Пафиопедилум: home care, photo. Orchid Venus shoe

The birthplace of one of the most beautiful plants - the orchids of Paphiopedilum (photo below), or Venin's slipper, - is considered New Guinea, China, India, Asia, the Himalayas and Solomon Islands.

In far 1869 the first and very successful artificial hybrid of Pafiopedilum was put out, which laid the foundation for the creation of new plant varieties. Nowadays there are about 100 plant species and more than 1 thousand hybrids.

Orchid Pafiosipelum, description

Paphiopedilum translates as "a shoe from Paphos" - the city in which the goddess Venus was born. Feature and the main ornament of the plant is an unusual flower, similar to a female shoe. In America, this flower is called "moccasin flowers", and in England - "shoe".

Paphiopedilum is a terrestrial orchid, a family of orchids, sympodial. The presence of a shifting apex bud is its feature. It produces pseudobulb with a sleeping kidney and the plant develops. At Пафиопедилума instead of a pseudobulb on roots the leaf socket is formed. Leaves oblong, strap-like. They can be leathery, soft and juicy depending on the conditions of the plant and the content of the plant.

Flowers of different colors, but mostly predominate white, green, brown and yellow shades. Petals are dense with wax coating or covered with fluff.

Pafiopedipulum, whose bloom depends on the species and variety, pleases with flowers for several months.

The flower has six petals, one of them is different in size and shape, it is the "slipper of Venus". From the rosette of the leaves of the plant a standing flower spike rises, on which are found multiflorous and single-flowered inflorescences.

Orchid Pafiophedilum is demanding to the increased humidity of the earth and air in the apartment, a slight shading and a high heat tolerates quite calmly. Copes easily with short-term drought due to juicy and leathery sheets that are able to accumulate moisture.

Root system

The roots of Paphiopedipulum have those that differ from other plants in an unusual structure. Orchids can exist on other plants and trees, feeding on them through their roots. They are the main indicator of the health of the flower. Pafiopedipulum is always sold in transparent pots, so that it is easy to determine the condition of the root system and the need for watering the plant.

If the roots have acquired a light gray color, then the plant must be watered. Tare with a flower is lowered into a container with water at room temperature. Healthy roots are green.

The plant has air roots in the process of growth . A surplus amount (more than two) is due to high humidity as a result of errors in irrigation. Roots rot, and the plant can die when too much water.

Location in the apartment

The ideal place is the window sill near the window facing east. On the southern side, the plant should be shaded from direct sunlight, especially on summer days from 10 to 17 hours. Bright light harms the orchid: on the leaves from burns spots are formed, the edges of the petals become pale, the orchid ceases to bloom. It is undesirable to put the Pafiopedipulum near the heating devices. The windows in the cold autumn and winter days on which the pots with orchids stand are not covered with curtains.

Light mode

Paphiopedilum (a family of orchids), with leathery leaves, needs more light than a plant with soft leaves. Before the buds are formed, the flower pot is rotated from time to time so that the stem and leaves are not distorted.

For a lush bloom orchids need a light day for 16 hours. With its lack of photosynthesis decreases. In such cases artificial lighting comes to the rescue. Fluorescent lamps are placed 15 cm from the plant. Increase the flow of light can be as follows:

• Wash the windows;
• Wipe the dust off the leaves;
• Place the plant in a room where there are light walls and a ceiling.

Temperature

Pafiopedipulum is not as fond of heat as some orchids. For its growth, the temperature in winter is +13-16 ⁰ C, the maximum summer temperature can reach +24 ⁰ C. The plant will die if the thermometer readings fall below +8 ⁰ С or rise above +32 ⁰ С.

Paphiopedipulum (photo below), which has spotted leaves, grows well with moderate warmth and a dim sun, and likes greenery with green foliage. In inclement weather and in winter, both plants prefer a low air temperature. To monitor the temperature of plants, a thermometer should be installed.

