The choice of soil

The traditional cultivation of orchids in China mostly uses loose, soft and unbonded humus soil. This kind of soil, commonly known as orchid mud, is rich in soil in the Lanshan area. When digging, first remove the surface moss and weeds, select a few inches of thick mud layer, or dig from the cliff rocks and stone gaps. This kind of mud is small in quantity, but of good quality. If the geographical conditions are limited, this kind of good humus soil can not be found for a while, and it can also be prepared by mixing mature green manure and oil meal with loose soil or field soil or sand in nearby mountainous areas. However, it can not be used in saline-alkaline and heavy clayey soil.

1. Humus soil is commonly known as orchid source or mountain mud. It is weakly acidic, muddy and loose, with brown, black and black as the best color, and less with exhausted color or purple-red color. No matter what color it is, it is better to have loose texture and fast water release. If the mud is too fine like powder, after receiving water, it is easy to cause cracks in the mud layer on the basin surface or a gap between the mud layer and the basin wall (commonly known as shelling), this kind of fine soil is not ideal. Of course, no matter what kind of mud, through the use, can break its advantages and disadvantages. High-quality blue mud is not available in the whole mountain, the most ideal one can be selected from the clump of orchid grass. Transport back to the blue mud first spread out on the ground, let the sun shine, and turn layer by layer for several days, to achieve disinfection and germicidal effect. Then sift through the fine screen and pick out the bits and pieces of tree roots, weeds and fine stones floating on the mud. The soil under the sieve and the fine mud stored in the sieve are stored in the indoor tank respectively, not to be drenched by rain.

Humus is expensive because of its high price. It is mainly used to cultivate fine orchids. According to the nature of spring orchid like to moisten slightly, it is appropriate to use a little fine mud to plant it. The cymbidium is dry and can be planted in slightly thicker soil. As for other types of orchids, because of the strong air permeability, the root system is sturdy and developed, and the mud is thicker.

2. Cow dung soil is made by crushing the fermented dry cow dung into sandy soil or field soil and preparing it at the proportion of 1:3. It is best to choose cow dung that eats dry feed in winter, because after the hay is regurgitated, although the fiber is fine, it is still elastic, and it is plant fiber, which contains certain nutrients. This kind of cow dung soil is soft and fat, which is very suitable for the good habits of Langen.

3. The soil under the bamboo bushes for many years. The soil contains many semi-rotten fine bamboo roots, which are slightly acidic. This soil is loose and breathable, strong drainage and low fertility, so it is very suitable for the cultivation of orchids.

4. Weathered rocks are often used in Japan to break into weathered rocks of different diameters as pot materials. The grain at the bottom of the basin is larger and smaller, and the top of the basin is the thinnest. The weathered rock itself has many pores, can absorb part of the water, and the particles are well drained and breathable. Therefore, potted orchids are also very successful.

5. Bryophytes can be potted with moss alone or adding some granular broken bricks and so on. The moss should be white and dry, but the quality of the moss is poor if it is dusty and tea-brown. The ventilation and water absorption of moss are good, so it is beneficial to the growth of roots and buds, but the moss itself lacks nutrition, and the water absorption capacity decreases and the air permeability becomes worse with the increase of use time. Therefore, the amount of watering must be strictly controlled, otherwise it will easily lead to root rot. Usually moss should not be used for more than 1 year. If you can mix moss and charcoal, broken bricks or fern roots, you don't have to change the pot material every year, and it can be extended to about two years.

Broken bricks and tiles are indispensable pot bottom fillers for potted orchids, and can be used alone, usually choose relatively soft red bricks, broken into particles of different sizes, 0.3-1.5 cm in diameter, stored separately. When the sharp edges and corners of the fragments are removed during processing, the broken bricks and tiles themselves have many small pores that can absorb water.

Orchids are adaptable plants, as long as they are cultivated without stagnant water and spoil the roots of orchids, all kinds of soils with low fertility can survive. (song Shi)