High quality plant material of orchid-- water moss

Water moss, also known as peat moss, is a plant of the genus Bryophyllaceae, which grows on rocky cliffs or stream springs in temperate and cold forests. The fresh water moss is white-green or bright green, loose and woolly, densely intertwined into a piece, the stem is creeping and attached, has irregular branches or pinnate branches, and the stem is nearly homomorphic with branches and leaves. After cleaning and drying, the water fur is light white, soft, loose, absorbs a large amount of water, can absorb 15 to 20 times of its own weight, and has strong water storage and air permeability.

The most ideal cultivation medium for Orchid

Orchidaceae plants, especially Cymbidium, are mostly aerial orchids with well-developed roots, which requires good physical stability, excellent loose air permeability and the ability of water and fertilizer conservation. At first, people did not know that water moss was the most ideal cultivation medium for Orchidaceae plants, until Taiwan successfully used water moss as a cultivation medium for large-scale production of Phalaenopsis. People found that water moss has good effects such as high survival rate, fast growth, low cost, environmental protection and so on. With the vigorous development of Phalaenopsis industry in the mainland and the development and utilization of more and more water moss, people began to understand the excellent characteristics of water moss as a medium, that is, clean materials without germs, good water retention and drainage, good ventilation, not easy to rot, can be used for a long time, and easy to use. In addition, water fur is also rich in organic matter and nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron and other nutrients, which can save the amount of fertilizer application. According to the Lanyou experiment, the grass rate of water moss is 30% and 50% higher than that of ordinary plant material.

Identification method of high quality water moss

Generally speaking, the water moss growing in the dark or backlit hillside is pure green, the branches and leaves are delicate, the epidermal cells are easy to be brittle, the water absorption is general, the air permeability is poor, it is easy to rancidity, and the quality is general; those growing in strong light or on the sunny hillside are crimson, about 8cm long, the branches and leaves are stout and have good physical stability. Most of the water moss sold in the market are packed in blocks, so it is difficult to tell whether their quality is good or bad, so how to choose and buy good water moss? You can refer to the following two methods:

Method 1: gently pat to see if there are any debris.

High-quality water moss, with high tissue integrity, regular compactness after compression, without breaking or crushing, can be held in your hand, tilt a corner and hit the bag slightly to observe whether a lot of crumbs and dregs fall into the corner of the bag. The quality of water moss with too much crushing is poor.

Method 2: recognize the packaging

Some domestic water moss have the phenomenon of using immature or smaller water moss, and their physical properties are relatively unstable. relatively speaking, the physical properties of imported water moss are relatively stable and of high quality. especially the dry water moss produced in New Zealand, Chile and other places, the quality is better, if you need to buy more high-quality water moss, you can choose some imported water moss.

Correct use of water moss

The physical and chemical properties of water moss produced from different areas, such as roughness, length, acidity and alkalinity, are different. In general, small seedlings should be planted for high-quality water moss and medium-sized seedlings for water moss with inferior backlight. Thicker water moss should be planted with fruit, fine water moss should be looser, and weaker water moss should not be used. In addition, it is suggested that the water moss should be fully washed before use and disinfected if necessary; adhere to the watering method of the combination of moist and permeable water, and watering should be "dry and wet" when planting orchids, so as to make the water moss not easy to salinize and rancidity, so as to give full play to the ideal properties of fertilizer, water and air permeability.