How to distinguish the strength and weakness of bluegrass

Recently, some orchid friends asked how to distinguish the strength and weakness of the green clouds of Chunlan traditional inscriptions, and thought that the problem involved many aspects, so he sent this article and discussed it.

The strength of orchid grass is very important to the future growth of the orchid. Strong grass not only has many seedlings, but also mostly belongs to large grass, which has strong disease resistance and is not easy to catch disease, so it is easy to see flowers, while the rejuvenation of weak grass takes time, and some even take several years. Daily care also needs careful care. Therefore, people should always choose strong grass when buying orchids, and it is normal that there is a big price difference between strong and weak grass in the market.

So how to judge the strength of bluegrass? According to the growth law of orchids, the experience summed up by our predecessors, and our practice of orchid cultivation, we can judge from the appearance of orchids, that is, roots, false bulbs and leaves. The root of orchid not only plays the role of fixing orchid grass, but also absorbs nutrients and water in the cultivation substrate, so the integrity of orchid root is a prerequisite for the healthy growth of orchid. In general, orchids have relatively obvious pseudobulbs (except that some species of pseudobulbs are not obvious, such as Cymbidium Chunjian, etc.), it is the place to store the substances needed for the growth of orchids, and the larger pseudobulbs store relatively more materials. therefore, the size of the pseudobulb of orchid is directly related to the strength of orchid grass. The leaves of orchids play a role in photosynthesis and have the ability of respiration and transpiration, which is the carrier of physiological activities of orchids, so the state of leaves of orchids is the ultimate embodiment of the strength of orchids.

The orchid is planted in the pot, and the orchid root and false bulb are buried in the plant material, so it is impossible for us to look at the growth state of the orchid root and false bulb at will. Therefore, in the usual management or purchase of orchids, the only way to judge the strength of orchids is from the growth state of bluegrass leaves. Generally speaking, we can observe and judge from four aspects: the length of orchid leaves, the width of orchid leaves, the number of orchid leaves and the base of orchids.

First, judge from the length of leaves.

The leaf length of orchids varies from species to varieties, some species can be as long as more than 70 centimeters, while others are only more than ten centimeters long. According to the law of orchid growth, the length of mature leaves of a specific variety of orchid is always within a certain range, so we can judge the strength of the orchid according to the leaf length of the orchid grass, that is to say, the closer to or beyond the upper limit of the range, the more fully the orchid grows, the stronger the orchid appears; on the contrary, the orchid is relatively weaker if it is closer to or lower than the lower limit of this range. For example, in the case of Chunlan traditional inscription green cloud, its leaf length is generally between 15--20CM, the closer to or more than 20CM, the stronger the green cloud is; the closer or smaller it is to 15CM, the weaker it is.

From the above, when we choose and buy or cultivate a certain orchid, we should know the range of the leaf length of the orchid as the basis to judge the strength of the orchid. However, the leaf length of bluegrass varies with the planting environment and management methods, for example, the leaves of wet shady grass will be longer than those of dry grass, and the leaves of nitrogen fertilizer will be longer than those of phosphorus fertilizer, and the former is not stronger than the latter. At the same time, it needs to be reminded that at present, many people have applied some hormone drugs in orchid planting for different purposes, resulting in abnormal leaf length of orchids. This kind of orchids will bring some difficulties in future cultivation and management. We must be careful to use and distinguish.

Therefore, when we judge the strength of orchid by its leaves, we should also pay attention to identify the planting environment and management methods of this kind of orchid, especially those who use hormone drugs. If it can not be identified, it can be judged according to the leaf width of bluegrass.

Second, judge from the width of the leaf.

Like the leaf length of orchids, the leaf width of orchids varies with different orchids and varieties, and the width can be more than 2CM, such as some varieties of Cymbidium or Jianlan or Han Cymbidium, and only 0.5CM is narrow, such as some varieties of Cymbidium, Lotus petal or Cymbidium. The width of the leaves of a specific variety of orchids is always within a certain range, and the side leaves are usually wider than the heart leaves. We know that the main function of plant leaves is to carry out photosynthesis. the wider the leaves of a certain variety of orchids are, the larger the leaf surface area is, the stronger the ability of photosynthesis is, the stronger their physiological activity is, and the stronger the natural growth is. Such as the Chunlan Mingpin green cloud mentioned above, its leaf width is generally between 0.6--1CM, if the width is closer to or even more than 1CM, it means that the green cloud is stronger, and vice versa.

