How to choose orchid potting medium? Let's talk about all things orchid potting medium

Potting medium is one of the staple foods of orchids and the foundation of growing them. With a good potting medium, more than half the battle of orchid growing is already won, so its importance goes without saying. Orchid growers all place great importance on and pay close attention to potting medium, yet their assessments of it differ widely - each side has its own reasons, as the saying goes. Their choices of potting medium are extremely varied - like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displaying their own special powers. Today's potting media range from hard to soft, from large to small, from traditional to modern, offering a dazzling array - a full range of categories with everything imaginable.

        No matter what kind of potting medium it is, and no matter what characteristics it has, all potting media share the common pattern of changing after absorbing water from wet - moist - damp - dry - parched. From this common pattern of change after potting medium absorbs water, it is easy to evaluate and judge the differences and quality of potting media.

        A potting medium that I consider good should have two longs and one short. The cycle of change from wet to parched should be long, the time from moist to damp to dry should be long, and the time from wet to moist should be short. If the two longs are long, then the damp period is also long, making the potting medium excellent; otherwise, the potting medium is poor.

        For a potting medium to meet good standards, it should possess five characteristics:

        First, granular structure. Regardless of the size of the potting medium, even the very finest particles must be granular. The granules must be naturally or spontaneously formed and will not dissolve after watering, so that the medium stays loose and breathable.

        Second, water absorption must be fast. A completely dry potting medium should be able to absorb water quickly and evenly. After potting, there should be no water channels, no situation of wet outside but dry inside, or wet top but dry bottom, and dry cultivation can be practiced.

        Third, drainage must be fast. After the potting medium is fully saturated with water, the excess water must be able to drain out quickly to meet the requirement of a short wet-to-moist transition time. Watering also becomes simple, and orchids no longer fear rain.

        Fourth, water retention must be good. Whether the water retention performance of a potting medium is good or bad determines the quality of the potting medium. If the water retention performance is good, the time from moist to damp to dry will be longer.

        Fifth, it must have natural nutrients, trace elements and minerals, etc.

        A potting medium that simultaneously possesses all five characteristics can only be found in soil. Since I began growing orchids, I have been searching painstakingly - going to the mountains to look for orchids, visiting orchid farmers to see their orchids, and calling on orchid friends to view their orchids. Apart from orchids, it was always the potting medium that caught my attention. I paid attention everywhere and expended great effort, yet still wore out iron shoes in a fruitless search. In the autumn of 2003, after my orchid friend accidentally discovered "Lazy Man's Soil," I felt as if I had found a priceless treasure - truly, what you seek far and wide comes easily when you least expect it. Lazy Man's Soil is truly magical, possessing the five characteristics of a good potting medium. After sifting out the powder with a 60-mesh sieve, this soil consists entirely of granular structures of varying sizes. The granules do not dissolve in water and are extremely loose and breathable. After the potted soil dries, a hand can be inserted into the orchid pot. Very dry Lazy Man's Soil absorbs water quickly, making a squeaking sound as it absorbs. Watching Lazy Man's Soil absorb water in a transparent cup, the water level drops layer by layer, with a clear boundary between dry and wet, and the absorption is very even. Watching Lazy Man's Soil absorb water is itself a pleasure. After Lazy Man's Soil is fully saturated, no matter how much water you pour, it drains out very quickly. Its wet-to-moist transition time is about 3 to 4 hours, comparable to granular potting media. Lazy Man's Soil has particularly excellent water retention, and the damp state lasts a long time. During the high-temperature summer period, small pots grown with Lazy Man's Soil are watered once every 7 to 8 days, while others are watered once every 10 days or more. Lazy Man's Soil is humus soil, with natural nutrients, trace elements and minerals. Lazy Man's Soil has another characteristic: not a single blade of grass grows in it - truly a wondrous soil. Now I use Lazy Man's Soil exclusively for planting orchids, with no need for fertilizing and no need for spraying. It is simple and easy, the orchids grow well, and I enjoy the happiness that Lazy Man's Soil brings.

        In selecting potting medium, I have gone through many choices, used many kinds of potting media, and had lessons where I did not take potting medium seriously, copied others blindly, followed trends blindly, focused only on looseness, and neglected other aspects. Regarding the selection of potting medium, please note the following four points.

       1. The potting medium must suit the orchid-growing environment and management style. Today there are many kinds of potting media, each with its own performance, strengths and shortcomings. No matter what, orchids will adapt, but it may not suit or adapt to you. A potting medium that others consider good may not necessarily be good for you. The selection of potting medium must be based on the reality of your orchid-growing environment and determined according to your own management style. Natural-style cultivation on a balcony has strong light, good ventilation and low humidity, requiring a potting medium with good water retention; otherwise it will only increase the workload of watering and add risk. If you like to water and have time to water, choose a potting medium with good drainage and average water retention, so you can water frequently.

        2. Have a comprehensive understanding of the potting medium. After selecting and purchasing the potting medium, do not rush to pot. Be sure to do it yourself and conduct experiments on the potting medium's water absorption, drainage and water retention performance, so as to fully understand its properties and have a clear picture in your mind. Do not rely only on what orchid friends say or what is introduced in books. Although they may both be granules or soil, their performance can differ for many reasons. Even the soil from the same mountain differs in performance: the soil at the mountaintop differs from that at the mountainside, the soil on the shady side differs from that on the sunny side, and the soil in shallow layers differs from that in deep layers. This is a problem that most orchid friends tend to overlook.

        3. Pay attention to the moisture-retention performance of the potting medium. At present, in the selection of potting medium, there is a bias toward emphasizing looseness and drainage while neglecting water retention and moisture retention. If the water retention and moisture retention performance of the potting medium is poor, the wet-to-parched transition time is very short, which not only affects orchid growth and adds risk but also sharply increases the workload of watering.

        4. Do not change the potting medium frequently. Everyone has this mentality: as soon as they hear of a good potting medium, they want to try it, and when some problem arises during orchid growing, the first thing they consider is finding the cause in the potting medium. Impatient people often change potting medium - granules last month, a mix this month, soil next month. The result can only be tossing the orchids until they become weak, small and dead. Orchids will adapt to any potting medium; the only difference is how long adaptation takes. What we need to do is adopt targeted management methods according to the performance of the potting medium, maximize strengths and avoid weaknesses, pursue advantages and avoid harm, rather than frequently resorting to changing the potting medium.