Due to its high sulfur content, garlic offers a whole list ofBenefits for home and garden. Watering your orchid with garlic water promotes chlorophyll formation, protein synthesis and the formation of 21 amino acids. Garlic also acts as a natural fungicide and deterrent against spider mites, thrips and aphids. However, in strong concentrations, garlic water hinders the growth of your orchid, so you should use it sparingly. Below we will explain what else you should know about using garlic for your orchids.
How to use garlic in orchid care
Garlic as a natural pest control agent
Garlic is considered a natural deterrentagainst small pests and insectsrecognized. If you have noticed an infestation of aphids or spider mites in your orchid pot, garlic water is a good way to control this infestation. It won't kill the pests, so another method is needed to control the mites, but the garlic water can keep them away once they're gone.
Garlic as a natural fungicide to protect your orchid
It's pretty hard to kill a fungus because it likes to feed on bacteria. So where there is one, the other will soon join it. In a study (source 1) published in August 2016, garlic was shown to inhibit the proliferation of spores and thus prevent the spread of fungi. This qualifies garlic water as a fungicide. For this reason, it would be beneficial for the orchid if the planting substrate is soaked in a solution of garlic water or at least the top of the substrate is sprayed.
Garlic water promotes the formation of chlorophyll
Now you may be wondering why garlic is good for orchids. The smell and taste of garlic are due to the extremely high sulfur content in the garlic's cells. In addition to sulfur, garlic also contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and manganese (Mn). All of these substances are essential for the growth of orchids.
Sulfur works in combination with so many other elements that it is a building block for most of the essential chemical reactions necessary for the health of your orchid. Sulfur helps develop and activate certain enzymes and vitamins and is a structural component of two of the 21 amino acids that make up proteins. Along with the help of nitrogen, sulfur builds protein chains and helps form chlorophyll.
In another study, the effects of root growth were positively influenced by using garlic water. The roots - even though it was a tomato plant and not an orchid - showed visible signs of better growth. The not so visible signs were analyzed and proved that the garlic water promoted “cell division, phytohormones and expansin gene expression levels.” (Source 2)
Too much garlic can harm orchids
Since garlic contains an overwhelming amount of sulfur, this element may want to compete with others in your orchid's cells. This competition, that is, the way in which a plant alters the effects of other plants in its vicinity, is called allelopathy. In a sense, the two plants work together, creating stronger cells that are more resistant to pests and diseases. They work together and support each other. In other cases, two plants fight together for their place under the sun and kill each other.
That's why it's important that you know what you're doing when you plant two orchids in the same pot. They can compete for nutrients, and usually the orchid with the strongest roots (in terms of size and thickness) wins, leaving the smaller orchid in the lurch.
How does this information apply to orchid care? It's okay to spray your orchid with garlic water and even soak the pot in it, but you shouldn't use this method all the time.
Easy Garlic Water Recipe (as a Pesticide and Fungicide)
Using a diluted rather than concentrated form of this garlic water is the best way to protect your orchid from too high levels of sulfur. How do you make garlic water? Here is the easiest recipe in the world:
Ingredients
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon oil (like sunflower oil)
- Dishwashing detergent
- and water
*This recipe is about making a solution that not only deters but also kills small aphids and spider mites. The decisive factor for this is the detergent in the list of ingredients.
- Lightly crush 4 cloves of garlic and place them in a jar with 1 tablespoon of mineral oil. The garlic must be minced so much that the oil comes into contact with it optimally. Let the whole thing stand for 1-2 days so that the sulfur has enough time to transfer into the oil.
- Then remove the garlic pieces from the oil.
- Add a teaspoon to a tablespoon of dish soap to the oil, depending on how severe your infestation is. If you're just using this as a preventive measure, go for the teaspoon. Just don't use too much.
- Add half a liter of water to the oil and place it in a spray bottle. If your orchid's leaves begin to yellow the next day, dilute this amount by half.
Every orchid is sensitive to the solution, and there is no one-size-fits-all recipe. You will need to adjust the solution to your needs, diluting it or concentrating it more depending on how your orchid tolerates it. It is recommended to use garlic water only as a pesticide and fungicide and not as a normal fertilizer additive. Even though it is not harmful, adding garlic in higher concentrations could severely affect the growth of your orchids.
Sources used:
1. Front. Plant Sci. 2016;Garlic, from Remedy to Stimulant: Evaluation of Antifungal Potential Reveals Diversity in Phytoalexin Allicin Content among Garlic Cultivars
2.Front Plant Sci. 2016; The Garlic Allelochemical Diallyl Disulfide Affects Tomato Root Growth by Influencing Cell Division, Phytohormone Balance and Expansin Gene Expression.
