Managing Growth Habit to maximize space
I live in Southeastern PA and grow my plants indoors during the colder months. Because I have a manageable collection (my wife would argue about the term "managable"), I have adopted a few techniques that just about anyone can use to help save growing space and improve the growing form of your plants. Specifically I am referring to the cattleya alliance, but this could be applicable to other orchids with sympodial growth habit.
Materials needed: Raffia (from Michaels or other hobby store) [or coated wire if you prefer]; Bamboo skewers (from grocery store) [or bamboo or metal stake]; sterile (ie, new) razor blades or razor knife
When new growths are about 1/3-1/2 developed, I soak a length of raffia in soapy water or a weak physan solution (physan is a great surfactent); once softened up I will tie a knot around a stout pseudobulb adjacent to the new growth. I then loop the raffia around the emerging growth, tie a simple overhand knot (like tying your shoelace) and very slowly and carefully pull the raffia tighter until the emerging growth starts to straighted to a more verticle position. You need to be careful here - if the growth is too young, or if you pull too tight, you could break the growth. If you do this when you first obtain your plants, eventually you will end up with most of your p'bulbs and leaves rather perfectly upright. The limiting factor is the underlying growth habit of your plant, determined by its genetics. For example, I love the blooms of LC Marie's Song 'CTM 217'. However, the foliage is very sloppy and tends to "flop" over. For plants like this there is little you can do. But for plants with an inherently better growth habit, "training" new growths produces a neater looking plant and avoids having pseudobulbs sticking out at odd angles. You will be amazed at how much more growing space can be liberated by "training" plants like this. If you don't have a stout p'bulb to anchor your raffia, or if an existing mature p'bulb is not in the position you need, insert a bamboo skewer (or a more substantial stake if needed), tie a double overhand knot at the desired height, and use this as your "anchor" to pull the new growth into the desired direction. If, after the raffia dries out, you find that the knot you tied to the stake is loose and slides down, simply secure it in place with a bit of masking tape.
Another technique I use is pinching new buds. Especially useful for plants in 4" pots and larger (smaller sizes for mini-catts) that have longer internodes, pinching off an occassional new growth can be used to redirect the rhizome to grow in the direction you want (for example, towards the center of the pot). I had an LC mini purple (a classic "sprawler" who's type I know avoid) and was able to train the rhizhome to grow in a complete circle within the pot using this technique, rather than potting up. Keep in mind that each growing point has two latent buds, so breaking off one bud simply diverts the plant's energy to the other dormant buds, sometimes even activating dormant buds on older growths. This technique allows you to create plants with multiple leads and a denser foliage - again, the end result is more plant material in less space than would otherwise be required. Another very important benefit that is especially applicable to indoor growers, is that by creating a plant with relatively denser foliage, the root system will dry out much faster after watering, since there is more foliage surface area exposed and actively transpiring (evaporating) water.
On a related topic, I had a nice phal-type dendrobium and accidently broke off a cane that was about 75% mature. I was initially very annoyed at my clumsiness. However, a few weeks later I saw the result, which was AWESOME - THREE new shoots emerged from the base. This was on a well-established older plant that had previously only put out one growth at a time. The next time the plant blooms it will have spikes on 3 canes, rather than one. So there will be a much more intense flower display.
Finally, one technique everyone should consider, which is only practical on plants with moderate to large internodes that are easily accessible with a cutting instrument. When your plant has at least 5-6 p'bulbs, in the fall / winter, use a razor blade to cut a narrow notch about 75% through the rhizhome about half-way back from the growing point (e.g., at approximately mid-point of the rhizhome). According to your situation you may choose to make this cut at another point, for example, right behind a new "fork". The ultimate goal is twofold: (a) activate dormant buds on older canes (assuming these are still viable and have not died) and (b) prepare the plant for division by proactively managing the shape of these "divisions to be". For some larger plants, you can sometimes make 2 or more cuts - again, visualize the end result before cutting. In the spring when new roots appear and it is time to divide, you can complete the cuts you started and the benefit is that each section should have initiated a new growing point and roots, and thus should rapidly establish its' root system when divided.
I don't think any of these are novel ideas, but I wanted to put them out there as possibilities to consider if you have not tried these options in the past. Let me know if you find these tips useful and thanks for providing me with an opportunity to share my experience.
|
Linear Mode
