Home orchids require an attentive, sensitive attitude and comfortable conditions. Neglecting these rules is fraught with discoloration and loss of leaves by the plant. In this article we will consider the reasons why orchids lose their leaves and measures to combat this problem.

Basic Orchid Care

An orchid will preserve health and decorativeness for a long time, if you create conditions in the house close to the natural, natural for its growing environment.

Did you know? The Orchid family appeared on Earth about 145 million years ago.

The plant needs to ensure compliance with such requirements:

1. Lighting. Moderately bright, diffused (one of the options is a light-diffusing curtain), without direct sunlight.
2. Daylight hours - 13-15 hours.
3. Temperature. The day temperature range is + 18 ... + 27 ° С, the night temperature range is + 13 ... + 24 ° С. When flowering ceases, it will be necessary to decrease the daytime temperature to + 12 ° C, and the nighttime temperature to + 10 ° C. This will provoke a little stress in the flower, and it will begin to lay buds. Then you should gradually return to normal temperature conditions.
4. Air humidity. Optimal - 60–70%.
5. Location - east or west windows.
6. Watering. Once a week, in winter - less often. Watering is carried out by two methods - either by immersion in a container with a plant in water or by shower. Water for irrigation should be at room temperature, soft, possibly boiled.
7. Priming. The best option is a prepared substrate from shop soil for orchids and small amounts of expanded clay (or polystyrene), sphagnum moss, oak or pine bark, husks from seeds, charcoal and perlite added to it. Additives loosen the soil and improve the flow of air to the root system of the flower.
8. Top dressing. It is made during the active growth and flowering of orchids twice a month. The use of ready-made fertilizer in store is recommended.

Why do orchids fall leaves and flowers

Falling leaves is a fairly common problem when growing orchids. If such a phenomenon occurs, the first thing to do is to find out the cause of the fall - more on that later.

Natural process

Orchids in certain periods of time, some physiological processes occur due to the life cycle of the plant. In different types of flower, the duration of this cycle is also different, for example, in the most common type of home orchid - phalaenopsis, it is 2-3 years.

This means that by the age of 2-3 years, the leaf life ends, and the plant needs revitalization.

Accordingly, if, with proper care, the orchid still leaves fall, then this is not a cause for concern - this is a natural change in physiological periods. After some time, the plant forms new leaves, and it will recover. Orchid care in this case is assumed to be ordinary.

Did you know? Cut orchid sprouts preserve their freshness in a vase for about 3-4 weeks.

Improper care

Loss of leaves, as a rule, is caused by errors in the care of the plant. Consider in detail the main mistakes in the cultivation of orchids, leading to such consequences.

Temperature and lighting

Orchid, like any living organism, has the ability to self-regulation. However, this ability is limited, and at a certain moment the flower can no longer protect itself from the abundance of light or uncomfortable temperature, and the orchid discards the foliage.White spots on the leaves and their subsequent frostbite indicate a low temperature around the plant. But if they look lethargic, “baked” - this is a sign of unacceptably high temperature.

The signaling of the excess lighting that burns the leaves is their darkening or yellowing.

Fallen flowers and drooping leaves are a sign of a lack of light.

Dry air

In the cold season, in order to raise the air temperature near the plant, a container with a flower is often placed near heating appliances. And this leads to the fact that the heating devices, drying the air, reduce the percentage of moisture in it, which, in turn, affects the plant in the most negative way.

Moisture evaporates both from the substrate and from the surface of the leaves, as a result of which the plant rapidly loses moisture. To survive such stress, the flower is forced to defend itself by dropping leaves.

Watering

Leaning of leaves by a plant can result in either scanty or overly plentiful watering.

With excessive soil moisture, a deficiency of oxygen forms at the root system of the flower, which leads to the multiplication of putrefactive bacteria, and subsequently to the loss of leaves by the flower.

Over watering is signaled by such signs:

1. The color change is not only the leaves, but the whole plant.
2. The softness and humidity of the leaves, the presence of black spots on them.
3. Darkening and blackening of the roots.
4. The plant is easy to extract from the pot.

