Reflections on an experiment in semi-wild cultivation of orchids
Thoughts on experiments in semi-wild orchid cultivation
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is 2005, with only 9 days left until the Beginning of Spring (February 4). This is what orchid growers have long been waiting for; after years of admiring the leaves, the sacred moment of finally seeing the flowers bloom and release their fragrance has arrived. Especially when it comes to determining the identity of a new variety, who could fail to be excited? February is exactly when Cymbidium goeringii, Cymbidium tortisepalum, Cymbidium tortisepalum var. longibracteatum and Cymbidium sinense are blooming and releasing their subtle fragrance. Watching the lively scenes at orchid expos of all sizes, and watching exhibitors reveal expressions of anticipation and pride, how many people know the stories behind them? One orchid enthusiast hit the nail on the head: “Every orchid grower has had times when they paid tuition, it is just that the tuition paid differs.” How much bitter experience behind the scenes does this sentence reveal for so many orchid growers?
Indeed! In life, one only knows after learning; who is born knowing? If you walk the right path, you pay tuition in cultivation practice; if you stray, you will pay huge and especially heavy tuition in choosing famous varieties. Winners seize development opportunities; losers make wrong decisions. This is the panorama of the orchid world, and it should not be belabored in this article beyond this passing mention.
I. Leaving the city and going up the mountain
Society is progressing and technology is developing, yet at this critical moment in the development of Chinese orchids, recently there have been repeated reports of busybodies (particularly calculating people) replanting traditional famous varieties back into the mountains to “gild” them, letting these famous varieties receive the baptism of nature's wind, frost, snow and rain, fully displaying their wildness, and then bringing them back down the mountain when the time is right. This may be an innovation borrowed from white-collar workers going abroad to gild their resumes, appropriated by these particularly calculating people. Who implemented this innovation, where, and when, I am afraid no one can say clearly; perhaps the ancients did it too, but now it is being developed on a large scale. Varieties such as Cymbidium goeringii 'Song Mei', 'Ji Yuan', 'Long Zi', 'Wang Zi'; and Cymbidium faberi 'Cheng Mei', 'Ji Pin', 'Da Yi Pin'; they now legitimately go up the mountain, because there is a market! After being gilded for a few years and brought down the mountain with flowers, they become the finest of the fine. Looking at these rough leaf forms and incomplete flowers, their value suddenly multiplies, leaving those conventionally kept famous varieties “speechless and far behind”; of course “their” owners also sigh in admiration. After these famous varieties are gilded on the mountain and then lovingly cultivated by orchid lovers for 3-5 years, all the leaves are replaced, the plant shape becomes more and more elegant, and the flowers become more and more beautiful. Under these ever-improving conditions, they appear more and more like traditional famous varieties, and at this point the tuition has been paid!
Hehe! Such tuition is no small sum! Looking at years of painstaking cultivation, only to end up with a famous variety you already have at home, how could the buyer not be absolutely stunned! Under such lessons, many orchid enthusiasts stand up and loudly call out: “When selecting new flowers, pay special attention to varieties that have left the city and gone up the mountain; those without distinctive features must absolutely not be chosen, and especially those similar in flower form to some famous variety, be even more cautious.” The author sincerely thanks them; it is they who bore double pressure and stood up to voice this call for justice. Orchid friends, did you hear it?
“Leaving the city and going up the mountain” varieties, when will “you” give up this idea of “gilding”? Do “you” know that “you” have already created the highest form of new flowers? Since “your” frequent appearance, the vast number of orchid lovers have been at a loss, able only to fix their eyes on those truly distinctive new flowers. “You” are still creating story after story, and “your” beauty makes those new to the orchid path dizzy; they still willingly empty their wallets. When will “you” restrain that “one smile that topples a city” attitude, and let the orchid world have a bit more pure sky.
II. An experiment born of reflection
In view of the calls about “leaving the city and going up the mountain,” the author used a pot of the old cultivar Song Mei from a teacher, 14 plants in total, to do an experiment, to see what would happen to this Song Mei under extensive outdoor management. The original growing medium for this pot of Song Mei was 50% each of Ishi-ishi and Senduo granules, arranged in medium and small granules in sequence, cultivated in a first-floor courtyard, shaded in summer and brought indoors in winter. For this reason the author also discussed the matter with the orchid friend Qingxin, and Qingxin believed it would be very difficult to achieve the kind of effect of growing in the mountains.
No matter what, the author still insisted on giving it a try. The medium formula for the experimental pot of Song Mei was: 60% old medium left after repotting mixed with 20% wood shavings and 20% humus soil from rose cultivation, with old charcoal chunks at the bottom, a small amount of medium granules placed on top of the charcoal, and the rest entirely mixed granular medium, while adding 20 granules of the base fertilizer Zhixiang. It was planted in a 22 cm diameter clay pot, and the settling water was watered slowly. When the weather was relatively cold, it was placed on the balcony to recover; once it turned warmer, it was moved to the outdoor flower rack for cultivation.
The main purpose of this experiment was: to imitate outdoor wild cultivation, and also to see what the flowers of Song Mei would look like under such an environment. This pot of Song Mei is just for experimentation and will not be offered externally; the aim is to cultivate this leader of the plum-petal type into an especially large pot, so that it blooms on time every year, with good flower form! Award-winning flowers! More flowers.
In addition, through the subsequent baptism of wind, sun, rain, frost and beating, I want to see just how rough and wild this pot of Song Mei will become. At the same time, I also want to see whether under such an environment red spots will appear on the tongue of the rebloomed flowers (they have never appeared). Its placement is on the southern flower rack, managed the same as the expected downhill varieties.
Hehe! This is the author's first time taking out a pot of a famous variety for experimentation. Admittedly! Such imitation is not even 20% comparable to the mountain, but due to the author's environmental limitations this is all that can be done. The future growth of this pot of Song Mei will be tracked and reported in a timely manner.
Come! Orchid friends! Let us join hands and cooperate to develop a pair of fiery golden eyes, and let those who “leave the city and go up the mountain” just wait!
Author: Wan Yunkun of Jiangsu (Guoxiangju)