One of the conditions of abundant flowering of the Pafiopedilum is obligatory observance of the difference in night and day temperatures by 5 degrees. Lower the temperature can be done by airing, watering or spraying (not falling on the flowers) of the plant. When performing water procedures, care should be taken to ensure that the water is boiled, filtered or at rain. The moisture, which remains in the rosettes of leaves, is removed with a napkin to protect them from decay.

The optimum humidity for this variety of orchids - from 40% to 60% - can be maintained if the plant pot is put on a tray with moistened pebbles.

For the successful cultivation of Pafiopedilum, fresh air is needed, so the room should be ventilated periodically, without drafts. Around the orchid is recommended to put the fan, including it on a slow mode.

Watering

One of the causes of death of orchids is wetland. Watering of the Pafiopedilum and sprinkling is carried out in the summer in the morning hours once or twice a week, and in winter - not more than twice a month. Before watering Paphiopedilum, it is necessary to check the soil moisture by hand and decide whether it's time to water or you can still wait.

How to water?

For watering orchids use a watering can. The substrate is wetted with water until it appears in the pan. You can use another method. The pot with the plant is immersed in a container with water to the level of the soil and keeps it there until the soil surface becomes wet. After completing the procedure, Paphiodipilum is removed, water drained and put on a permanent place.

Pafiopedipulum: care at home. Top dressing

Only perfectly healthy plants can be fed. In the flower shop, they acquire fertilizers for orchids and water the plants in accordance with the attached instructions.

In spring, nitrogen fertilizers are required for plant growth, potassium is needed for flowering in autumn, and in winter indoor plants are at rest and are not fed. The complex fertilizers, in addition to those listed, include other components:

• Phosphorus strengthens the root system;
• Potassium promotes the formation of flowers;
• Trace elements improve the color of the leaves.

Transplantation and planting, reproduction

For successful development, young Pafiopediliums require an annual transplant. When replacing the substrate, leave a little old on the roots. For older plants of orchids, Paphiopedipulum care at home requires a transplant every three years:

• The pot became small;
• Rotted substrate;
• The plant was flooded with water;
• Found pests or disease.

The best time to change the soil is spring. Plants that are healthy and well developed, transplanted and during flowering.

There are two ways of propagation of the orchids of Pafiophyllum. Care at home allows you to cultivate them by dividing the bush and planting seeds. In the first way, the plant should be divided into parts so that in each of them there is an escape with roots. The more shoots remain, the more abundant will Pafiopedilum blossom. For breeding "shoes" it is preferable to use the first method.

The day before the transplant, the plant should be watered abundantly. The next day, carefully remove it from the pot, laying it on one side and holding it with a knife near the walls. Substrate that decomposes, shakes off, low-quality and long roots are cut off, slices are powdered with charcoal.

The new pot should be larger than the old one by about 5 cm. To plant the Paphiopylum (Venerin shoe), a 9 cm diameter vase will fit. A quarter capacity is filled with drainage (rubble, pebbles, expanded clay) and the substrate is poured slowly, compacting it. The roots of the plant straighten, above the base of the shoot, the layer of soil should not exceed one and a half centimeters, the top of the land is mulched with a moss layer of 2 cm.

A pot with a plant is put in a bright place, protecting from direct sun rays, monitoring the moisture of the ground, periodically sprinkled. Three weeks later, when the plant is strong and new roots appear, Pafiopedilum is placed in a stationary place and carried out in the usual way.

Flower pot

For the cultivation of orchids, Pafiopedipulum (home care for which is not particularly difficult) use clay or plastic pots. The walls of the pottery have pores and let the air in to the roots of the plant, but the substrate dries up quickly in it. In transparent plastic, the root system is well controlled, but the pot walls can be covered with greens, so it should be placed in a plant pot. The plastic container is convenient for transplantation, it is easy to remove the plant from it.

For easy transplantation, the neck of the pot is always wider than the base. In the bottom of every pot must be a hole for the drain of excess water, and if it is high, then holes are made from below in the walls.

In the flower shops you can buy various hybrids of Venus slippers. Their appearance is very unusual, they really look like real little shoes. The long flowering of this plant adorns the home and pleases the eye almost all year round.