There are two ways to create new orchid plants: seeding and vegetative propagation. If you’re a gardener who wants to grow her orchid collection, vegetative propagation is the simplest way to expand the garden. How are orchids propagated?
3 Ways to Propagate Orchids
- Division. As an orchid matures, it starts to outgrow its pot. A gardener can easily repot the orchid and leave it at that, or he can divide the plant and create multiple orchids from one parent plant. Bulbs with active leads are called “pseudobulbs” and bulbs without active leads (that have eyes which may be encouraged into active growth) are called “back bulbs.” When dividing large plants, you might get many pseudobulbs and back bulbs. To divide an orchid, cut halfway through the rhizome and wait until the back bulb wakes up (aka, its eyes begin to break). You can then remove, divide, and repot the pseudobulb and back bulb into separate pots.
- Back bulbs. If the back bulbs have an active eye, repot them and spray them carefully. Wait until root growth is evident before watering the plant. If the bulb lacks an active eye, repot the back bulb in a small pot with the eye resting above the growing substrate. Spray frequently, but do not water the bulb. It may burst into bloom within a few weeks, or it may lay dormant for years before growth begins.
- Offshoots. Some varieties of orchids grow offshoots along the stem, which gardeners may allow to grow to maturity before carefully separating the offshoot from the parent plant.
Once you propagate orchid plants, you’ll need to repot the new plants. Orchiata growing substrate contains everything the new plants will need to grow. For more information on our premium New Zealand growing bark, contact Besgrow.
