Ten joys and ten fears of national orchid cultivation

By reading and delving into classic orchid monographs such as Lan Hui Xiao Shi, and combining with his own practice of raising orchids, the author summarizes the main points of national orchid planting as "ten joys and ten fears" in order to seek advice from experts and friends of the orchid.

1. Like to be loose but afraid of hardening: the plant material in the original place of orchid is mountain mud rich in humus. Yilan's ancestors called it "orchid mud" (commonly known as "incense ash soil"). The texture is very loose, grab a hand, squeeze into a ball, the palm is spread out, and the mud mass immediately spreads. This kind of mud is highly permeable and is convenient for the succulent root of orchids to breathe. The soil, which is poorly structured and easy to harden after watering, makes orchids so stuffy that they can never raise orchids well.

According to Langen's habit of being loose and breathable, the ancestors of the orchid blew the horn for the reform of orchid plant materials, advocating the selection of plants that are loose, good permeability, non-hardening and contain certain nutrients. My Jiangsu Lanyou generally use granular immortal soil produced in Emei Mountain, Sichuan Province, with gold planting; (or Tangji blue stone, about 30%) granular soil is very rich in nutrients, strong cohesion, no consolidation, fast water discharge and good permeability. By selecting these ideal plants suitable for the growth of orchids, the cultivation of orchids is half successful.

2. Like slight acid but afraid of saline-alkali: orchid is a perennial slightly acidic flower. According to this characteristic, the water for watering orchids must be slightly acidic soft water without minerals. According to the pH (PH value): ph value 7 is neutral, PH value high dry 7 is alkaline, PH value is 5. 5-6. 5 is slightly acidic, and the PH value less than 5 is superacidic. Orchids like slightly acidic water with a PH of 5. 2-6 is the best.

A non-local orchid friend made a long-distance call to ask: "can well water be used to water orchids?" in order to correctly answer this question, the author specially used "Guangfan test paper" to test carefully. The author personally hoisted a bucket of well water, tore off the test paper, and sunk it into the bottom of the bowl with a glass stick. When its color changed, the test paper was taken out and compared with the "standard color plate". Its PH value is higher than 7 and lower than 8, which is obviously alkaline and is not suitable for watering orchid. The method of adjusting alkaline well water: add an appropriate amount of edible balsamic vinegar (or adjusted with oxalic acid or citric acid) to make it slightly acidic, which can be used to water orchids. If you water the orchid with alkaline water, the orchid will never grow well.

3. Happy and moist, but afraid of flooding: flower proverb: "dry orchid wet chrysanthemum", this "dry" and "wet" is relatively speaking. It means that the soil in the nursery orchid pot should be slightly drier. In fact, the "dry" that orchids like is to keep the pot moist, not too dry, too dry, 1000 to the bottom is called "dry." "dry but not dry" is the best time to water orchids. Although the basin is dry, it still keeps moist where it is allowed. This is called "dry but not dry". Timely watering orchids is the key to the success or failure of orchids.

Orchids are not as wet as chrysanthemums. For orchids, it means too much water in the pot. Planting orchids with traditional mountain mud and watering too often will easily lead to waterlogging in the basin, so that the fleshy roots of orchids can not breathe fresh air and rot. Switching to granular plant material is a good way to overcome the root rot caused by excessive fine mountain mud.

4. Be happy with rain and dew but afraid of pouring: "Rain and dew nourish grain seedlings". This statement fully shows that grain seedlings and all things in the field love rain and dew moisture. The ancestors of Yilan in the Qing Dynasty said that the best water should be Xueshui or Rain Water. This still applies to watering orchid. Orchids like Rain Water very much, but the rainfall is large, medium and small. People who raise orchids should not be treated equally.

First of all, the drizzle, orchid farmers as nature's gift to orchids, generally slightly acidic, suitable for the growth and development of orchids, there is no reason not to accept. As the peasant proverb goes, "it is better to be caught in a spring rain than to apply fertilizer at once." Indeed, if you are caught in a drenching rain in late spring, you will suddenly find that the new buds of orchids jump up, which is very gratifying.

Orchids are not afraid of moderate rain, but it lasts for a long time, which is easy to cause waterlogging in the basin, which is bound to squeeze out the air in the basin, making the orchid root suffocate and cause rotten roots, so the moderate rain should not be drenched for a long time, only enough is enough. Finally, let's talk about "torrential downpour". This heavy rain is so ferocious that it can not only discount orchid leaves, spill mud and expose Langen, but also cause waterlogging and rotting roots in the basin. Orchids can't stand this catastrophic blow, and orchids should try to protect them.

5, happy soft sun but afraid of the scorching sun: "all things grow by the sun", orchids also like the sun, especially the rising sun, even if it is the sun before 07:00 in the morning in summer, orchids can also shine; orchids prefer the soft sunshine of winter and spring, so they should be exposed throughout the day to produce and store nutrients for photosynthesis. However, orchids are afraid of the scorching sun in summer and autumn, especially the scorching sun around noon, and the high temperature caused by the scorching sun is what orchids fear most. As the old saying goes, "the red sun is burning like fire." the scorching sun will scorch the orchid leaves. Therefore, every year in late spring, when the temperature rises above 25 ℃, orchid farmers should set up sunshade nets to shield orchids from the scorching sun until late autumn.

