Distinctive features, recommendations for the care and maintenance of calantes, advice on breeding, combating diseases and pests of orchids, interesting facts, species. Calante (Calanthe), this is the name of the genus of plants with a herbaceous form of growth, included in the Orchid family (Orchidaceae), or as it is also called Orchis. In this genus, according to various sources, there are from 187 to 260 varieties. These representatives bear a slightly changed name - Kalanta. They are widespread in the lands of the African continent, Asia and Central America, where the tropical climate is mainly present. They can live at altitudes from 400 to 3200 meters above sea level, leading an epiphytic (grow on branches or trunks of trees), lithophytic (settle on rocks) or terrestrial lifestyle. They love shady areas under the canopy of trees and damp substrates.
The orchid got its generic name due to the fusion of two Greek words: "Kalos" meaning "beautiful" and "Anthos" translated as "flower". This name immediately reflected the beauty of the plant's flowers.
All varieties of this genus have shoots close to each other, and many have pseudobulbs at the bottom, painted in grayish-green tones. Their shape is narrow, ovoid-elliptical. In species with a thickened stem, leaf plates fly around at a certain period, and those that have pseudobulbs are evergreen orchids. The leaves are large, their size can reach 20–40 cm in length and up to 8–10 cm in width, the shape is broadly elliptical or broadly lanceolate, the surface is leathery, as it were, pleated, from them a wide rosette can form, which sometimes reaches 38–40 cm in diameter. foliage rich green.
During flowering, a long, upright and slightly curved flowering stem is formed, reaching a height of 60 cm. This can occur even after the foliage has fallen off. It has a slight pubescence. The inflorescence at its top is multi-flowered. Flower petals are often painted in hot pink, snow-white or yellow colors. The shape of the petals and stipules is usually oval or obovate-oblong. The lip has mainly two-lobed or four-lobed outlines, in it the lateral lobes are large enough, and the middle one is wide and deeply indentable. There is a green spur at the base. The diameter of the flowers varies between 5–7.5 cm. Due to the color of the flowers, this type of orchid is quite popular for indoor cultivation. The flowering process depends on the variety, it can occur both in autumn and winter, as well as in the spring-summer months.
There are even varieties that have frost-resistant qualities that allow them to winter in the open field when the temperature drops to -10 frost. Based on the varieties available to date, multiple hybrids have been bred. If the buds have not yet blossomed, then the flower-bearing stem can be cut off and the kalanta is well worth cutting, especially if there is a remedy for such flowers in the water.
Tips for growing Calante
- Lighting and selection of a place for a plant. The eastern and western windows are most suitable for this orchid, so that there is no bright sun, since in the conditions of natural growth it settles under the trees. Direct sunlight can cause sunburn on flower leaves and petals.
- Content temperature. For deciduous calendars, it is best to maintain heat indicators within 18-24 degrees. With the arrival of autumn and with further winter rest of the flower, the indicators are reduced to 15-18 degrees for two months. If the variety is evergreen, then a cool year-round maintenance is suitable for it.
- Soil when planting This orchid can be used purchased for this kind of plants, that is, it must be loose, contain clay and a large amount of nutrient substrate. Common garden soil is often used with the addition of humus and crushed limestone. If the kalanta is deciduous, then it is transplanted annually. After the foliage has fallen, it is pulled out of the pot and stored in a dry and dark place, it is advisable to wrap the pseudobulbs in newspapers. As soon as the resting phase ends (shoots begin to appear from the pseudobulbs in early March), they are planted in prepared pots with soil. In the case when the variety is evergreen, then the transplant is carried out when the substrate loses its nutritional properties. Several pseudobulbs can be placed in one container to create a more decorative flower arrangement.
- Air humidity. In the warm season, it is required to regularly spray the orchid or wipe the leaves with a damp sponge. Water is taken slightly chilled boiled.
- Watering Calante is carried out abundantly throughout the growing season until the first buds appear. Then the moisture is reduced a little, but the soil in the pot should always be slightly damp. During the rest period, moisture is not carried out. During flowering, special fertilizing is applied with each watering.
- Fertilizers for orchids should be applied continuously from the beginning of its vegetative activity.
How to propagate a kalanta orchid with your own hands?
