods , so weak program program of a swimming manure can be give .
Some of the telluric types benefit from the plus of honest-to-goodness cowmanure to the compost . Examples include the deciduous calanthe , thunia , lycaste and phaius . Cymbidiums and Paphiopedilum , as well as the genera refer , can take regular applications of weak liquid provender .
If the plants are to be feed in , the weakest solvent should always be used and then only during thegrowing time of year and on plantswith a full rooting organisation . The morefeeding a plantreceives the more spark is necessary . As the British climate does not always provide sufficient spark for the maturement of growths , these frequently become soft when they are eat , and thendiseasetroubles develop and the plants do not get their common number of flower .
Temperatures
The temperature for the various sections must be regarded as being middling only . During bright spells temperature may often rise well above the stated maximum . In winter the day temperature should not be made high-pitched by forcing the heating arrangement .
Warm sectionIn summer a temperature of about 70 ° F ( 21 ° ascorbic acid ) by night and 70 - 80 ° F ( 21 - 27 ° C ) by day , mellow during bright spells . In winter 65 ° F ( 18 ° C ) by night and 70 ° F ( 21 ° one C ) by day .
average sectionIn summertime a temperature of about 65 ° F ( 18 ° C ) by night and 65 - 70 ° F ( 18 - 21 ° vitamin C ) by 24-hour interval , high during lustrous spells . In winter 55 - 60 ° F ( 13 - 16 ° C ) by night and 60 - 65 ° F ( 16 - 18 ° coke ) by day .
Cool sectionIn summer as near as potential to a temperature of 60 ° F ( 16 ° one C ) by nighttime and day . In wintertime by night down to about a temperature of 50 ° F ( 10 ° C ) and 55 - 60 ° F ( 13 - 16 ° vitamin C ) byday . Cymbidiums opt a winter night temperature lower limit of 50 ° F ( 10 ° degree centigrade ) ; this can dismiss occasionally in very frigid spells to 45 ° F ( 7 ° C ) . By solar day 50 - 55 ° F ( 10 - 13 ° C ) . In summertime by nighttime a temperature as near 50 - 55 ° F ( 10 - 13 ° C ) as potential and 55 - 60 ° F ( 13 - 16 ° atomic number 6 ) by daytime ; this can uprise to about 70 ° F ( 21 ° C ) on bright days .
Over-wintering and the resting period
An orchidaceous plant is take a breather when it exhibit the least root and top development activity , usually in the wintertime , and the degree of eternal rest varies substantially in this phratry of widely differing vegetative type . This makes it impossible to put down down hard and fast regulation . In one genus , for instance , the species diverge one from the other in their requirements . The resting period often correspond to the dry and either spicy or cool period of the plant ’s native climate . The ideal method for resting orchidaceous plant is to have a resting house or department , but with a small-scale interracial collection grown under one cap . There is always a cooler end to a greenhouse and this can be used to advantage by placing the resting plants at this final stage .
Plants without pseudobulbs or Tuber must not be rested as they are always active to some extent , and they do not have the food for thought and wet computer memory facilities cater by these parts of the plant . Examples of this eccentric admit theslipper orchidaceous plant , paphiopedilum , and the masdevallias . Vandas and aerides and similar types , which have a continuously upward grow root often have thick fleshy leaves , which in nature are able to baulk drought . These plants should receive just enough water supply tokeep fresh the sphagnum moss on the compostsurface .
In general , all immature unflowered seedlings should be watered at all season with due thoughtfulness have to the atmospheric condition . Other orchids with pseudo - bulbs or tuber require a rest in the wintertime — mostly , the harder the light bulb or riff the longer and drier the rest . Those types that are deciduous or semi - deciduous require a more marked rest , for example , in the genusDendrobiumtheD. nobileandD. wardianumtypes will take a long rest than the evergreen plant types such asD. thrysifolium . Most cattleya and laelias and their hybrids ask several calendar week rest after flowering . Always keep a look out for shriveling of the pseudobulb ; a little can be tolerated but this should never be so extreme as to impress the direct pseudobulb . odontoglossum need not be rest in the same way as cattleya , moisture should always be present to some extent , except for very little periods .
A house hold a belittled mixed aggregation will normally have a low-down winter temperature and this will help to provide the natural precondition for resting . Attention must mainly be given to the frequency of watering . Careful observance of the private plantwill be the only rule . loser to pillow may induce washy , soft , winter growth , which is always a reversal for the industrial plant and it subsequently takes a long time to retrieve its former vigor . While reduce the moisture in the greenhouse as a standard winter practice , extreme conditions should be avoided because an excess of dry heat energy can produce unwarranted shriveling of the pseudobulbs .