6. Like cool and afraid of frost and snow: orchids are originally born in the mountains and valleys with cool climate, and gradually develop the habit of being cool. The best temperature for orchid growth is 25 ℃-28 ℃. In this cool climate, orchids can sprout, thrive, jointing, spreading and fragrance. When the temperature is below 10 ℃, the orchid stops growing and turns into a "semi-dormant" state. Even in the middle of winter, wild orchids can remain green even in the depths of winter, because they are protected by ground temperature, but when planted in a pot, the environment changes, and orchids lose the protection of ground temperature. When the air temperature drops below O ℃, it will frostbite the orchid root and even cause the orchid plant to die. Therefore, the habit of orchids afraid of frost and snow pressure is acquired, and people who raise orchids should not be ignored. When the weather forecast is 0 ℃, it should be moved to "enter the house to prevent freezing".

7. Like ventilation but afraid of smoke and dust: the cool breeze in the valley has formed the habit that orchids like a ventilated environment. As the ancients said, "ventilation is the most important way to raise orchids." The orchid basin needs to be ventilated on six sides (up and down, east, west, north and south). Whether it is ventilated or not is closely related to the growth of orchids. The problems with orchids are mostly caused by poor ventilation. In order to be ventilated, the orchid should be placed overhead. If there is no orchid frame, it can only be laid flat on the ground, and the orchid basin must also have a foot, or fill in the blanks with several tiles so that the bottom hole can be ventilated. In order to make the orchid breathe fresh air, even in the cold winter months, the orchid room must be ventilated by opening windows around noon.

The orchid leaf "likes ventilation but is afraid of smoke". Dust adheres to the leaf surface, which not only affects ornamental, but also hinders stomatal respiration and photosynthesis of the leaf surface. Therefore, every 7-10 days, we have to use the spray method to wash the dust for the orchid.

To bathe orchids, you should pay attention to the following three points:

The main results are as follows: 1) the orchid plant must be highly permeable to facilitate the flow of water after spraying, and will not accumulate in the basin and affect the orchid root respiration.

2) the water for "bathing" orchids must be clean, and it is best to add a few drops of edible vinegar to the water to make the water slightly acidic and have germicidal effect.

3) spraying orchids is suitable for all seasons, but the time is different: spring should be around 9 am and must be carried out in the sun; summer should be carried out in the evening when the weather is cool; autumn can be carried out in the early morning when the sun is not rising; winter must be carried out in the noon sun.

8, like light fat but afraid of thick and turbid: flower proverb: "clear orchid, turbid jasmine." It means: for elegant and noble orchids, the water for watering orchids must be clean, and fertilization must be light, not as thick as fertilizing jasmine. To apply liquid fertilizer to the jasmine, it is enough to add three times the water. As for the concentration of liquid fertilizer applied to orchids, Yilan's predecessors once discussed that using 1 part of rotten fermentation broth and rinsing into 10 times of clear water is still regarded as "thick fertilizer" for orchids; only water flushed more than 12 times can be called "light fertilizer." If the concentrated fertilizer is applied to the orchid, the concentration of fertilizer in the basin will increase, the phenomenon of "burning root" will occur, that is, the original water in the orchid root "reverse osmosis" in the basin, resulting in the orchid root blackening and withering, the orchid leaf is dehydrated, and gradually wither to death. Therefore, to apply liquid fertilizer to orchids, be sure to flush clean water more than 20 times, really achieve "clear, light, thin".

9. Happy people gather together and are afraid of leaving their mother: orchids have no man-made plants in their native land, thus forming the habit of gathering in groups. There is an orchid friend in Dingshan Town, Yixing City, Jiangsu Province. in 2000, he dug up a large cluster of orchid petal treasures. After blooming, the author was invited to watch it. I saw that the orchid was planted in an orchid jar bigger than Niutou. More than 60 seedlings bloomed in conjunction with a total of 3 flowers, which is really a feast for the eyes. Of course, this does not mean that orchids cannot split. The ramets of orchids are conditional: or there are many orchid plants in the basin, the orchid roots are too dense, and there is no room for new seedlings to grow in the basin: or although there are only six or seven seedlings, there are two "bibcock" (there are new seedlings on both sides). After the split, there are more than 3 strong grasses, which can still maintain exuberant growth. If someone forcibly separates the seed grass (new seedling) from the mother grass, conducts a "single plant reproduction experiment" and applies for a patent, the author thinks that it is against the habit of "Lanxi group" and is easy to die young, even if it survives, the new seedlings will become smaller and the loss outweighs the gain.

10. Like nursing but afraid of disease: orchids like their owners to carry out scientific management according to their growth habits, including potted planting, daily watering, topdressing and applying light fertilizer, florescence management, prevention and control of diseases, etc., all have to follow its growth law, careful cultivation and careful maintenance. The cultivation of orchid grass is strong, not only the seedling rate is high, but also can enhance the disease resistance, and can enjoy the delicate fragrance of orchid treasures. However, the occurrence of diseases and insect pests in orchids is a common phenomenon, and orchid farmers should not turn a deaf ear to it. We must "prescribe the right medicine to the case" to cure the disease and save the orchid. For orchid diseases and insect pests, we should implement the policy of "prevention first", prevention is more important than treatment, do not wait for the occurrence of diseases and insect pests. When the temperature rises above 20 ℃ in late spring in April every year, pesticide should be sprayed regularly and effective preventive measures should be taken. In addition to spraying the positive and negative sides of orchid leaves, the orchid cultivation site and its surrounding environment should also be taken into account and strive to create a sterile orchid culture environment.