Most often, this flowering orchid can be propagated by dividing the overgrown mother bush or by separating the pseudobulbs. During the rest period, new shoots may appear on the pseudobulbs and such parts are separated. This serves to stimulate the awakening of the dormant buds on the old pseudobulb.
Calante pests and diseases
When growing this orchid, the following troubles can happen:
- Bulb rot, which occurs when the substrate is too moist with low temperatures or the break between waterings has not been sustained. During flowering, the calante should be provided with temperature indicators at the level of 22-24 degrees. From May until the end of summer, watering should be abundant, and when the first buds appear, the moisture is reduced.
- Mold appears on the bulb of an orchid during its dormant period and is a sign of increased air humidity in the room where the calanthus is kept. Usually, to protect against gray mold, the bulbs should be wrapped in newsprint and stored later in a dark and dry place, with a heat reading of about 18 degrees.
- If the leaves of the orchid began to fall off prematurely, then the reason for this is the increased level of lighting or excess moisture.
- The formation of black spots on the foliage became possible due to overmoistening of the substrate.
- If the orchid refuses to bloom, then perhaps it lacks nutrients or fertilizer simply does not fit.
Of the pests that can annoy the calante, spider mites, aphids and scale insects are isolated. If harmful insects are detected, treatment with insecticidal preparations should be carried out.
Interesting facts about calante
It is recommended to buy blooming orchids in December, but pseudobulbs of calantes can be seen in stores in early spring. When buying, you should make sure that there is no grayish mold on them.
The plant should have at least 1–2 open flowers and many buds so that the species and variety of the orchid species can be accurately identified. The price of the calendula is quite high and it depends directly on the type and size of the proposed plant.
After the purchase, the pot with the orchid is placed in a bright place and the substrate is moistened moderately. If pseudobulbs are purchased, then they are placed in the substrate, not deepening too deep, and until they take root, watering should be minimal.
For the first time this orchid was described in 1796 by the botanist and physician from France Remy Villemay (1735-1807) and included in the lists under the name Orchis tripicata. And the current name - Calantha triplicate, she received in 1907 by an American researcher, botanist-taxonomy and a great connoisseur of orchids Oaks Ames (1874-1950).
Types of calendars
Purple calanthe (Calanthe masuca Lindl.) Is also found under the name Calanthe sylvatica. The native growing territories of this flower are in the lands of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Sikkim, Guangdong, Guangsmi, Hong Kong, Hunan and Vietnam, and you can also find this orchid in the regions of southeastern Tibet and the southern provinces of China (Yunan), in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Ryukyus. Likes to settle in temperate forests, climbing to an altitude of 400 to 1500 meters. It is a small terrestrial orchid with small narrow-conical pseudobulbs and several folded, broadly elliptical leaves. Their apex has a pointed, and narrowing goes to the petiole, but sometimes they grow sessile.
The length of the flower-bearing stems reaches 12, 5-15 cm. The flower stalks are located on the sides and are crowned with several dozen flowers with purple-purple spurs. The shape and size of the petals and sepals are almost the same. They have oblong-oval kennels with a pointed apex. The lip has three lobes, more intensely shaded than the petals and sepals in the flower. In the central part there is a callus with a reddish-brown color scheme. The flowering process is observed twice a year - in spring and autumn.
The plant was first described by Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Toires (1758-1831), an eminent botanist from France, known for his collections of representatives of the orchid family from the island territories of Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion. It got its current name from John Lindley (1799-1865), a famous English botanist and gardener, who was known as a great connoisseur of orchids.
Dressed Kalanthe (Calanthe vestita Lindl.). A plant that is medium in size and is a lithophyte (growing on rocky surfaces) can also be a terrestrial flower. It was accidentally found in Myanmar, and also occurs in Vietnam, Lower Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo and Sulawesi. It often settles in hilly forests on limestone substrates located at an absolute height of up to 1000 meters with a sub-conical obtuse angle. Pseudobulbs are pale greenish-gray, with ovoid-conical outlines, their surface is bluntly ribbed. On themselves, pseudobulbs bear broad-lanceolate deciduous leaves, pointed at the top, with noticeable ribbing on the reverse side. They have a narrowing into a canal-shaped and winged petiole.