Therefore, the leaf width of the orchid should be one of the important criteria for us to select and judge the strength of the orchid. When we buy or plant a variety of orchids, we should first know the width range of the leaves of the orchid in order to effectively judge the strength of the orchid. If it is impossible to know the leaf width of orchids that you want to buy or cultivate, and it is difficult to judge the strength of the orchid by this method, then we can also judge according to the number of leaves per seedling of orchid.

Third, judge from the number of leaves.

The number of leaves here especially refers to the number of leaves per seedling of orchids, which is also limited by orchid species and varieties, that is, the range of leaves of each seedling varies with orchids, some orchids have more than ten leaves, some have only three or four. In the cultivation practice, we can see that the leaf number of most species of orchids has been formed in the unearthed period of orchid buds, and only a few orchids such as spring and cymbidium will continue to pull out new leaves in the future. Generally speaking, the number of leaves of orchids is congenitally generated, which is determined by the strength of the previous generation of grass, that is, the stronger the grass of the previous generation, the more the number of new grass leaves, so it provides a basis for us to judge the strength of orchids, that is, the more leaves per seedling of orchids, the stronger the orchid is, and vice versa. Still take Lvyun as an example, its leaves generally have 4 Murray 6, of course, 6 are stronger than 4.

However, it is precisely because the number of orchid leaves is congenital, we should also pay attention to the acquired growth of the orchid, that is, the growth of new grass. Sometimes, although there are more leaves of new grass, the width and length of leaves are not as long as that of old grass because of the later management; sometimes there are not many leaves of new grass, but due to the acquired management of water, fertilizer and light, the width and length of leaves exceed that of old grass. It goes without saying that the latter is stronger than the former.

Therefore, when we judge the strength of orchids by the number of orchid leaves, we must not only understand the scope of the number of orchid leaves, but also consider its acquired management, that is, combined with other conditions of new grass. In addition to the above methods, we can also judge the strength of orchids from the growth of the base of leaves.

Fourth, judge from the base of the leaf.

From the structure of the orchid, we know that the leaves of the orchid grow in bundles at the top of the pseudobulb, arranged in one word, and there is a sheath leaf at the base, that is, the carapace. From the growth process of orchid, we can also observe that the carapace of the general new grass clings tightly at the seedling stage, and the leaf base is arranged tightly. After maturity, the carapace begins to separate to both sides, and the leaf base begins to loose. If the surface basin soil is poured out at this time, it can be seen that the new grass pseudo-bulb buried in the plant material has begun to expand, while the base of the weak seedling grass has not been loosely separated for a long time. Therefore, it is very effective for us to judge the strength of the orchid by the growth of the leaf base of the orchid. Specifically, if it is a new grass bud stage or seedling stage, we require its base to be broad and thick, indicating that the congenital nutrient accumulation is better, generally more leafy grass; if it is old grass or mature new grass, we have to see whether its leaf base is separated enough. The more separated it is, the bigger the false bulb is, and the stronger the orchid is.

Using the above methods to judge the strength of orchids is relatively easy to be intuitive and effective, but there are still some situations that need to pay attention to differences. The carapace of some orchid species is relatively low, and the leaf base of the new grass begins to separate relatively early. for example, the carapace begins to separate to both sides soon after the new buds of the traditional Chunlan green cloud are unearthed, and the leaf base is looser, which does not mean that the pseudobulb has begun to expand, but its strength can still be judged by whether its base is broad or thick. In addition, we should also pay attention to the difference between the leaf base of the broad-leaf species and the fine-leaf species, the leaf base of the broad-leaf species is also relatively broad, and the base of the fine-leaf species is relatively narrow.

To sum up, in the selection and purchase or cultivation of orchids, we should pay attention to observe the growth status of the leaf base of the orchid, from which we can generally judge the strength of the orchid. If we combine the length, width and number of orchid leaves, we can accurately judge whether the orchid is strong or not.