"Lady's slipper" at home and its progenitors in the wild
Content:
The complex name papheopedilum or "lady's slipper" may sound differently - orchid. Orchids usually grow in the wild, but humans have been able to domesticate a beautiful flower culture. In nature, the orchid grows in places where shade prevails, on moist soils. Home orchids love sun-drenched window sills, attics or outdoor planters. The place where your flowers grow should be well ventilated.
What does an orchid look like? This is a flower in which the upper petals fold into a sail, and the lower ones resemble a slipper. Home orchids are loved by many florists and gardeners. There are many varieties. There are quite tall and dwarf orchids. The color and pattern depends on the variety of the crop.
Apricot orchid
The orchid is also called the lady's slipper, since the name comes from two Greek words, from the name of Venus, the goddess of love, and the word meaning slipper.
By their origin, the Venus shoes of the traveler. So the apricot orchid comes from China. In its kind, the flower loves mountainous areas and hills, and lives with pleasure on the sun-drenched slopes. The leaves of this variety, like marble, are painted in a dark green color, on the back side they are covered with a red speck. The flower is not tall, but its leaves can grow up to 15 centimeters. The bud of the orchid is covered with pubescence, up to the beginning of flowering. And the beauty blooms in eastern countries from December to March. The apricot orchid buds are quite large, reaching 11 centimeters in diameter. "Shoe" has a rounded shape.
Appleton's Lady's Slipper
This variety is also native to China. This variety loves shade and moisture, so in nature it grows on rocks covered with moss or stumps. This flower has narrow long leaves, dark green color, there are varieties, the leaves of which are streaked with a dark marble pattern. The flowers are elongated, purple. Appleton blooms in the spring.
Florists, pay attention!
High humidity and stagnant air are contraindicated for orchids. If the flower lives in such conditions, it will soon die.
Paphiopedilum bearded
This variety of Venus's shoe is very much appreciated by breeders of all kinds. This is due to the fact that in 1869, this flower became the progenitor of a new orchid variety.
The bearded orchid is colored purple (this is the predominant shade in the color of this variety). The leaves do not grow more than 20 centimeters in length, they are painted in a metallic pattern.
The variety blooms in spring. The upper petals (sail), as if lined with purple even stripes, the edge of the petals is white. The slipper is lilac, and the rest of the petals are less bright, but colored the same as the upper one.
Venus Slipper, rough-haired
And this variety comes from India and Indonesia. The plant is very tall, up to 30 centimeters. Representatives of this species have an upper petal with a white border, and the main color of the petal is brown, all other petals vary in color from ocher to greenish brown. The lip-slipper is laced with veins. This variety blooms for a very long time, almost three seasons, from autumn to mid-spring.
Orchid is wonderful or papiopedilum is wonderful
In the wild, this orchid variety is common in the Himalayas.A distinctive feature is that it also blooms in winter like the previous variety. The leaves are thin, pale green, do not grow more than 30 centimeters. And our pafiopedilum blooms from September to February inclusive, for two whole seasons the wild nature gives us the beauty of its "children". It is to the mouth that we can distinguish an orchid in a whole species, since it has many varieties and color diversity. The most beautiful and brightest variety has black coffee leaves. And the upper petal is a sail like a leopard in a speck and has a beautiful wide white border.
Pafiopedilium Lawrence
T. Lawrence was chairman of amateur gardeners. This orchid was named after him. The flower is of origin on the island of Borneo. It is very easy to grow.
The light leaves of this orchid variety are wide, up to 15 centimeters long. The middle (upper petal) is colored green in the middle, on which distinct symmetrical stripes are visible; towards the pointed tip, the petal is painted white, as well as along the border. The shoe is glossy, brown-green. On the side petals are scattered brownish-red specks, resembling moles.
Lady's slipper hairy
This species has a wider area of distribution in the world than previous orchids. This is how the variety grows in India, Thailand, Laos and even Vietnam.
At the base, the flower is protected like a cover. Flowering begins at the end of winter, then buds begin to appear, but in spring the flowers begin to bloom with might and main. The hairiest flower is called because the bud is covered with light pubescence. In general, initially, the edges of the petals are even, but later, when the flower begins to fade, they become wavy. The upper petal, not very different from other orchids, the middle is brown, smoothly towards the edge turns into green. The side petals are dark purple in color, they are also wavy and at the ends curl up into a kind of ruff.
Orchid adorable
A beautiful adorable flower grows in the highlands of Nepal and India. In growth, the plant reaches 23 centimeters. The color varies from dark red, burgundy to green. At the edges of the lateral petals, dots are scattered over the entire surface. The upper petal is triangular; rich clear stripes are visible at the base.
The shoe is dotted with stripes. The inner side is yellow, and the shoe itself is of the correct shape. Leaves are sometimes elliptical, sometimes up to 5 centimeters wide. But they are always painted dark green with marble tints. So, this variety has 8 varieties with a variety of bright colors.
Snow orchid
The cute name fully reflects the inner content. The ancestral home of the flower is in Thailand, Burma, Kalimantan, and also on the Malay Peninsula. The stem is hugged by oval-shaped green leaves. But the underside of the leaves is purple. Our beauty blooms in summer. As many as two flowers can coexist on a peduncle. Size compensates for quantity. Since the flowers are not more than 7 centimeters. All petals are snow-white, with pinkish streaks towards the center. The lip is of the same delicate color, and yellow stamens stand out as a bright spot above it.
Lady's slipper pretty
The moss-covered cliffs and hills of Thailand, Burma and China are a favorite spot for the pretty flower.
The main color background of the petals is green, it is diluted with red blotches over the entire surface of the flower. The diameter of the flowers reaches 10 centimeters. Large petals seem to cover the shoe. The orchid blooms mainly in spring, in the month of April.
If you have an orchid, then do not be afraid, it is easy with it, care is exactly the same as for other familiar indoor plants. Among the wide variety of varieties, you can choose from both dwarf varieties and large tall orchids. The color palette will delight you with its variety, and you will not regret buying this magnificent flower.