Where can the latest Bletilla striata seedlings be purchased?

Bletilla striata is a traditional astringent hemostatic Chinese medicinal material, and for a long time wild resources supplied the market, but as resources declined, its price continued to climb over the past 15 years. At the same time, the high price also stimulated the work of converting wild plants to domestic cultivation, and resource scarcity also forced the development of artificial cultivation. Now let us take a look at where Bletilla striata seedlings are sold!

Where are Bletilla striata seedlings sold?

Bletilla striata seedlings are sold at Bletilla striata planting bases throughout the Yangtze River Basin in China. Bletilla striata prefers a warm, shady and humid environment. Its planting bases are mainly in Guizhou, Shaanxi, Gansu, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and other places, but the scale varies. They usually adopt the “company + base + cooperative + factory” model, implementing an operating approach of “decentralized cultivation, unified management, unified technology, unified purchasing, unified brand, and unified sales”.

How much does one Bletilla striata seedling cost?

Bletilla striata seedlings cost about 2 to 3 yuan each. At the highest price, they once reached 5 to 6 yuan each, but prices vary greatly depending on seedling quality and the market. Usually about 8,000 to 10,000 seedlings are planted per mu, and the planting cost varies depending on the seedlings chosen: planting with tubers costs about 30,000 yuan, domesticated seedlings about 15,000 yuan, and bottle seedlings about 8,000 yuan. Generally, after 3 years, a high-yield field can reach about 500 jin of dried goods, a medium-yield field 300 to 400 jin, and a low-yield field about 250 jin.

How should Bletilla striata seedlings be selected?

1. Variety identification: There are many varieties of Bletilla striata, but among these varieties only five or six meet medicinal standards, and only three can be high-yielding. If you do not have the ability to identify them yourself and only believe the one-sided claims of seedling suppliers, it is entirely possible to buy inferior varieties.

2. Seedling selection: The most common ways to cultivate Bletilla striata seedlings are direct seeding, tuber propagation, and tissue-culture seedlings. Among them, the most reasonable and economical is direct seeding; tuber propagation has a high survival rate and high yield, but the cost is too high; tissue-culture seedlings have the lowest survival rate.

3. Beware of hormone seedlings: There is a gap of 1 to 3 months before and after Bletilla striata emergence, but some companies abuse hormones and chemical fertilizers to advance emergence by more than 5 months. Seedlings that have been treated with growth hormones look very healthy, but after transplanting they are very likely to turn yellow and wither.

4. Ordering time: In theory, Bletilla striata can be planted all year round, but the most suitable seasons are spring and autumn. Spring is most suitable for planting domesticated seedlings, and early autumn is also fairly suitable for planting domesticated seedlings. In late autumn and winter, tubers are generally purchased, and planting in summer is generally not recommended.