Orchid planting material

The cultivation of orchids varies according to local customs. for example, in Guangdong, dried pond mud is often beaten into granular fragments, mountain mud is often used as orchid soil in Zhejiang, peat soil is mixed with some sand in Beijing, and in Wuhan, it is customary to plant orchids with cinder or burning soil for more than a year. Now, the above traditional methods have been gradually abandoned and non-soil substrates such as ceramsite, broken bricks, volcanic stone and charcoal have been used. These substrates have the advantages of good ventilation and drainage, no hardening and easy growth of blue roots, which makes the mud inferior to itself. Different materials have different advantages and disadvantages. Their properties and characteristics are briefly introduced as follows:

Alsophila spinulosa root, also known as snake wood, is a kind of plant trunk from the air root cut into thin strips of varying thickness. Alsophila spinulosa root has good drainage and is not perishable, so it is most suitable for growing orchids in rainy areas in the south. But the deficiency is easy to dry, easy to attract ants to build nests in it, which is not conducive to the growth of orchid roots.

Water moss-for peat moss sun-dried plant, its water absorption and water retention is very strong, should not be directly used as orchid, the orchid boundary often use water moss spread on the top of the orchid basin, in order to increase the humidity of the orchid plant. When the water moss is rotten, it will ooze extremely sour juice, affecting the growth of the orchid root, so it should be renewed in time.

Bark-including pine bark, longan bark, etc. The bark has good water absorption and drainage capacity, and is rich in organic nutrients, which is very beneficial to the growth of orchids. However, it is easy to rot and breed germs.

Gravel-including volcanic rocks, pumice, pebbles, red stones, ceramsite and so on. The gravel orchid has the advantages of good air permeability and many gaps, which makes the orchid root easy to stretch. However, the deficiency is the lack of nutrients and the easy loss after the application of water and fertilizer.

Charcoal particles-have adsorption and germicidal effect, good drainage and air permeability. Because of its alkalinity and lack of nutrients, it is generally mixed with other planting materials.

Broken bricks-good water absorption and air permeability, but easy to accumulate no base salt and breeding bacteria, which is not conducive to the growth of orchids. It is often mixed with other planting materials.

Rotten leaf soil-preferably the rotten leaf soil originally brought back by orchids, can also be artificially retted with rotten leaves. Rotten leaf soil has sufficient nutrients and good air permeability, which is the most suitable for orchid growth. But it has strong water retention and is easy to breed diseases and insect pests.

Pond mud-when used as a plant material, it is often broken into particles. The pond mud has moderate pH and sufficient nutrients, which is very beneficial to the early growth of orchids. However, after exposure to the sun and rain for a while, it will be loose and hardened, which is not conducive to root respiration and hinder the growth of orchid plants, so the plant material used as an orchid has been gradually eliminated, and more people use it with other substrates.

The ideal orchid plant material should have good drainage and air permeability, contain sufficient nutrients, not easy to rot or hardening and so on. In order to obtain this ideal plant material, it is necessary to prepare it by yourself. It is most suitable to use orchid with one part of rotten leaf soil mixed with sea pumice, or one part of Alsophila spinulosa root with broken brick or small gravel.