1. Variety selection
When choosing a variety of monkey face orchid, you need to consider the following factors:
- Purpose of cultivation: For cultivation as an ornamental plant, varieties with beautiful flowers are selected, which can be colored in various colors, including yellow, orange, red, purple and white.
- Winter hardiness: The monkey face orchid is a tropical plant that does not tolerate frost.
2. Soil preparation
The monkey face orchid is an epiphytic plant that grows on trees. To grow it, it is necessary to prepare a substrate that will imitate growing conditions in nature. To do this, you can use the following components:
- Tree bark
- Charcoal
- Sphagnum
- Perlite
3. Landing
The monkey face orchid can be planted either in a pot or in a hanging planter. When planting in a pot, you must use a pot with drainage holes. At the bottom of the pot it is necessary to lay a layer of drainage made of expanded clay or broken brick. Then you should fill the pot with substrate. When planting in a hanging planter, you should use a planter made from natural materials such as wood or rattan. At the bottom of the pots it is necessary to lay a layer of drainage made of expanded clay or broken bricks. Then you should fill the pots with substrate.
4. Plant care
The monkey face orchid is a high maintenance plant. To achieve good growth and development, the following activities must be carried out:
- Watering: Monkey face orchid prefers humid climates. The plant must be watered regularly, but not too much. It is necessary to water the plant only after the top layer of the substrate has dried.
- Feeding: The monkey face orchid needs to be fed during the period of active growth, from March to October. Feeding is carried out every 2-3 weeks. For feeding, use special fertilizers for orchids.
- Lighting: The monkey face orchid prefers bright but indirect light. The plant can be grown on a south or south-east window, but it must be shaded from direct sunlight.
- Temperature: Monkey face orchid prefers moderate temperatures. The optimal temperature for plant growth is +20-25 °C.
- Humidity: Monkey face orchid prefers high humidity. In the room where the plant is grown, it is necessary to maintain air humidity at 60-80%. To increase air humidity, you can use a humidifier or place pots with plants on a tray with wet expanded clay.
5. Harvest
The monkey face orchid begins to bloom in March and April. The monkey face orchid blooms for about 2 months.
Additional Tips
- To obtain more abundant flowering, the monkey face orchid must be fed regularly.
- To increase the decorativeness of the plant, you can trim off faded flower stalks.
If you follow the agricultural techniques for growing the monkey face orchid, you will be pleased with its flowering for many years.