Orchid selection and breeding has its finer points; these six elements must be mastered well

1. Flower type: whether it is a true flower, and whether there is any falseness. When we see petal flowers on the mountain (or at a roadside stall), we must still distinguish carefully. If the flower is shrunken, thin, soft, withered, dim, lacking luster, not spreading out, and not spirited, then it may be a flower that, due to long drought without rain and dry air causing water loss, failed to open fully. We call this a "false" flower quality. "False flower quality" is mostly unstable; once planted and fully supplied with water, the petal base will rapidly elongate, greatly changing its original form, and when it blooms again it will be even harder to reproduce its beauty. Only flowers that open under moderate dry and wet conditions can be evaluated and selected. After long rain, I believe it is not a serious problem if the petal base is a little longer; as long as the form is good and the color beautiful, after potting and keeping it slightly dry during care, the petal base will no longer appear long when it blooms again. 

2. Bract shell: The bract shell is originally one of the important bases for judging flower quality. If the bract shell is a "rotten garment shell," even if a fairly good flower is seen for a time, I think it is still an accidental coincidence and absolutely difficult to remain stable. A good bract shell has "thickness," "hardness," and "length" all together. Only those that are both thick and glutinous, firm, long, bright, with vein lines running to the top, and from outside to inside one layer brighter and more beautiful than the next, can good flowers remain stable. Those with a "green close-fitting shell" will never revert to the ancient form and become ordinary. 

3. Puxin (the inner petals): If the petals show male characteristics, that is, the puxin has a white head and deep pouch, the flower type will inevitably be stable. The stronger the male characteristics, the more stable it is. The opposite is also true, and it is obvious. 

4. Characteristics of each part of the plant: Good-flower plants often have characteristics of a sudden sharp turn (but some plants with such characteristics do not necessarily produce good flowers). If a plant has no good characteristics at all yet produces a good flower, this is only a temporary stroke of luck. 

1. A lotus-petal flower plant should have roots that are round and well proportioned, and a pseudobulb that is large and full, shaped like a "pure vase"; the leaf sheath is high, thick and solid, concave inward or shaped like a "horseshoe," with the midrib strongly raised and the groove obvious, the veins running to the top; the inner leaves are upright, the outer leaves slanting, the marginal teeth coarse and even, the bract shell thick, long, pointed and hard, the central vein not raised, and the lip difficult to make round and large; the vein lines lack color, so the color is difficult to make bright. 

2. A pouch-petal plant should have roots that are even, fine and round, and a pseudobulb that is round and large, shaped like a "water chestnut"; the leaf sheath is straight and long, concave inward, firm and upright like a needle; some outer sheaths are even curled, with vein patterns running to the top, and compared with lotus petals they are finer and more subdued; the leaf blades are concave inward and sharply contracted to a point; the leaf texture is thick and glutinous, with veins running to the top like silver threads; the groove is deep, the marginal teeth fine and even, the plant form rigorous, with straight feet and drooping tails like a ring shape; there are also characteristics of upright leaves that are hard and thick, feeling moist, glutinous, soft and fine to the touch. 

3. Butterfly-petal and strange-flower plants should have fleshy roots with many branches, flourishing "dragon roots," and frequent "angular corners"; the pseudobulb is large and of varying shapes: some "ginger"-shaped, some "block"-shaped, some with buds growing between the leaves, some with buds growing at the top of the pseudobulb, and some with buds growing again from within buds; some have clusters of buds growing thickly, with leaf sheaths twisted in many ways, and the sheath tips often have colored tops or rice-like bead granules. The leaf blades are in a thousand postures; observe carefully, and how could there be no strange flowers? 

5. True or false flower color: When selecting color flowers collected from the mountain, one must look at both the front and back sides: if the front color is bright and the back is dark, this flower's color is hard to count as precious; if the flower changes color after being off the mountain for a long time, one must not fall in love at first sight; color that is pure and without mixture is true color, and only true color that is bright is precious. 

6. Flower fragrance has a true meaning: The two edges of the leaf blade are clearly seen, and the deeper the marginal teeth, the stronger the fragrance; a toothless Chunlan has a rich fragrance, and if there is falseness in it, one must find the reason; do not be careless and "pay tuition." Orchid varieties' new elites are endless, and famous flowers must have famous characteristics. In practice, observe much and discern much; through the cooperation of many elites, the truth is found.