Cultivation of Cymbidium yunnanensis with rotten leaf soil

The special geographical conditions have formed the special climatic conditions for a wide variety of wild orchids in Yunnan. according to the investigation, there are more than 50 species of orchids all over the world and more than 20 species distributed in China. The species of orchids in Yunnan include almost all the recorded domestic orchids, some of which are endemic to Yunnan, and lotus orchids are the specialty treasures of Yunnan.

Lotus orchid is a widely influential variety with a long history of domestic cultivation in Yunnan (especially in western or northwest Yunnan). The flowers of the lotus petal orchid are like lotus flowers. Yunnan people call the lotus flowers lotus flowers, hence the name. The lotus petal orchid is called "Little Snow Orchid" among the Bai and Naxi ethnic groups, and the Taiwan orchid is called "Peyalan". Cymbidium is a typical genus of Cymbidium, which is terrestrial, with white, stout roots, 0.5cm-0.8cm in diameter and 20-30cm in length, some of which can reach more than 50cm and the roots are unbifurcated. The pseudobulb is small, with a height of 0.8-1.2cm and a width of 0.6-1.0cm, forming an ellipsoidal shape. The leaves of lotus petal orchid are generally 5-8, most are 7, few are more than 8, linear leaves are 40-50cm in length and 0.4-0.6cm in width, a few are above 0.7cm, the leaf edge is serrated, and the leaf base cross section is "v" type. The florescence is from December to March, with 2-4 flowers with a diameter of 5.5-6.0cm. There are red, yellow, light green, white and vegetarian varieties with rich fragrance. The variety of lotus petal orchid is easy to identify.

Lotus orchid mostly grows on the hillside between 1500 and 2500m above sea level, under pines, oaks and shrubs, especially on the hillside with more oak trees, where there is mostly loose rotten soil. From the wild environment of the lotus petal orchid, the lotus petal orchid likes the moist, ventilated, breathable, sufficient, moderate acid and alkali, overcast environment. In order to meet the above environmental requirements of lotus orchid, Yunnan orchid elders finally summed up the experience of cultivating lotus petal orchid with rotten soil through painstaking exploration.

The soil of cultivated orchid contains a lot of humus, loose and permeable, good drainage, moderate nutrients, neutral acid and alkali, no bacteria, and is the most ideal for insect pests, which is generally divided into organic plant material, inorganic plant material, soil plant material and so on. Yunnan orchid is widely used. Humus soil can be divided into humus soil and saprophytic soil, of which saprophytic soil is the best. The advantages of raising orchid with rotten leaf soil are breathable, drainage, sufficient, slight acid, easy to get and so on. It is recognized by Yunnan orchid farmers that rotten leaf soil is the "housekeeping soil" cultivated in Yunnan orchid.

Rotten leaf soil is the easiest to obtain. There are rotten leaf soil in most places with dense forest and grass, and there are many kinds of rotten leaf soil. The following are generally used in Yunnan:

The most commonly used is rotten oak leaf soil, which can be divided into yellow oak leaf soil and white oak leaf soil. Yellow oak leaf soil is better than white oak leaf soil, yellow oak leaf soil contains yellow oak, and orchid growth needs yellow quercetin most. Yellow oak leaf soil leaves back yellow leaves green, thick leaves, leaf edges with burrs. White oak leaf soil leaf back leaf surface green, leaf quality thin, leaf edge without burr.

The second is shrub rotten leaf soil. Shrub rotten leaf soil is a humus soil formed by decaying leaves in mixed mixed forest. This kind of humus soil belongs to mixed type and has comprehensive nutrition. Because the shrub rotten leaf soil is mixed, so the degree of decay is not the same, coupled with the thin and fragile leaves, it is easy to damage the langen when used. Due to the natural proportion, the drainage of mixed humus soil is not as good as that of oak leaf soil.

The third is rotten pine leaf soil. Rotten pine hairy leaf soil is a slightly acidic plant material, which is more conducive to the growth of lotus petal orchid, but it must be rotten to the degree of soft cotton, can not stab the hand, in order to prevent stabbing the orchid root, nutrition is also insufficient.

The fourth is other rotten leaf soil. Such as rotten willow leaf soil, rotten grass leaf soil, rotten bamboo leaf soil, crushing rotten leaf soil and so on. This kind of soil is not easy to obtain and can only be formed by artificial decay.

The cultivation of lotus petal orchid in Yunnan is mainly yellow rotten oak leaf soil.

Rotten leaf soil is produced in the natural environment, there are many pathogens and pests, and there are many physical injuries, so special care should be taken when using it.

First of all, the pH of the orchid should be tested. The ph value of 5.5-7.0is the most suitable for orchid growth. If over-acid can add appropriate amount of lime; such as over-alkali, add ferrous sulfate, calcium superphosphate and so on.

The second is disinfection. The methods of disinfection are: exposure to the sun for more than three days, steam at 100 degrees for more than an hour, low temperature treatment for about a week and drug disinfection.

After the above treatment, the rotten leaf soil can be used to plant lotus petal orchid.

The lotus petal orchid cultivated with rotten leaf soil is also managed and maintained by suitable methods. It is mainly water management and fertilization management. Water management is the most important link in the whole process of orchid cultivation. The mode of water supply varies with season, air temperature, sunshine, basin, ventilation and other conditions. Generally, the combination of whole bubble and foliar spraying is adopted. When the rotten leaf soil is dry, the basin is placed in water, the water surface is about 3-4cm lower than the edge of the basin, soaking for 2-4 hours, and foliar spraying is usually carried out every 3-4 days. It is better to make sure that the leaf surface is just wet with water, and do not pour water into the leaf teeth. Soaking in winter and spring should be carried out before sunrise and after sunset in summer and autumn. Fertilization management is not an important link for rotten leaf soil to raise lotus petal orchid. Rotten leaf soil because of comprehensive and adequate nutrition, generally does not need separate fertilization, in Yunnan generally 1-2 years to change the rotten leaf soil is enough to supply orchid nutrients. If the pursuit of orchid domestication is stronger, more beautiful and longer than natural growth, fertilizers based on nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements can be applied, but fertilization must be light, because the rotten leaf soil is fertile and lotus petal orchids do not need too much fertilizer.

I hope all orchids will cultivate beautiful lotus petals with strong flowers!

Zhou Yaoxian

Yunnan Kunming Kunming Iron and Steel Group Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.

Zyaox@ynmail.com