What are the common methods for growing orchids?

The orchid is a very beautiful ornamental flower. When it blooms, it gives off a faint delicate fragrance, and it looks very elegant as a whole, making it deeply loved by gardening enthusiasts. Since ancient times, the orchid has been favored by scholars and writers; whether writing poetry or painting, they often mention the orchid. Today let us take a look at what are the common methods for growing orchids?

The common method for growing orchids is container cultivation. Nowadays, growing orchids in home containers is popular and can serve to accent the environment.

1. Choosing the orchid plant

Growing an orchid in a pot versus an orchid growing in the wild involves a great difference in its living environment. Its wild nature is restrained, and its growing space is limited. After a potted orchid has been domesticated and raised well, its leaves can generally be one-half to one-third shorter than when it was first dug up.

2. Planting

Potted orchids should be grown by simulating the habits of wild orchids. Wild orchids like to grow under the shade of trees, where they can receive scattered light, in warm, moist places, and these places must not have standing water. Orchids are almost never found in mountain gullies.

When planting an orchid in a pot, you need to choose an orchid pot with holes in the bottom and use a loose, breathable growing medium. Do not plant it directly in soil; use a granular growing medium for planting, such as pine needles, leaves, and bark mixed with gravel. After planting, do not repot it frequently.

3. Fertilizing

Not fertilizing is not acceptable, but fertilizing too much or heavily is even worse. For example, when a new orchid is potted, if the potting soil is too rich, it often cannot survive; even if it survives, it rarely blooms. If there is too much summer fertilizer, the autumn leaves tend to grow too vigorously, often causing poor leaf growth and blooming the following spring. If there is too little autumn fertilizer, it affects the formation of underground flower buds at the turn of autumn and winter. If there is usually too much nitrogen fertilizer, the leaves grow too lushly, causing an imbalance between the nutrients for leaf and flower growth, and the phenomenon of not blooming or blooming little will occur. Generally speaking, when new leaf buds emerge, a small amount of mild fertilizer can be applied several times. Fertilizing according to leaf color is a more appropriate approach: if the leaves look yellow and thin, it is a lack of fertilizer and a top dressing should be applied; if they are dark and the leaf tips are scorched, it is too much fertilizer and fertilizing should be stopped. Fertilizer must be fully decomposed; undecomposed fertilizer cannot be used, and human feces and urine are taboo.

4. Watering

Practice has proved that for orchids, eight parts dry and two parts moist is best. During the flowering period and the period when leaf buds are sprouting, water less. During the plum rain season, they should be moved back indoors, or a shed should be set up to shelter them from rain. In summer, water in the early morning or evening, and not too much; in autumn, the amount of watering can be appropriately increased. In dry seasons, mist every evening. When misting, spray upward so that the mist droplets are fine and even, moistening the leaf surface and dampening the ground to increase air humidity. Sometimes it is best to mist several times a day. When watering, water from the edge of the pot; do not pour it straight down onto the top, and do not water at noon. In winter, although watering can be greatly reduced, it is not that you do not water at all. Be careful not to let the potting soil dry out completely. At the end of winter and the beginning of spring, if watering causes the leaf blades and leaf sheaths to become wet along their length, wait until they dry in the sun before moving them indoors, so as to avoid rot.

5. Placement location

The place where orchids are placed is very important, as it directly affects the growth and development of the orchids. Orchids are generally placed outdoors in spring, summer, and autumn (in summer, placed in a shaded spot outdoors), and placed indoors in winter. Outdoors, it is best to have open space on all sides and moist air. Indoors, there must be sufficient light, preferably facing south. This is favorable for orchid growth. The orchid pot is best placed on a wooden stand or a table, not on the ground.