How do you grow Dendrobium nobile, a plant of the "Epidendreae" tribe? What are the planting methods?

Dendrobium nobile is also called Wanzhangxu, Jinchaishi, Bianjinchai, Bianhuangcao, Biancao, and so on. It is a perennial herbaceous plant and also a type of Dendrobium. The environment in which Dendrobium nobile grows is extremely harsh; perhaps the harsher the test, the more it can cultivate pure mastery.Therefore, Dendrobium nobile grown from rocks has extremely high medicinal value and is praised among the people as the “first of China's nine great immortal herbs”, “gold among medicines”, and other fine titles.How is Dendrobium nobile planted? What are the planting methods? What efficacies and effects does it have?

I. How is Dendrobium nobile planted? What are the planting methods?

1. Container: choose a flower pot with a slightly larger opening and holes at the bottom or around the sides, requiring good air permeability and good drainage.

2. Substrate: use coarser large stones or bricks as the bottom layer to facilitate drainage and air permeability; use smaller stones or crushed bricks for the middle layer, choosing materials with relatively good water absorption as much as possible, such as ceramsite, orchid stone, and crushed bricks; use well-fermented pine bark for the top layer.

3. Planting: when planting Dendrobium, be careful not to bury the stems of the seedlings in the substrate as much as possible; it is enough for the substrate to cover most of the roots, and water thoroughly after planting.

4. Fertilizing: spread orchid-specific slow-release fertilizer evenly around the roots of the Dendrobium, then cover it with a small amount of bark, and water once more.

5. After planting is completed, place the potted Tiepi Dendrobium in a well-ventilated, semi-shaded environment, such as a windowsill with good light, a balcony without direct sunlight, or inside a shade shed.

Note: when the environment for potted Dendrobium is an open environment, the Dendrobium should always be placed under large-leaved plants on the balcony; the large-leaved plants shade the Dendrobium from overly strong light. The grower usually only waters and has never applied pesticide; the fertilizer is the slow-release fertilizer added at planting, and later some additional Magamp K fertilizer was added. In rainy weather, new buds of Dendrobium grow rapidly; on sunny days with high temperature and low humidity, new buds of Dendrobium grow slowly. Routine management is simply watering several times a day on sunny days.

II. The efficacies and effects of Dendrobium nobile

1. Anti-aging, improving immunity

Dendrobium nobile can significantly increase the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduce lipid peroxide (LPO), regulate the level of brain monoamine neurotransmitters, and inhibit monoamine oxidase-like (MAO) activity, thereby playing a role in delaying aging. In recent years, the much-noticed Dendrobium polysaccharides also have significant immune-enhancing activity and multiple effects such as anti-aging and anti-radiation. The Chinese patent medicines and health products already developed are deeply favored by people, such as Tiepi Fengdou Jing, Shihu San, Qingyan Ning, Yichang Tang, Shihu Lu, Shihu Jing, Yangyin Koufuye, and Shihu Pian. The “Fengdou” or “Earring Dendrobium” processed from Tiepi Dendrobium is called “golden earrings” and “golden Fengdou”, and sells well in Southeast Asia as well as Europe and America.

2. Promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, improving cardiovascular and cerebrovascular function

Dendrobium nobile contains ester components and has effects such as promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, dilating blood vessels, and resisting platelet aggregation, and treating thromboangiitis obliterans, cerebral thrombosis, and arteriosclerotic occlusion. Mailuoning Injection, extracted and processed from medicinal materials such as Dendrobium and honeysuckle, has functions such as clearing heat and nourishing yin, and promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.

3. Anti-tumor

The phenanthrene and bibenzyl compounds extracted from Dendrobium nobile have effects against lung cancer, ovarian adenocarcinoma, and promyelocytic leukemia. They can promote T cell growth and the production of inhibitory factors by lymphocytes, thereby enhancing immunity. The ethyl acetate extract of Dendrobium nobile has significant cytotoxic effects on human lung cancer cells, human ovarian adenocarcinoma cells, and human promyelocytic leukemia. It has an especially strong inhibitory effect on lung cancer cells, with an inhibition rate as high as 74.7%-97.2%.

4. Treating digestive system diseases

Dendrobium nobile has an excitatory effect on the intestinal tract and can increase the amplitude of contractions. Pharmacological tests show that oral Dendrobium decoction can promote gastric juice secretion and help digestion. Dendrobine has a similar but weaker effect than fluoxetine, and Dendrobium extract can stimulate contraction of small intestinal smooth muscle and promote gastrointestinal peristalsis. Dendrobium has a unique and satisfactory effect on chronic atrophic gastritis.

5. Treating eye diseases

Dendrobium has a clear therapeutic effect on eye diseases. It not only inhibits galactose-induced cataract but also has a certain therapeutic effect, with a lens preservation rate of 36.8%. In treating cataract, it has an inhibitory and corrective effect on abnormal changes in enzyme activity caused by galactose, and can also prevent or correct the imbalance in the ratio of total lipids to total cholesterol in the lens caused by galactose-induced cataract.