Why is humidity more critical during orchid care?

Author: Xianqing Yizhi

    In the past I posted the orchids I grow for everyone to admire, and many orchid friends asked me through different means what potting medium, fertilizer, and so on I use. At the time I also thought my potting medium and fertilizer might be different from those of other orchid friends, so I answered them one by one. Now, on closer look, I realize the potting medium and fertilizer are actually nothing special (Zhijinshi, Huoshaoyuan, Xiantu), and other orchid friends use different potting media (peanut shells, leaf mold, tree leaves, coal cinders, and so on) and still grow very good orchids. So far I have concluded that in an environment with good ventilation, the main factors are sunlight and humidity.

      "Orchids originally grow in mixed mountain woodland, moistened by rain, mist and dew, and also by the transpiration of abundant moisture from the ground. The upper and lower surfaces of orchid leaves are drier only for three or four hours in the afternoon within a whole day and night, while from evening until noon the next day they are moist. Growing in such an environment over the long term, orchids have developed a habit of loving moisture. When air humidity is low, the leaves are rough and lack luster; when it is too dry, the leaf margins curl back and the leaf texture is thin. If air humidity is insufficient during the growing period, the leaves are small and thin, growth is poor, dehydration occurs... and so on. Keep the air humidity required by orchids during the growing period as much as possible, to benefit sprouting and flowering the following year..." (the above is excerpted from *Chinese Orchid Cultivation and Appreciation*).

      Before growing orchids I heard people say that any flower is easy to grow, and only orchids are hard to keep, but at the time I do not know where my confidence came from. I thought that as long as the growing conditions matched the orchid's environment, growing orchids should be no problem. With this confidence, right when I started growing them I bought several seedlings at tens of thousands of yuan per seedling (though the drop in orchid prices caused me losses, the healthy growth of the orchids benefited me greatly). Now the facts have proved it so.

    Especially in a southeast-facing balcony growing spot, sunlight is ample, and the only shortfall is humidity. For this reason I added artificial humidification equipment to make up for the humidity, so that the environment is relatively fully suited to orchid growth. In two and a half years of growing orchids, my greatest gain is not only that no orchid has ever sickened or died (orchids I carelessly bought that had been resold also did very well), but also that the orchids are relatively robust, winning praise from many orchid friends, which makes me gratified and proud...

    Some new orchid friends think that misting my orchids also increases humidity, right? Actually this is a misunderstanding. The humidity in the air gives moisture to orchid leaves. You should understand this habit of orchids: "they love moisture but fear wetness."

     Whether you grow them for appreciation or as merchandise, in order to grow your orchids better, please match the orchid's environment. Let the orchids like your environment.