The flowering process occurs in the winter. On an elongated peduncle, which can reach 70–90 cm, an inflorescence is formed that combines 6–15 flowers. A pair of peduncles may appear, they are strong, arcuate, erect. The inflorescence has racemose outlines, peduncles and bracts have pubescence. The size of the flower varies from 6, 25 to 7, 5 cm. The surface of the petals is ovate-lanceolate and fragilely textured. The color of the sepals and petals is milky white, and the lip has a white-pink tint.
Flowers stay on the plant for quite a long time (one and a half to two months). Since this is a terrestrial orchid, it needs a dry winter rest, as the leaf plates turn yellow and fall off, and then, after the pepper plant has grown, it is transplanted, and new growth is expected to begin. Only after that watering is resumed.
Three-fold calanthe (Calanthe triplicate Ames) can also be called triple calanthe. He revered the lands of Burma, Thailand, Indochina and the islands of Kalimantan and Sulawesi as his native growing areas. It is a large terrestrial orchid, which can sometimes reach meters in height. It has numerous pseudobulbs, which bear 3–6 leaf blades. Inflorescences grow erect, with pubescence, differ in height 40-100 cm. They usually collect a large number of flowers - 20-30 buds. The flower can reach 4 cm in diameter. The color of the petals is snow-white, and there is a reddish or orange spot on the lip, and a rather long spur is present. The flowering process is extended from March to June, however, each flower can exist on the plant throughout the entire 3-day period.
Calanthe discolor is an evergreen orchid that can be successfully grown both indoors and outdoors. It has large oval-shaped leaves, the surface of which is slightly wrinkled. The flowering stem starts at the center of the new growth and usually has 5 to 15 flowers. The buds open gradually - starting from the bottom, moving towards the top of the inflorescence. The color of the petals and sepals is usually light brown; the presence of a reddish or lilac color is very rare. The lip is always snow-white. The flowering time is stretched from November to February.
The plant is found in natural conditions in Japan, while creating real clumps with a height of 50 to 120 cm.
Reflective calanthe (Calanthe reflexa) can also be called Calanthe bent. The plant can withstand a drop in the thermometer down to -10 frost and is able to survive the winter if left in a semi-shady part of the garden. The native territories of settlement are in the lands of the Western and Eastern Himalayas, Assam, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Likes to settle on rocks in degraded evergreen oak forests with an absolute height of 1650 to 3000 meters. The size of the orchid is small, leads mainly to a terrestrial lithophytic way of growth. It can also be found in wet meadows, thickets or mountain woodlands. The stem is very short and has 3-5 lower shells. There are elliptical-lanceolate and pointed at the top of the leaf plates that emerge from the pseudobulbs. The surface of the leaves is pleated. A rosette is assembled from sheet plates, which can reach up to 38–40 cm in diameter.
In the process of flowering, a racemose inflorescence is formed in length reaching 20-60 cm. The peduncle measures 25-35 cm. The flower size is 3 cm. The flower bracts are lanceolate and pointed, the inflorescences can bear up to 30 flowers located above the leaves. The color of the flowers is bicolor, pinkish-whitish or lilac-pinkish, there is a light aroma. Flowering lasts from mid to late summer.
Calanthe tricarinata (Calanthe tricarinata). The orchid grows in the lands of Pakistan, the Western and Eastern Himalayas, Myanmar, South China, and it can also be found in Taiwan, Korea and the Ryukyu Islands and Japan. Likes to settle on damp grassy shores in mixed forests, on fallen and decaying remains of trees in open forests, as well as on steep grassy slopes.
It is a medium-sized or large-sized terrestrial plant with short ovoid pseudobulbs that bear 2-3 elliptical, lanceolate-elliptical, folded leaves, which have a pointed tip at the top. The bases of the leaf plates are petiolate or sessile.
When blooming in spring, elongated flowering stems of 30-50 cm are formed, with dense 8-12 flowering pubescent inflorescences. Bracts are lanceolate. The size of the flowers varies from 3 to 5 cm. The petals of the bracts are greenish in color, and the lip and sapalia and petals are painted in burgundy-brown tones.
Striped Kalanthe (Calanthe striata) has large bright yellow flowers.
What a kalanta looks like, see below:
