ORCHID BOOST with SILICON! BEST PEST DEFENCE from the inside out!

SCALE, MEALY BUGS... anything that wants to take a bite out of your orchids, can be stopped dead in their tracks simply from the INSIDE out. A STRONG GROWTH, with a TOUGH CUTICLE will create a NATURAL DEFENCE against anything pest wise that wants to get at your orchid's new growths and buds / blooms. To attain strong, healthy growths, we fertilise our orchids with additional calcium, which is absolutely necessary, but, there is more that we can do, especially when growing in inorganic media (as in my case) supplementing silicon is of fundamental importance to give the orchids a thick outer skin. One orchid in this video, Tetratonia Dark Prince, has never had silicon because I was getting to know it, and was cautious with the tiny new growths it produces, hence I didn't administer the soaking method I show in this video. Turns out, it is the only one, so far, that has had a scale problem. I have had some mealy bugs on some orchids, but not many, and they were taken care of on the same day, and never returned. I grow 80% of my orchids outside for at least 9 months of the year... there are other bushes and plants around them, which do have pests... aphids included, but none show up on my orchids. I can boil that down to several reasons; 1) I have a resident gecko 2) I have ants and spiders living in pots 3) Silicon supplementation during the growing season in the months of May - September. If you have any questions regarding what I am doing here, and wish to have more in depth information, please ask away in the comments below! Thank you so much for watching!
#SiliconforOrchids #Pestcontrol #StopOrchidPests
________________________________
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Orchid Augmentation
01:53 - Cattleya lobata coerulea
08:09 - Cattleya lobata coerulea
08:31 - Neostylis Lou Sneary 'Blue'
10:31- Brassavola Amethyst
11:16 - Brassocattleya Nanipuakea ‘Dogashima’
14:38 - Laeliocattleya Dinard 'Blue Heaven'
16:28 - Cattleya iricolor
16:51 - Dendrobium Hibiki
________________________________
Instagram: @ninja_orchids
Thank you for subscribing here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNoqye2-LlP6wDFFmj1puQ?sub_confirmation=1
________________________________
My environment:
Mediterranean climate, hot summers and mild winters
45% - 85% humidity, with regular airflow
Summer temperature range: 20ºC-35ºC
Winter temperature range, exterior: 5ºC-20ºC
Winter temperature range, interior: 16ºC-23ºC
________________________________
Music: Apex - Aakash Gandhi
Tupelo Train - Chris Haugen
Intro / Altro Image: Bodum.westernscandinavia.org
________________________________
Orchid growing supplies:
Pots Outer Mask: Artevasi
Pots Inner Pot: TeraPlast
Media: Siro Leca, Lava Rock 2cm-4cm, Besgrow Sphagnum Moss, Perlite,
Seramis
Water: Reverse Osmosis
Fertilizer: MSU, CalMag, Mg, KelpMax, Silicone
General PPM: 300 Summer, or in active growth
150 Winter, RO Water and KelpMax only
General PH: 5.8 / 6.0
Hygrometer: BADLR Wireless with Exterior Sensor
________________________________
My equipment:
Camera: DJI Osmo Pocket
Phone Holder: PGYTECH, DJI Osmo Pocket
Computer: MacBook Air
Editing Software: iMovie