Propagation
The raising of new orchid loan-blend from seed is a extremely specialized procedure perform under laboratory condition . The seed is sown on an agar jelly metier containing various mineral salts and sugars . Seed , glasswork and implement are sterilized , as sterile condition are essential . After germination , which take a minimum of three week and may last many calendar month , the seedling are ordinarily placed on to a fresh agar jelly , again under sterile conditions . After about six months to a yr the seedlings are transfer to community of interests pots ofstandardpotting compost and place in the candid glasshouse .
Propagation by partitioning is the only method of increase choice variety show . Paphiopedilums can be break at potting time , making certain that each fresh piece has several maturation including a leading growth . Cattleyas are well treated by severing the rhizome behind the 4th or fifth bulb from the front some months before the flora is to be repot . A bud on the base of the bulb on the older lot may break into development , eventually forming a young shoot . These pieces can be potted up separately .
Back lightbulb of most orchid can be induced to develop new shoots either as single bulbs or in clustering of two or three . localize these in the warmest place , in a pot partly full of crocks and pinch with sphagnum moss . Dendrobiums of the nobilesection often give rise refreshful plantlets near the top of old pseudobulb . These can be taken off with a knifelike knife when they have made a few small radical and potted up in the smallest potty available , in pure sphagnum moss . older back bulbs can be cut up into low pieces of about 5 atomic number 96 ( 2 in ) and inserted around the edge of potful filled with moss or Baroness Dudevant and peat .
Large plants of many orchid have several leading growths and if these are cut up into pieces with the correct number of bulbs per growth , as many new plant will be formed . duplicate of fine varieties is always advisable against possible going by stroke , but before deciding to break up a large healthy plant the value of such a specimen should be considered . Such plants are very attractive and may receive more attention at shows . A small propagating anatomy in thegreenhouse greatly facilitate the formation of plants from bulbdivisions and at the same clip provides a nursing home for small - arise orchids that require special warmth .
Pests and diseases
The main pests of orchid are scale louse , mealy bugs , red spidermites and thrips . ordered series insects , as the name implies , seem as small , brownish or light-green scales on the foliage and stems , specially of cattleyas , wherein high-risk infestation they get behind the bulb sheaths . Control is by sponging or spray with insect powder . Mealy germ are small insects covered with a grey meal and can cause considerable damage if allow to remain unbridled . Like graduated table insects , they also notice their way under bracts and leaf case . Small pockets of these worm can be control by applying a mixture of nicotine and methylated spirits with a small creative person ’s paintbrush .
Red spider mites are small , scarcely seeable without a script lens , green to red in color and witness on the undersides of the leaf ; where they cause , in forged infestations , a drysilvered appearance on the leafsurface . They are sucking creatures exist on the plant sap . They can be considered to be the worst enemy of the orchid grower as they can transmit virus disease in their passageway from one plant life to another . Alternation of control condition sprays is very necessary as resistance to a single spray is presently work up up and it will have little effect . Malathion , derris and Chlorocide sprays can be used in rotation . Thrip is a minute insect and its front is detect by small round of golf , punctured discolored areas on the soft leave and on flowers . The best glide path to orchid cuss is regular spray as a preventive measuring stick .
Always follow the Almighty ’s instructions as some chemical substance can be dangerous if due care is not contract . New plant life should always be carefully inspected , particularly import plants . Slugs and snail have a taste for fresh young orchid growths as well as roots and flush . Good controller can be effect with Slugit used either as a spray or as pellets which can be place on the benches around the gage .
Diseases are in universal uncommon in orchids . secure healthy industrial plant which have been grown under well - aired conditions are seldom round . An occasional plant may succumb to a black rot disease . Diseased parts can be cautiously cut by and small-grained sulphur applied to the slashed surface . If caught in time these rots can be controlled but very badly infected plants are better destroy . Virus disease is the one elision . This appears especially in cymbidiums as yellowish streaks or call areas which eventually flex blackish . Modern propagation techniques will secure that only healthy plant life are disperse , while septic industrial plant are best glow . Control of red spider mitesand other sucking insects such as greenfly will reduce the risk of virus spread .
pot composts For many long time the stock ingredients of orchid potting composts have been osmunda fibre which is the chop up - up root organization of the royal fern(Osmunda regalis)and the bog moss known as sphagnum moss . Osmunda roughage is passably expensive as it is imported from Italy and a finer grade from Japan . Though it requires some skill in its use , its long - lasting properties and ability to allow enough intellectual nourishment as it break in down makes it an ideal average forgrowing orchid . The tyro would be well advised to gain experience in potting with osmunda fiber and look until subsequently before experial quick prepared and mixed with sphagnum moss for immediate use .
This is often usable by the bushel , which will make it possible to pot a large number of plants in 16 centimetre ( 4 in ) plenty . Larger amount can be corrupt in the rough Department of State in Bale . The baled fibre should be pulled asunder , chop up and the dust sieved out . Selection of the rough and the o.k. fibers will supply material for those flora with either coarse sarcoid roots or thin delicate root .
The prepared mixture should be neither pie-eyed nor completely teetotal but just moist . Prior to a potting session the potting compost should be placed in the nursery to keep it warm , as the use of cold-blooded stuff can do damage to the roots by chilling them . Many of the domesticate orchid are air plant , that is plants whichgrow on trees , deriving their nourishment from leafmould and other plant life debris which accumulates around the roots and also from the air . They are perch plants only , and do not derive food from their server tree diagram as do the parasitic plants . Many of the roots are freely debar in the breeze and others cling to the bark or penetrate among the moss which raise along the branches .
The dividing billet between the epiphytes and the other radical recognize as the terrestrials is sometimes rather obscure . The terrestrial typegrows essentially in the soilor in the hummus of woodland floor . At one time it was the practice to utilize these two divisions as a template for pot material , using fibre and moss for the aerophyte , total loam fiber to moss and fiber for the so - call terrestrials , such as the plain - leavedslipper orchid ( paphiopedilums ) , cymbidiums and lycastes . The consumption of loam fiber is not so frequent nowadays , but if good material is available it does assist to keep costs down by reducing the amount of osmunda required in the composts .
Withcare orchids will growin a wide of the mark variety of materials , provided they are of an open grain . For example , various types of tree bark broken down into little piece are used extensively in America . Excellent results are produce , but prey of some kind seems to be necessary , whereas with the standard osmundacompost feedingis not loosely necessary . Other substitute or supplementary materials sometimes used are dry bracken fronds , which are said to be rich in potash . Some plastic fibers , which have the same eubstance and thickness as osmunda fiber , when mixed with peat moss moss give good results with feeding . Even pure sphagnum moss as a potting material has been very successfully used for some orchids .
layer culture of cymbid has come into party favor and a late recommend compost consist of adequate role of leafmould , dry Pteridium esculentum stems , uncouth sand , bog moss peat and old cow dung . This compost can also be used for pot cultivation .
Potting procedure
The best time to repot an orchid is generally in the spring or when root growth commence . The plants then have the summertime in which to produce abundant roots and complete their growths . If possible potting should take place when the rootage are just showing or at least when they are very short . A plant with foresighted roots is not easy to deal with if legal injury is to be avoid . The shorter they are the less peril there is of breaking the course brittle roots .
Potting metre must depend on the individual industrial plant , and its growth habits should be studied . Some cattleya , for representative , produce a development which mature to flowering before radical are formed in teemingness , and this is unremarkably in mid summertime . odontoglossum can be potted in bounce or in early autumn , at either season avoid the warm days when they are wee-wee tooth root . Theslipper orchidscan be pot after flowering in late wintertime put up this is done in warm conditions .
In universal , orchidaceous plant need not be potted every yr if the compost continue in a wholesome condition , firm and scented . If the fingers can be pronto labor into the compost attention is needed . Every other year is a good rule for potting . Even then if the plant has enough room and only a small portion of the compost is soft , the bad part can be replaced with fresh compost , or the Earth’s surface material can be absent if it is saturnine and broken down and a top dressing of fresh compost worked in .
orchidaceous plant do not wish decayed compost but they evenly dislike too frequent disturbance and this fact should always be in mind when an orchid require attention ; it could be that a drastic treatment such as a accomplished stripping down of all the compost would prove fatal . Orchids should never be over - pot , rather they should be under - potted if thecorrect grass sizecannot be used . With the exception of cymbidiums , phaius , Zygopetalum mackayiand some of the thick fleshy - rooted types which require ample elbow room to develop , the smallest pot should be chosen .
Three - fourth part pots or pan are preferable for most types . For those with rambling stems or the pendent or ascending variety , stack or baskets would be more suitable . Baskets with widely space spars are essential for the stanhopeas which send their spikes downwards , the flowers appear beneath the container .
The plant to be repotted should be lifted out of its old sess by inserting a potting stick at the back of the plant and gently lever the plant upwards . Where the root are adhering tightly to the stunned aerofoil of the pot less impairment can be due to cracking the pot with a keen blow .
The new pot should be richly crocked from a third to a one-half of its depth , depending on eccentric , with slice of broken in stack inserted vertically over the drain hole . Perfect drainage is essential for orchid . The industrial plant should be prepared by hold it unwaveringly in the left hand , and with a potting stick in the correct hand carefully remove downwardly all the old soft compost , leaving that which is still sound , particularly at the front . Old crumble radical should be cut away to the rootstock and any old soft , chocolate-brown bulb write out off . This will often countenance the plant to be exchange in the same - sized pot .
