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A Short Biography of Orchids Plus a Pruning Tip
An ancient plant family with exotic flowers...The orchid family is the largest and one of the most diverse plant flowering families on the planet. Orchids as we recognize them, came into being around 76 to 84 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Various dinosaurs, no doubt, munched on these early orchids.Given the length of time they've had to evolve and conquer new niches, it comes at no surprise that there are over 35,000 species with hundreds of thousands of hybrids. The most famous orchid, and most commercially important orchid in the world, is vanilla planifolia. Coca Cola is the largest customer for these vanilla orchids. The soft drink maker use the vanilla seeds (or beans) for flavouring. And if you are buying vanilla pods or vanilla extract, for your kitchen, there is a good chance the vanilla came from orchids were grown in Madagascar. This island is the world’s largest producer. tab
Other commercial orchids include the tubers of terrestrial orchids (Orchis mascula) which also used in cooking, mainly soups, and many orchids have a value in making perfumes. And finally, much of the commercial value of many orchids rest in the beauty of their fowers. What young lady does not go to their high school prom without an orchid pinned to the their bosoms... Orchids are very beautiful plants. Much time and care is put into growing them. In fact, for commercial growers this species is very labour intensive. Still, orchids are an important cash crop for growers around the world. Orchid Reproduction - The orchid has arrived at many diverse ways in its manner of reproduction. Some orchids rely on flying insects, others rely on crawling insects, there are orchids that rely on the wind for pollination and some self pollinate.
The Bee Orchid attracts bees to its flower by its appearance. It looks like a receptive bee which entices the male bee towards its pollinia. Other orchids have long stems which look like butterflies dancing in the wind. Some orchids have evolved so that they act as a landing platform which attracts a weary insect to rest. The visiting insect movements will cause it to brush against the pollinia (packets of pollen), which they will take to neighboring plants. Some orchids have very slippery flowers which causes a visiting insect to fall into the interior of the flower, from which there is one exit point. This escape route forces the welcome intruder into brushing against the pollinia. Supporting Science - Charles Darwin wrote about orchids when demonstrating his theory of evolution by natural selection. He made a prediction about the pollination method of one particular orchid, the Angreacum Sesquipidales. He predicted that since this particular species emitted a strong scent at night and was white, the insect that pollinated it would be a moth. Darwin was proved right and indeed a moth does pollinate the Angreacum Sesquipidales. Orchids have been written about for a very long time, with the first recorded observations dating to 700 B.C. by the Chinese and Japanese. But it wasn't until about 300 years ago, that orchids were first cultivated. Traders began distributing the seeds wherever they went. While once a hobby for the very rich, many people can now enjoy the delights and, sometimes frustrations, of orchid cultivation today. Gardener's Tip: Pruning Your Orchid - After the flowers have all died, when should you cut the stalk back and how far? In general, pruning an orchid stalk or spike should cause no harm to the plant. Note though that some orchids will produce new bloom shoots from the nodes on the old blossom stalk. And some plants will produce small baby plants (pups) from these nodes. The new plants may be removed and potted after they develop roots. Of course, some orchids do neither of these things. In either case, it won't hurt the plant if you remove the old bloom stalk; you may just miss out on some new blossoms or a baby plant. Vary your pruning times amongst your plants to take advantage of these additional growths, if you desire. Once a stalk turns yellow or brown, it is obvious that no blossoms or plants will be produced. You can then cut it to within an inch from where the blossom stalk originated on the plant. You can also cut it there when it is green, if you don't mind losing potential blossoms. Another option is to just remove the end of the blossom stalk, to shorten the stalk. Retain enough so that it may bloom again. If you do this, cut it back to about 1/4 inch above a node (indicated by a small leaf-like bract clasping the stalk). About the Author: Scott Harker is the publisher of several websites including: Sherlock Holmes Pastiches, Harvest The Sun | Renewable Energy, Outer Space Shop, Dieting Help | Move More - Eat Less, and On The Hook | Fishing Supplies.
News about Orchids
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