How to do water control for orchids well? Detailed explanation of key technical points

Inorchid growing, watering is key. As the saying goes “watering takes three years of skill.” If inorchid growingyou water without using your brain and without exploring, then even in thirty years you will not achieve what others achieve in three years. So if watering is done well, many problems can be readily solved. First, watering must suit the orchids, and you must understand the growth characteristics of orchids; second, water according to the characteristics of the orchids, combined with your ownorchid growingenvironment andpotting medium; third, water according toorchiddifferent growth stages. In fact, only the first point, in the final analysis, is about conforming to theorchid'sgrowth characteristics. The vast majority of friends who have just started growing orchids are afraid the orchids will dry to death, so they water as soon as the pot surface dries, or they frequently spray water on the orchid leaves, and some even place the bottom of theorchid potsoaked in a tray with water. This makes the inside of the pot too wet for a long time, affects root respiration, causes root death and scorched root tips, and sometimes forms a “hydroponic root” appearance; once the pot is turned out and dried, the roots are hollow, and transplanting does not easily settle into the pot; it also easily causes harmful bacteria to multiply rapidly and orchids to become diseased; some orchids look like a full pot of seedlings but simply do not bloom, and so on. These are all kinds of problems caused by watering too frequently. During the course of a year's growth, orchids do not need much water most of the time. If you can endure the inside of the pot being dry, then your watering has basically passed the test. To make the inside of the pot dry, you need to control water for the orchids. Water control means controlling the water given to orchids, also called withholding water. But during the orchid growth process, it is not long-term water control; when it should be wet, it still must be wet, and when it should be controlled, it must be controlled. Generally speaking, water control is necessary in the following periods: 

1. Water control during the orchid flowering period. To produce good flower form, besides growingorchid plantswell and strong, you also need to master water control during the flowering period. When the orchid flower scape elongates and the flower bud is about to shed its bract, give the orchid one thorough watering, and then do not water again until a few days after the flower is cut off. In this way, the flowers open more and more energetically, the scape is upright and the petals are proper, the petals are less likely to roll back and twist, the outer petals extend, the drooping shoulders of the side petals after long opening are controlled, and the degree of the column opening the window and the backward curling of the lip is also reduced, and the flowering period is long. Therefore, for flowers entered in orchid shows, in order to have good flower form for a long time, water control is very important. A flower entered in an orchid show was awarded a gold prize on the first day, and by the second day its flower quality did not even reach a bronze prize. Apart from the flower's own staying power, the most important reason was that water was not controlled. For flowers with poor staying power, water control must be done even earlier.

2. Water control during the new seedling growth period. Nowadays, since there are not many orchid growers using completely natural cultivation, the sprouting periods are earlier or later, so it cannot be fixed as from which month to which month. During the budding stage, orchids should keep the inside of the pot moist, on the wet side, in order to let new buds emerge smoothly and produce more buds. But after the new seedlings come out of the pot and open, water control should be carried out gradually, changing from conveniently wet to mainly moist. You can adopt the method of alternating small water, large water, and empty pot to control water. Small water means stopping watering as soon as water comes out of the bottom of the pot; large water means watering from above, letting it leak from the bottom of the pot, watering thoroughly, and you can also water back and forth several times; empty pot means short-term water control, making the inside of the pot reach a relatively dry degree. Depending on the moisture condition of the potting soil, you can alternate large water——small water——small water——empty pot——large water——small water…… Small water can be continuous, large water should not be continuous, and empty pot comes before large water. Through this kind of semi-water control, new seedlings are prompted to grow roots, to support themselves, to increase the development of the new seedling pseudobulbs, and to lay the foundation for the new seedlings to become strong.

During the new seedling growth period in Jiangnan, there is a plum rain season. Through semi-water control, the probability of new seedlings developing stem rot andsoft rotas well as other diseases is greatly reduced. When the plum rain ends and after the lunar summer solstice, most new seedlings have grown to half size, the weather gradually becomes hot, and the degree of water control gradually increases. Dryness can endure the heat of the environment. When orchids are relatively dry, they can experience 35°C or even higher high temperatures. At high temperatures, if it is too wet and not ventilated, various problems will come one after another. Avoid watering at high temperatures, and the period when the inside of the pot changes from wet to moist should also be passed at a lower temperature. Therefore, orchid growers in summer schedule watering at night when the temperature is lower, so that when the temperature rises the next day, the inside of the pot is not too wet. Through my observation, orchids can still grow rapidly at 32°C, so high temperatures are not to be feared. The key is to achieve water control and ventilation, and both are equally important. Friends with cooling facilities such as air conditioning can implement a semi-water-control state, and in one summer, a second generation of new seedlings will emerge. （China Orchid Network）

3. Water control to promote flowering in orchids. Starting from the opening of new buds, gradually control water, andCymbidium goeringiiwill produce its first batch of flower buds. Earlier flower buds appear in April, which is very normal. Sometimes flower buds take nearly a year from formation to blooming, and with proper later management, they can bloom normally. But most Cymbidium goeringii flower buds form after August, that is, after the lunar start of autumn. Because after the start of autumn, the temperature is still high, but the air begins to dry. If you do not control water, the inside of the pot will also form an effect similar to water control. If you deliberately control water, orchids can produce more flower buds. Water control to promote flowering is also different from ordinary water control. If an orchid does not easily produce flowers, you must control water very dry, making the orchid “feel” a sense of crisis, then give small water and then control water again. Only after doing this many times will there be a satisfactory effect. Do not be afraid that the orchid will dry to death, but weak and small plants and diseased seedlings cannot be treated this way.

Cymbidium faberiTo produce flowers, the vast majority respond better to water control. In this season at the turn of summer and autumn, although the new seedlings are already large, the leaves are still tender. Add the autumn tiger heat, and the temperature is still high, so orchid leaves are prone to black spot disease. Through water control, the occurrence of black spot disease can also be controlled. In this way, promoting flowering and preventing disease are achieved in one stroke. (China Orchid Network)

4. Water control for orchids in winter. Winter water control is mainly because orchids grow slowly in winter and need very little water. It can also prevent low-temperature freezing damage and ice formation caused by moisture inside the pot, so I will not go into further detail here.