Freshman and Cheng Mei

A picture of a freshman, a picture of Cheng Mei

Author: hope lies ahead

Both freshman and Cheng Mei have been cultivated for more than 200 years. As early as the reign of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, Cheng Mei was selected by a doctor surnamed Cheng in Changshu, Jiangsu Province. Cheng Mei was regarded as a treasure of Huilan by the art and orchid circles. The "birth" of the freshman was slightly later than Cheng Mei-it is said that it was found in the Fuyang Mountains of Zhejiang Province (1789) and was selected by Hu Shaomei, a native of Jiashan. On display in Suzhou, Zhou Zhiting bought it for three thousand gold, so it was named "Da Yipin" because of its large flowers and outstanding temperament.

As a traditional variety of Cymbidium in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Da Yipin is known as "the first of the eight traditional varieties", while Cheng Mei is known as "King of Chihui", which is as famous as Dacheng Pin.

Cheng Mei is neck and neck with the big one. Why is Cheng Mei's price much higher than the big one, while the price of National Orchid Shuangbi, Song Mei and Dragon characters is similar? what is the reason? Just because in today's orchid market, the number of freshmen far exceeds that of Cheng Mei; Cheng Mei's "supply falls short of demand" is particularly prominent, and because things are scarce and expensive, their prices are naturally more expensive than those of big ones (not a little bit).

According to one's own situation, it is more suitable to be a big one, therefore, the big one is a little more nonsense, please Haihan: in recent years, it may be the reason for the change in the planting environment and planting materials. The opening of strong grass is rarely seen in the form of bangs and big tongues, while the medium-weak grass often blooms into a happy tongue (but the flower shape is quite different from the common big goods, and some bad orchids will use it to make a high price difference. Although the change in the palace of the cymbidium will lead to changes in the quality of the flowers, and with the return of some resale grasses, as long as we combine the characteristics of flower color and grass shape, we can still see a general picture, such as the Huilan Meixian, who is both familiar and indescribable when we see the flowers. The more skeptical you should be, the more you should avoid paying unnecessary tuition fees.

If the leaves are beautifully shaped and cultivated in strong light, the leaves will be 40-50cm in length and 0.8cm-1.2cm in width. If the leaves are raised in the shade in the greenhouse, the leaves can reach up to 100cm-120cm, but because of their strong upright nature, they will lose their sense of beauty. If they are cultivated at home, it is better to have strong light. The freshman leaf color is green, the new leaf has a tender green luster, the old leaf looks like a curved bow, the leaf surface is smooth, the tendons and collaterals are unusually obvious in the sun, and the leaf edge is serrated clearly.

The opening of a large product is also a lot, but it can be divided into three basic types: 1, it is a common opening when opening a soft cup, and the shape of the tongue tends to be small and round, and the outer flap and tongue will roll after opening for a long time. 2, when opening a semi-hard hand, the tongue is as big as the tongue, that is, the opening on the picture of the landlord. 3, when opening a hard hand, the shape of the tongue is small and the outer petal will not roll, and the flower guard is better than the semi-hard hold. In fact, most of the Huilan Meixian has this characteristic, holding the hard tongue becomes smaller and the soft tongue becomes bigger.

The leaves of freshman and Chengmei are very beautiful; the freshman leaves are 40-5Ocm long and 0.8-1cm wide, the new leaves are green and glossy, the old leaves are drooping, the leaves are smooth and the leaf edges are serrated clearly. The leaves of Chengmei are 45-50cm long and 1-1.5cm wide, the leaves are broad and drooping, there are no grooves on the leaf surface, the leaf sheath is short and round, and the sawtooth of the leaf edge is thicker and more prominent than that of Da Yipin, which fully shows the leaf shape characteristics of Chengmei.

There is also a difference in the thickness of the flower stem between Cheng Mei and the freshman. The flower stem of the freshman is much more delicate than the "sturdy and tall" scape of Cheng Mei. According to the traditional view of appreciation, Huilan takes "small stalks as the most expensive". Cheng Mei is regarded as a "flaw" because of her stout scape, commonly known as "wooden pedicel". In Japan, when an orchid book comments on Cheng Mei, he subtracts 2 points from the column of "scape" and does not get a full score. On the contrary, because of the fine flowers, the freshman is called the "lantern stalk" and is regarded as the most graceful boutique of Cymbidium. The author thinks that the big flower stem is thin and round, white and green as jade, which is certainly praiseworthy, while Cheng Mei scape is tall, sturdy and straight, and it is also quite spectacular. As Mr. Lu Sicong of the Lanjia family said, "Cheng Mei, who has masculine beauty, and Daichipin, which is feminine," are both extremely charming. Why cling to the old habit of "small stalks are precious".

It is even more enjoyable to watch the flower art of Cheng Mei and the freshman. Its petal shape is completely different-Cheng Mei is a red shell positive plum petal: the main calyx and the two sides of the calyx (outer three petals) are short round and tight; the holding flap is a hard pocket, the labial flap is dragon swallowing the tongue, and there is a bright erythema in the tongue surface. The big one is a large lotus-shaped daffodil petal of a green shell: the flower is large, with a diameter of 6mur7cm; the holding petal is a large soft silkworm moth pocket, and the lip is as large as the tongue, straight out without reversing, and the tongue is covered with two rows of red spots, which is very beautiful.

Taking a comprehensive view of Cheng Mei and Da Yipin, one is red and one is green, and the petal shape is two: Cheng Meizan is the king of Chihuimei petal, well-deserved; the freshman is praised as the crown of the lotus-shaped daffodil petal, which is also indisputable. Let's make an analogy: song Mei and long characters in the traditional treasures of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chunlan are collectively called "national orchid double walls". Can Cheng Mei and Da Yi be called "Huihua Shuangyu"? If someone insists on praising one and belittling the other, it is unnecessary and futile to tell the difference between the high and the low.