A change in the color of the leaves of the plant from green to yellow, wrinkled rhizomes indicate insufficient watering. Lack of moisture upsets the metabolism: the flow of food to the stem and leaves is inhibited, which leads to their yellowing and decay.

Important! The absence of drainage holes in the flower container leads to stagnation of moisture and, as a result, root decay.

Fertilizers

One of the reasons for falling can be improper feeding: as a result, there is a shortage or, conversely, an excess of fertilizers. Too high a concentration of fertilizers leads to the deposition of mineral salts on the ground, which does not allow the roots to absorb moisture.

This will be evidenced by the softening and yellowing of the leaves and, if appropriate measures are not taken, their decay.

In addition to the above, to the loss of orchid leaves will also help lead:

1. Unsuitable capacity. Too small a pot will compress the root system, and the incoming moisture will not have time to leave.
2. Loss of soil drainage ability and the proper level of aeration.
3. Mechanical damage to the root system.

The consequence of such problems is waterlogging of the soil, rotting of the roots and falling of leaves.

Important! Orchid does not tolerate drafts — this leads to hypothermia and wilting of the flower.

Wrong choice of neighbors

The proximity to plants from the families of the Agave, Araukariyev, and Pepper can also provoke falling.Also, falling leaves is possible due to the close proximity to cacti with their heavy energy.

Diseases or pests

Deteriorating orchids may be due to diseases or pests.

Pests that appear on the flower infect the orchid with infectious diseases, and the weakened flower is not able to fight in full force, respectively, the leaves fall off.

The appearance on the inner surface of the leaf of a thin cobweb indicates an attack of the plant with a spider mite.

Yellowing of leaves, the appearance of yellow spots on their green surface may indicate attacks of aphids, nematodes, or scale insects.

Orchid Diseases:

1. Gray rot - This is evidenced by the coating of aerial roots, flowers and leaves with a gray fluffy coating.
2. Anthracnose and powdery mildew - The symptoms are black spots with yellow or fluffy plaque.

What to do depending on the reason?

Having dealt with the reasons why all the leaves have fallen off the orchid, we now consider what needs to be done in such cases.The main thing is to normalize the conditions in which the plant is located:

1. If there is a shortage of light, you need to use additional lighting in the form of a fluorescent (phyto-) lamp or move the container with a flower to another place.
2. Watering is regular, depending on the time of year and the condition of the flower. During the heating season and during the peak of summer heat, more frequent soil moisture will be required, in spring and autumn - as the soil dries.
3. When waterlogging the soil, an urgent flower transplantation into a new substrate is necessary, while it is necessary to remove the rotted parts of the root system with the processing of the cut sites.
4. With a decrease in air humidity - regular spraying of a flower from a spray bottle with room temperature water, in addition - placement of wet expanded clay or moss in a pot with a plant (usually a pallet under a container).
5. If the air temperature changes above or below the permissible limit, the flower should be moved to a comfortable place.
6. Top dressing exclusively before flowering with strict observance of the necessary concentration. Before proceeding with the normalization of fertilizers, the pot with the plant must be thoroughly washed under a stream of warm water. Fertilize should begin with nitrogen fertilizing, stimulating the development of new leaves.
7. Placing a container with a flower next to only acceptable neighbors.

When affected by pests or diseases, the following measures are necessary:

1. Spider mite - rinse the affected parts of the flower with standing water with a temperature of + 39 ... 50 ° C, then cover the plant with polyethylene and incubate for 3 days; if it doesn’t help, treat it with Neoron or Typhos.
2. Aphid - You should also wash the affected parts with warm water, treat the leaves with a soap solution, spray the plant with Fitoverm.
3. Gray rot - the use of the drug "Immunocytophyte."
4. Powdery mildew - treatment by Cumulus.
5. Anthracnose - use of the drug "Mikosan".

Preventive measures

The basis of prevention is its timeliness.

Preventive measures include:

1. 14-day flower quarantine from the moment it appears in the house.
2. Water treatments for the plant.
3. Permanent orchid care, attention.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the falling of leaves in an orchid in most cases is the result of insufficient attention paid to the plant. Proper care and tireless care will ensure a long and healthy life of this beautiful flower.