Orchids are a passion that many of us share, and no wonder. These wonderful plants give us some of the most beautiful flowers in nature, with the most varied shapes and colors. However, they have a small drawback: they are very expensive.
Few people know, however, that orchids can also be reproduced at home, following precise but very simple processes. The preferred methods are propagation by cuttings, seeding, dividing a plant, and propagation by stems.
The orchid leaf alone is not suitable for propagation. It does not have growing points that can give rise to new roots. That is why it will be necessary to take a leaf with a small piece of stem.
Before you start to reproduce an orchid from a leaf, prepare the necessary tools. You will need to:
- Sharp, sterilized garden shears.
- A plastic container.
- Filtered water.
- The following fertilizers: a rooting agent, a little activated carbon and a mixture of cytokine and succinic acid.
The process of propagating an orchid from a leaf is one of the most complex and long: the roots can take more than a year to develop.
The leaf to be propagated must be taken from a healthy adult plant. Use scissors to cut the leaf and stem piece, and let it dry for 8 hours.
Next, pour a little rooting agent on the leaf and the piece of trunk. Dissolve some activated charcoal in water and place the leaf and stem in the solution. The neck of the shoot should be completely submerged in the water.
Before planting the orchid in the potting soil, check for signs of mold or rotten plant parts.
