How Do Orchids Reproduce? Complete Reproduction Of Orchids At Home

Many people are happy to breed epiphytes both for themselves and for sale.

We bring to your attention step-by-step instructions for beginners on the topic of breeding and caring for orchids at home. and Answer to question how do orchids reproduce? and will share the Complete procedure of reproduction of orchids at home.

Reproduction of indoor Orchids species and features

To choose the best method on how to breed an orchid, you need to study all the available methods.

• Due to the fact that the seeds of indoor epiphytes are small and do not have a protective shell, they are rarely used. (In addition, seed-grown plants grow and flower much later.)
• Planting conditions should be as sterile as possible: ordinary soil is destructive for the cuttings, they die in it.
• Also, flowers can be propagated by rooting children or dividing a bush of a  sufficiently developed plant, taking into account the requirements for the age of the “parent”.
• Reproduction of orchids at home is carried out at the very beginning of spring, during the period of awakening and intensive growth of green mass. It is at this time that the plant actively absorbs nutrients from the soil, the cuts heal faster, and the transplant will take place with minimal stress.

If you want to know about How Long Do Phalaenopsis Orchids Live? How To Restore An Old Plant? Flower Care In Different Periods read out.

Preparing Orchid for propagation by cuttings: 5 important points

1. Monopodial species of orchids propagate by cuttings: such as dendrobium, epidendrum, and vanda (i.e. growing upwards, not in breadth).
2. Only adult 3-4-year-old orchids can get offspring and only in good shape. A weak or diseased plant will certainly die, parting with the green organs, and its cuttings will not be viable enough.
3. All exotic flowers are very sensitive to various infections, therefore, in order to avoid contamination, all manipulations should be carried out with gloves, and the instruments should be disinfected.
4. The scissors or knife with which you plan to cut the cuttings must be well sharpened, and the blades must be disinfected with alcohol, an antiseptic or a dark solution of potassium permanganate.
5. Fresh cuts are sprinkled with charcoal to protect them from bacteria and pests.

How do you propagate orchids at home by cuttings (Step by step)

1. With a sharpened knife, cut off the top of the old long stem so that there are at least 2 living air roots on the resulting cutting.
2. We treat the cut with fungicides to avoid infection, and sprinkle with powdered activated carbon.
3. Then it is recommended to cover the injured area with garden varnish: this will speed up the healing process.
4. Finally, the cutting is planted in a prepared pot and placed in a greenhouse.

Long stems that have already bloomed can be cut into separate parts and on each of them leave 2 buds in the leaf axil. The resulting blanks are laid out on sphagnum moss or wet sand without digging into the substrate. After that, the container with cuttings is covered with glass or cellophane, resulting in a kind of greenhouse with high humidity. (It is imperative that this greenhouse is warm.) The cuttings themselves are cut into 10-15 cm segments.

After the appearance of tiny white roots, the seedlings need to be planted in separate transparent vessels, filling them with water, which is changed every 1-2 days.

You should not put several “offspring” in one glass, as their roots are intertwined, and, separating them, you can harm living organisms. To make the cuttings grow faster and gain strength, a little special fertilizer is added to the water. If you notice that the shoots are developing too slowly, they can be treated with a special solution or phytohormone.

As soon as the root of a young plant grows up to 4–5 cm, the flower can be placed in a pot with a substrate and subsequently taken care of as an adult orchid.

Immature orchids are more sensitive to sunlight, so they are kept in the shade.

Growing Phalaenopsis Orchids under Lights and how to setup step by step guide.

Reproduction of orchids by children

To understand how orchids reproduce (babies or stem offspring), you first need to figure out what the definition of “baby” means.

A baby is a process that appears on an adult phalaenopsis instead of a flower or at the same time as it. It differs significantly from the peduncle from the very beginning, as it has a sharp tip, while the tip of the peduncle is rounded. In the process of growth, other differences appear – the leaves and the shape of the flower bud. Further, roots grow at the appendix, which means the onset of the most suitable time for its separation and transplantation.

Reproduction by dividing the bush (side shoots)

Also, novice growers are often interested in how orchids reproduce at home by dividing the bush. This is the most common method for epiphytes of the sympodial type (growing, on the contrary, in breadth, not upward): such specimens are distinguished by the presence of several pseudobulbs, which can be easily divided and obtained several independent colors.

The division of an orchid is carried out if each individual plant eventually has 2-3 of its own pseudobulbs, which will provide the seedlings with a sufficient reserve of nutrients.

In places of incisions, the roots are sprinkled with charcoal to avoid decay. Next, you need to wait until the cut dries slightly, and after that the newly formed plants are planted in separate pots. Samples with a small rhizome for early acclimatization in the substrate are placed in a bag with wet sphagnum and covered for a while. This way the roots will grow much faster.

You can also find another name for this type of orchid reproduction – “side shoots”.

Propagation of orchids by seeds

Reproduction of orchids by seeds at home, as we said earlier, is impractical for several reasons, but if you aim to achieve results in this way, you need to follow these steps.

1. Since in nature, seed growth is stimulated by the root sponge or mycorrhizal fungal root, which supplies them with the necessary nutrients, an alternative must be found at home. As a rule, rapid success is achieved only in a sterile laboratory.
2. The seed should germinate from 3 to 9 months, and only then a full-fledged sprout is obtained. A seedling that will be suitable for planting in the ground will grow only after 1.5-3 years, and bloom in 2-4 years.
3. Then a substrate is prepared on the basis of crushed moss mixed with leafy soil, and all this is abundantly moistened. The seeds are sown in rows over the soil. As mentioned earlier, planting conditions must be sterile. The air temperature is maintained at 22-25 degrees, and sufficient humidity at 50% is equally important. The seeds will have to be sprayed as often as possible with soft filtered water at room temperature.
4. When the shoots and the first leaf appear, the plants dive (i.e. transplant the seedlings into separate plastic cups) with soil from the same parts of sphagnum and peat. The next pick is done when the second leaf appears: crushed fern roots are simultaneously mixed into the soil. After the formation of 4 leaves, the seedlings are placed in permanent pots.

Is it possible to propagate an orchid by roots

To the question of how to propagate an orchid by roots, the answer is – no way, there is no such possibility. But you can choose another tried and true method.

Here is complete methods of Propagating Orchids From Aerial Roots And Regular Roots.

Reproduction by layering

Sympodial orchid species reproduce by layering a long stem without leaves: for this, the stem is placed in another container on sphagnum moss. This helps to wake up the kidney and develop the baby. Aerial shoots often grow on shoots with thickened cylindrical or elongated spindle-shaped shoots. Orchids that breed in this way include epidendrum and dendrobiums.

To do this, a small “greenhouse” is made from a plastic bag or an inverted plastic bowl over the section of the stem that needs to be rooted. A small slot is made on the side. The moss must be continually moistened until the dormant buds awaken.

Important: Adequate lighting is essential for growing orchids. With its deficiency, at least artificial light sources are needed: otherwise, the awakening of the kidneys will be long or will not occur at all.

Orchid: care after breeding

After reproduction, care for a young plant is needed the same as for an adult, with the difference that a shady place is selected for the young.