In general , about 4 or 5 bulb and the novel growth should form the flora to be pot , again depending on the individual flora and its energy . The back part of the plant , that is the old bulb , should be placed at the rim of the fresh tidy sum , allowing about 5 centimeter ( 2 in ) in front of the leave growth for succeeding development . A small measure of compost should be commit over the earthenware jar and choose chaw of compostcarefully placed about the roots of the plantensuring a undecomposed floor beneath the rhizome . Insert theplant into its new pot and carefullywork in new compost , starting at the back of the flora and keep the rootstalk level with the top of the pot .
The finger of the correct paw should work through the batch of compost , select wads of fiber and attempting to amass these so that the wad has the fibers carry up and down . This wad should be pressed with a potting stick inwards towards the flora and at the same time slightly downwards . This should continue with the scurvy degree and then with the top layer until the compost level is just below the sight lip . care should be give to the inward levering of the compost towards the plant , as any unreasonable downward air pressure can make a caked - arduous great deal , lead in impeded drain .
A test for the right firmness ofpotting is to pick up the potted plantby the leaves or the bulbs which should not part from the bay window . The completed surface can be given a trimming with shear . As with all virtual matters a presentation by an expert is the ideal way to learn this essentially wide-eyed procedure and such a demonstration can be attend at many orchid glasshouse .
impale the fresh potted plant life if necessary and keep it in a shadier place than is usual for the type for some calendar week . tending to the cutting of the osmunda fiber when shit up the compost establish for easier potting . It iscut finer for small plantsand pass on in larger piece if large plants are to be potted .
Watering and damping
The watering orchid is perhaps the most difficult cultivation procedure for the beginner to understand . assessment and care must be used . This applies to any pot works , but orchids do have their special needs . A carefully water orchidaceous plant collection can be allow for for a short meter with no inauspicious upshot , ply you look after ventilation and shading . Although other plants left for the same time would not be able to hold up the deficiency of pee , this is one of the many advantage in produce orchidaceous plant .
pelting - urine is always preferred to tap water and a rainwater armoured combat vehicle for computer memory , place in the house will ensure that the urine temperature will be nigh to that of the house in cold weather . Mains water if it is non - alkaline can be used in some district . Cold water should never be used . Water well when water at all ; sufficient should be given to wet the whole of the compost .
Neverwater a wet plant life . The timing between waterings will reckon on many factors such as the type of orchid , the weather and the temperature . Overwatering is without uncertainty the main suit of unsuccessful cultivation , the waterlogged compost leave off the air that is so important to the orchid roots . Many beginners take this advice to the extreme and let their plants become touchwood ironical .
This can be equally disastrous except when the eccentric requires a severely juiceless rest to encourage flowering . This rest is give way in the winter . If drain is correctly provided and the compost is not too tightly packed and hence of the right porosity , there is less peril of overwatering . Perhaps the main cause of damage is too frequent watering . This applies specially when the plants are not in full growth , either early orlate in the seasonand in the winter and also in dull weather when dry out of the compost is not so marked . Each plant should be handle as an someone . All of one type may not take the same treatment , but it is an advantage to stage their growth , together , when one can be compare to another , thereby advance experience .
A watering can with a fine spout is idealistic as the amount fare out can be easily controlled whenwatering plantson the bench . plant in attend pots tend to dry out and those in basketful even more so , as they are near glass . They should be absorb in a bucket of water to just over the can rim .
A well - establish plant with a respectable participating root organization and good drainage in its pot will require liberal tearing in its arise time of year . latterly repottedplants require much less waterand are best grouped together at the louche goal of the house . Signs of their need for pee are hard to observe , but if there is any doubt it is best not to water theplantuntil the following daylight or when the next universal watering takes post .
Live sphagnum moss on the compost surface becomes yellowish when dry and this can be used as a pathfinder that urine is require . Lifting the pots ( a wet one is obviously heavier than a juiceless one ) does give some indicant , particularly if this is coupled with feeling the grain of the compost . Another test sometimes used is to teem a very short H2O on to the compost and if this hook in promptly the plant receive no further weewee . Tapping of the great deal as practised with other plant in loam compost is not recommended , as it is both delusory and unreliable .
Damping
This is the process of spray the floors , wall and stages of the orchid house to increase the atmospherical humidity which is so necessary for the continued health of the flora . Greenhouses vary considerably , one being naturally dry and another moist , but as a general rule mute should be done two or three times a day according to the weather and meter of the year , more damping being needed on hot dry days and none on the coldest days .
Damping is best carried out when the temperature is rising and not when it is falling . average tap water can be used so as to conserve rain water supply . Special care is needed in the fall during tedious mild spells when little heating plant is being used ; the ambience can become to a fault dampish at these times . In winter the greenhouse atmosphere will often become wry due to the greater high temperature in habit . Damping should then be increase slenderly but only if the temperature is to be maintained , as any marked decrement in temperature would result in over - moist conditions .
How to grow orchidaceous plant
