The controversy over the selection and purchase of Xiashan orchids

Carry forward the national orchid culture and spread the knowledge of orchids

All orchid lovers want to have a few novel varieties. Although increasingly modern science and technology offer broad prospects for this, it is by no means easy for any individual; even for scientific research institutions, the results are like morning stars. Therefore, people often pin their hopes on the lower mountain orchid. The wild orchid collected from the mountain forest, which is called "green grass" in some places, has always been the source of people's breeding of novel varieties. In China, not only the traditional inscriptions that have been famous for hundreds of years are all the same, but there are few exceptions to the exotic flowers that have been in the limelight in local orchid exhibitions in recent years. This is the gift of nature to human beings. Looking back on the experience of Nanchong Lanyou in breeding Xiashan Orchid for more than 20 years, I have a lot of feelings. In the meantime, there is the joy of success. There is also the bitterness of failure. We think it is necessary to reflect and sum up this in order to minimize mistakes and minimize "tuition fees" in the future.

First, to see the flowers to choose and buy. The unity of price and value is a common sense in the commodity society, and this is the truth of the so-called "every penny for every penny". Individual orchid vendors also take advantage of this reason, often in the flower season to choose leaves and famous products are very similar to the mountain orchid to sell, saying how good its flowers are, and raising the price too high. Asked why this is so, the answer is: "cheap without good goods, good goods are not cheap!" Obviously, this is more deceptive than the trick of spelling and cheating and selling "famous flowers" cheaply. The author bought a bunch of Qi Ye Chunlan from a peddler in Fenggang, Guizhou Province in July the year before last, which was loved by everyone at that time. The orchid peddler solemnly called it a multi-petal strange flower that he had seen with his own eyes, and if the compound flower did not match, he guaranteed to return it. After more than half a year of careful management and waiting, this orchid is a very ordinary flower. Naturally, the orchid peddler never showed up in this city again. Experience must be bought. From then on, whenever the orchid peddler bragged about how good the mountain orchid was, our attitude was: if there is a flower, there is no flower.

Second, don't rush for success. The lesson makes us smarter step by step. Whenever we encounter expensive strange flowers down the mountain, we always examine them carefully and meticulously with the help of a magnifying glass. It is also prudent to choose and buy strange flowers that do not have any hands and feet to see whether they are stable and have the potential for development. Generally speaking, the lower orchids, multi-petaled and few-petaled flowers in the southwestern provinces are the most unstable, while a few of the more stable ones are characterized by either no nose (that is, the core column) or a large variation of the nose (for example, flattened). The stability of butterfly is similar to that of multi-petal. The stability of colored flowers is also poor, which is estimated to be related to temperature, light and the lack of some trace elements in the plant materials used. Because of the weak seedlings, some types of complex flowers are not ideal for the first time, but the color and appearance of the flowers are as good as before after rejuvenation. As for petal flowers, the more stable ones are those with hard sticks, such as plum petals or plum-shaped daffodils. In short, no matter what kind of flowers you choose to buy, you should keep a normal mind, be eager for quick success and quick profit, and buy it as soon as you see it. Once you choose and buy, even if the compound flower is not ideal, do not easily deal with it or discard it.

Third, do not follow the clues to find. Over the past 20 years of reform and opening up, many orchid elites have compiled and published many orchid monographs with both pictures and texts, which have played a great guiding role in improving the appreciation level of orchid friends. Many orchid lovers use it as a basis for judging and buying "dumb" grass down the mountain. However, due to the limitations of many factors, such as region, environment, climate, soil and water, and historical conditions, it is impossible for these monographs to be "universally applicable". Taking the Orchid written by Shen Yinchun and his son as an example, the method of selecting Cymbidium according to the foot shell, which is popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, may be tried and tested in many places, but it is not completely applicable to some varieties produced in the southwest. If you blindly copy books when choosing and buying. The result can be imagined.

Fourth, abstain from chasing the wind and waves. A few years ago, Chunlan crystal leaves and "swallow tail" grass produced in Guizhou once became popular in the local orchid city, because they may produce crystal flowers and strange flowers. Objectively speaking, such a good thing does happen, but the probability is very low. As a matter of fact, it is very difficult to find crystals on the vast majority of the leaves of the orchids blooming in this city, while the flowers of the orchids covered with crystals on some leaves are very common. In addition, "dovetail" grass, the probability of strange flowers is slightly higher, but the leaves are completely similar and those who travel are not unique. The reason is the same as "tangerine is born in Huainan as orange and Huaibei as trifoliate orange". Therefore, in the selection and purchase of downhill "dumb" grass, if you do not know the origin and dialectical place, it is inevitable to ask "orange" to get "trifoliate orange" and eat its bitter fruit. Of course, in the purchase of downhill "dumb" grass harvest quite a lot of people, but to achieve its superb level of appreciation is not a day's work. As an ordinary orchid lover, do not deliberately pursue the new and seek novelty. If the economic conditions permit, it is best to go to the credibility and strength of the Orchid Garden to buy, this is the best solution.

Fifth, refuse to buy seedlings. As early as ten years ago, some media disclosed and criticized the phenomenon of orchid seedlings sold in bags and cars in Orchid City, but with little effect. Many people of insight are saddened by this foolish move. But up to now, the seedlings on Lanshi have not become extinct. However, with the sharp decline of wild orchid resources, the number of wild orchids on the market is getting smaller and smaller. It is precisely because of this that some seedlings that do not grow as large as grains of rice are not immune. It is self-evident how the survival rate of seedlings like this kind of seedlings, which are not strong and damaged during excavation and transportation, is self-evident. It is gratifying to note that in view of the phenomenon of indiscriminate mining and excessive digging, many governments at all levels in the main orchid producing areas have taken a series of administrative measures to prohibit it. As a commodity, as long as there is a sales market, mining and trafficking will be banned. If local orchid associations actively cooperate with local government departments to strengthen the publicity of the protection of orchid resources, and take effective measures to organize the majority of members and orchid enthusiasts to start from their own, refuse to buy seedlings, the effect will be better. It is not difficult to predict that there will be no sales market for orchid seedlings, that is, when wild orchid resources will be effectively protected.

Orchids, you are a good teacher on the way to raise orchids.