Cultivation substrate of Chinese orchid

Cultivation substrate of national orchid

The national orchids in Shunde area of Guangdong Province are mainly planted with Cymbidium and Jianlan (Siji Cymbidium). These two kinds of orchids belong to terrestrial orchids with well-developed roots and good drainage and air permeability, which is beneficial to the development of fleshy roots and the growth of orchids.

The traditional cultivation substrate of Shunde national orchid is high-quality pond mud, which is mainly composed of clay and humus, which is beaten into soil blocks after drying, and the soil particles do not melt for 3 ~ 5 years, which can ensure good drainage and certain nutrients. However, because the mud orchid is easy to lead to some diseases, and it is easy to harden after a period of sun and rain, which is not conducive to the respiration of orchid root, it has been rarely used in productive cultivation, and only some family orchid gardens are still in use.

At present, the widely used national orchid plants include gravel, bark, peanut shell, grain husk, peat soil, perlite and so on. Gravel orchid has good air permeability and many pores, which is beneficial to the growth of orchid root, but it is lack of nutrients, and it is easy to be lost after the application of water and fertilizer. The bark has good water absorption and drainage capacity, and is rich in organic nutrients, which is very beneficial to the growth of orchids. The bark contains more resin when it is fresh, soak it in water for a week before use, decompose the resin, and then dry it. Peanut hulls and grain hulls have the same effect as bark, have better water absorption and drainage, and are rich in organic nutrients. But it needs to be ripened before use, usually drenched in water and covered with plastic film for about a month. Peat soil is rich in organic matter, and its drainage permeability is better than pond mud, so it is often used in perlite.

The ideal national orchid cultivation substrate should have good drainage and air permeability, and contain sufficient nutrients, not easy to decay or hardening and other characteristics, and the use of any of the above plant materials can not meet the requirements, so it is necessary to mix some planting materials before use. The orchid substrate in Shunde area is generally mixed with hard plant material and soft plant material. Hard plants generally use gravel and other plants with good drainage, while soft plants generally use bark, peanut shell, grain husk and other plants with good water absorption and rich in nutrients. At present, there is no certain standard for the mixing ratio of plant materials, which is often allocated according to the needs of the growers themselves. Censhi Orchid Garden in Shunde mainly uses two kinds of cultivation media, one is stone + grain hull, the other is stone + peanut shell, the ratio of hard plant to soft plant is about (5: 6): (5: 4). And Shunde Hongye Orchid Garden mainly uses granite mixed bark, the proportion is 5:5.

Fig. 1 Pebble + husk

Fig. 2 Pebble + peanut shell

In addition to hard plants + soft plants, there are many kinds of orchid substrates in other parts of Guangdong Province. For example, Taohong Orchid Farm, Shawan Town, Panyu, Guangzhou, only uses soft plants, with sawdust mainly mixed with a small amount of husk; Wengyuan crane flower planting base uses peat soil + bark + perlite, the ratio is about 2:3:1, or stone + peanut shell + perlite, the ratio is about 3:3:1.

Fig. 3 Peat soil + bark + perlite

Fig. 4 Stone + peanut shell + perlite

Different cultivation substrates have different advantages. In actual production, orchid substrates should be selected according to the physiological characteristics of orchids and the environment of orchids, combined with personal experience.