Requirements for Culture Media of Orchid

Wild orchids grow in the mountains with shade, ventilation and no stagnant water, so the cultivation substrate requires aeration, softness, good leakage and slight acidity. The most commonly used outdoor cultivation is mud and flower soil.

Orchid mud refers to the soil attached to the rock concave on the mountain, which is made of plant leaves rotted by the wind and rain in the sun, and the soil is soft, aerated and slightly acidic. Jiangnan in China is used to digging orchid mud in Huaiji Mountain in Shaoxing, Yanwoling in Yuyao, Shiniushan in Fuyang, Baoshan in Hangzhou, Tongguanshan in Yixing, Junshan in Nantong and Yushan in Changshu. Before liberation, it was known as "a load of mashed flowers and a load of rice".

Weathered rock gravel soil can also be used as a cultivation base. Farmers in Cangyan Town, Shengzhou have used the gravel soil of the local Cangyan Mountain as the cultivation substrate. "Cangyan" has been cultivated with this soil for more than 100 years. Recently, some people use laterite brick, gravel and red mud as the basis for cultivation, while others use the soil with tufted weeds baked by fire to form crushed baked soil as the matrix. The above two kinds are combined with the characteristics of ventilation, water permeability and slight acid, and are rich in phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, which can be used as orchid cultivation substrate, but nitrogen fertilizer should be supplemented properly. In recent years, with the introduction of orchid cultivation in Hong Kong, Taiwan and abroad, indoor orchid cultivation has been greatly popularized. Therefore, water moss, perlite, volcanic alluvial stone, granular brick, granular immortal soil and granular peat are used as ideal substrates. Their greatest advantage is that it is convenient for water management.