What are the three key elements of Cymbidium tortisepalum potting mix?
First element: choose leaves with a strong waxy drought-resistant ability as the potting mix. Choosing leaves with a strong waxy drought-resistant ability is determined by the orchid's need for air permeability. Only chestnut leaves, pine needles, sand pine leaves... these hard, strongly drought-resistant tree leaves, after being composted and rotted, can still maintain a state in which they do not break down into powder. Other leaves...
First element: choose leaves with a strong waxy drought-resistant ability as the potting mix.
Choosing leaves with a strong waxy drought-resistant ability is determined by the orchid's need for air permeability. Only chestnut leaves, pine needles, sand pine leaves... these hard, strongly drought-resistant tree leaves, after being composted and rotted, can still maintain a state in which they do not break down into powder. Once other leaves are composted and rotted, they turn into powder, lose their shape, and the fine powder coating the orchid roots makes it extremely difficult for water and air to pass through, easily causing root rot.
Second element: the more varied the materials, the better.
The potting mix for orchids has an enormous influence on how the flowers turn out, and orchids require a great many elements. In order to supplement the nutrients the orchid plant needs, the potting mix for growing orchids, besides waxy drought-resistant leaves, also needs various organic fertilizers added. Such as: sheep manure, chicken manure, bird droppings, cow manure... various kinds of plant gold stone, red fairy soil, vermiculite, snake wood, rotten tree trunk humus, pine nut shells, chestnut shells, walnut shells... but all these materials need to be thoroughly composted and rotted before they can be used.
But one point must be grasped, and that is that the mix can be formulated according to the different varieties of Cymbidium tortisepalum. If it is a plain-colored flower, then it should be mixed a bit lighter, with less colored material added. For butterfly-type flowers or colored flowers, however, more brightly colored potting materials should be added, so that the butterfly-transformed petals or colored petals become even more brilliantly colorful.
Third element: any potting mix must be clean and fresh, and drain and breathe well.
No matter what potting mix is used, for orchids, because their fleshy roots are delicate, the potting mix must be thoroughly composted and rotted; only decomposed material can be used, not raw material. The toxins in the potting mix must be composted thoroughly, completely and fully, until the potting mix feels clean and fresh, just like preferring the light flavors of northern cuisine. And it must be considered that the potting mix must not hold standing water. Orchids like water, but they do not like stagnant dirty water. Moreover, the potting mix must not be packed too tightly; there must be spaces for air to pass through, which is what benefits the growth of the orchid plant.