Causes of and Solutions for Stunted Growth in Orchid Shoots and Buds
This variety was selected from wild-collected Jianlan (Cymbidium ensifolium) plain buds gamble grass from Fujian. I purchased this variety from a seller in Zhangzhou, Fujian: Lanyuan of the Digging Orchid Village Girl. It has bloomed and rebloomed many times; the summer blooms are slightly inferior, while the autumn blooms show triple-tongue mutation.
Low temperatures, improper watering, and improper fertilizing cause slow or halted growth, which is what we call stunted shoots. A stunted bud generally will not grow, but a stunted bud can still sprout buds - it will sprout again from the stunted bud! Do not remove it, keep it. Cutting a slit at the tip of a stunted bud may revive it; a bud that had been stunted for a year, after I cut a slit in it, revived this year.
The transition between spring and summer is exactly when orchid buds emerge from the soil. Orchid buds can sprout in all four seasons, among which winter buds are the best, plump like a little child, and are also one of the signs of the plant regaining vigor. Their precious quality lies in the fact that when the leaves sprout, the pseudobulb has already formed and roots have already grown, so they have great strength. Generally most of their leaves are five or more; with proper care they can become grandfather grass in one year, and can still produce flowers. Therefore when repotting in autumn, be careful not to bump them so as to avoid damaging the orchid buds, which would cause stunted buds and is truly a pity. However, the formation of stunted buds has various aspects, among which human curiosity, the grasp of dryness and moisture, and movement and fertilizer damage are the foremost. Therefore it is necessary to briefly discuss this here, and I hope fellow enthusiasts will correct and supplement it.
First, curiosity leading to handling: turning over the pot surface by hand to inspect orchid buds is the worst offense, because the bumping damages the sprouting pearl, disrupts the small environment inside the pot. In mild cases orchid bud growth slightly stops; in severe cases the orchid shoot becomes a stunted bud. Even if the orchid shoot grows, its sheaths will easily wither later. Be cautious!
Second, moisture control: when orchid shoots have emerged but leaves have not yet sprouted, do not let them be too dry. This accords with the natural way of survival of orchid grass. If too dry and yang, the mother plant, in order to protect itself, causes the new bud to sacrifice its nutrient source, and afterward its strength cannot continue, causing a stunted bud. Therefore at this stage, even if moist, ventilation is fine.
Third, movement and fertilizer damage: orchid-growing environments differ, so moving is unavoidable. However when moving, one should always move gently and set down gently, to prevent excessive shaking from injuring the bud pearl, which would not be worth the loss. As for fertilizing, always prefer light and mild, and avoid using those medicinal fertilizer types with high multiples and extremely strong stimulation.
The stunted buds referred to here are buds that do not open leaves and whose leaf sheaths are intact.
1. Stunted buds are often buds that sprout in autumn or winter.
2. Stunted buds have no roots, but are sometimes quite large.
3. When spring comes, some stunted buds will come alive, while others slowly wither away.
4. Stunted buds also have bud points; when spring comes, some can produce normal strong buds.
"Stunted" - orchid stunted buds refer to new buds that stop growing. In growing orchids, what we long for is nothing more than two great expectations: one is flowering, the second is growing buds. If buds do not grow, then what pleasure do we have left? What are the causes of stunted buds?
Tracing the causes, there are mainly two sides: internal causes and external causes, pathological and physiological. Internal causes address the pathological, external causes address the physiological.
Internal causes, namely pathological:
1. Lack of trace elements: recently there was an advertisement by Wang Baoqiang for fertilizer, which makes a lot of sense: besides nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, fertilizer also needs trace elements. When orchids lack zinc, growth elements are difficult to form, hence stunted buds.
2. Infection: a new bud being infected may cause stunted buds, and the mother shoot being infected may also cause stunted buds. This is because new buds all rely on the mother shoot to provide nutrients. When the mother shoot itself has problems, then it cannot complete the work of supplying nutrients, and the new bud, having no nutrients, naturally becomes stunted.
3. Another new bud growing: an orchid may grow more than one new bud. So when nutrients are insufficient, the strong shoot will absorb faster and absorb the nutrients of the weak shoot, and the weak shoot may become stunted.
4. Roots: problems with the root system: orchid nutrients and water are generally transported by the roots. When the roots have problems, it is like cutting off the transport pipe, and the orchid's new buds naturally become stunted.
External causes:
1. Orchid enthusiasts' itchy hands: many orchid enthusiasts have a habit - after planting an orchid, every so often they must poke under the soil with their fingers. This action very likely damages the new bud.
2. Repotting: carelessly damaging the new bud or new roots during the orchid repotting process.
3. Fertilizer damage: excessive fertilizing, purely the bud being scorched into stunting.
4. Pesticide damage: excessive spraying of pesticide.
5. Frost damage: orchid new buds are generally spring buds or autumn buds. In some regions, after the new buds emerge they encounter natural low temperatures, which may cause frost damage leading to stunted buds.
Treatment
I have summarized the main causes of orchid stunted buds as the above. Other secondary causes I will not list one by one. Once the causes are understood, one can prescribe the right remedy - or, to put it correctly, prevent in advance. If it is caused by root problems, one can promptly prune the root system, change the potting medium and repot. As for stunted buds caused by other reasons, they are generally difficult to treat, and I suggest correctly cutting them off. Some treatment methods provided by orchid enthusiasts that you can try: apply aloe juice to the stunted bud; apply growth hormone to the pseudobulb; use scissors to cut off one quarter of the top of the stunted bud.