What are the origins of the bamboo orchid?
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Latin name:
Arundina graminifolia
Botanical family:
Orchids
Origin:
In its natural state, the bamboo orchid grows in clear tropical forests up to 1700 m altitude, from Reunion Island to Hawaii via southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines.
What are the uses of bamboo orchid?
This magnificent orchid can be considered as a collector's plant in mainland France where its lack of hardiness means that it should be grown only in greenhouses.
On the other hand, it can form real hedges in the overseas departments with a tropical climate.
Read the file: Origin, culture, flowering: all our advice on orchids
How to recognize the bamboo orchid?
A. graminifolia
is a tall plant that can reach up to 2 m in height.
It forms long leafy stems similar to those of bamboo, hence its name, which end in a cluster inflorescence (or raceme) that can bear up to 20 flowers measuring 8-9 cm in diameter.
The latter, generally purplish pink in color, bloom successively.
Flowering period
: Very dependent on the climate, the duration and the flowering period are very variable in metropolitan France.
Hardiness:
Very frost, the bamboo orchid must imperatively be brought back in winter in a veranda or in a temperate or warm greenhouse.
Read also: How to preserve orchids in my lawn?
How to cultivate it?
Difficulty level:
Medium in greenhouse or veranda.
Impossible in apartment due to lack of light and heat.
Soil:
Cultivation is done in deep pots, 25 to 30 liters, at the bottom of which it is advisable to deposit a layer of clay shards to ensure good drainage.
The slightly acidic substrate can be leaf soil (50%), mixed with peat, non-calcareous sand and a little charcoal to prevent root rot.
Read also: The right pH, a guarantee of future good harvests
Exposure:
Maximum brightness.
Full sun except between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. in summer.
Sowing / planting:
In vitro sowing is reserved for professionals.
The amateurs practice the division of the tufts after flowering, with the resumption of vegetation, when the plant is found cramped in its pot.
Wait ten days before resuming watering.
Cultivation management:
• Temperatures: hot.
The pots can be placed outside between the end of May and October in the south of France, in July-August only in the north.
In winter, the temperature of the shelter (greenhouse or veranda) must not drop permanently below 14-15 ° C.
Read also: Orchids: should they be taken out in summer?
• Hygrometry: 60-70% all year round.
It is good to spray water on the foliage in scorching temperatures.
• Watering: abundant and regular throughout the growth period, supplemented with fertilizer every other time.
In autumn, space the waterings and remove the fertilizer, then set aside a period of 2 months of winter rest while keeping the substrate just damp.
Common diseases and parasites:
A few parasites causing little damage.
Sheet written by Philippe Lemettais, SNHF,
Orchids and indoor plants
section
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