Watering, the key to growing orchids well, and how I water!
Watering, the key to growing orchids well, and how I water!
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When it comes to watering, this is a very hard question to answer. Depending on the season, changes in sunny and rainy weather, different environments, different potting media and orchid pots, and whether the orchid plants are strong or weak, watering should differ. If you are just starting to grow orchids, you can learn from veteran orchid growers, but you should pay attention to whether the environment, potting media and pots of the person you are asking about are similar to yours. If they are similar, you can water your orchids according to his watering experience. But there is never a fixed method for watering orchids; only through personal practice and gradually accumulating experience can you achieve mastery and apply it freely. When I first started growing orchids, I also followed other people's experience, watering once a day in summer, sometimes once in the morning and once in the evening. Fortunately I used granular soil, mainly Xiantu (Japanese orchid soil), which drains very well, so watering this way was not a big problem. But occasionally an orchid got sick. If the mix had been mainly humus soil, the orchids could not have tolerated it, and they might all have died. Later, through trial and error, I could tell whether it was time to water just by looking at the pot surface and the bottom of the pot. I also have a bad habit that actually helped me grasp the timing of watering, which is frequently tipping out the pot to look at the buds and roots. After many years of growing orchids, you should sum up experience through constant practice, then practice again, and arrive at an orchid-growing method that suits you. Once you have your own good set of orchid-growing methods, do not change them lightly; change one thing and many things change. The following is my orchid-growing environment,orchid potting media, pots and watering situation.
1. Orchid-growing environment: My orchid-growing environment is a north-facing back terrace on the top floor, with aluminum alloy windows on the north side, a polycarbonate sheet roof on top, and the polycarbonate sheet and aluminum alloy windows are not completely sealed. One layer of shade netting is inside the orchid shed. At this time of year, sunlight can reach it at noon. Because the north side has aluminum alloy windows and the south side does not use shade netting,the sunlight is fairly abundant. In this season I use an air conditionerto cool it down, around 34 degrees during the day and around 25 degrees at night. An electric fan blows on the orchids 24 hours a day.
2. Potting media and pots: The potting media are Xiantu and Zhijinshi (plant gold stone), with Xiantu making up 2/3 and Zhijinshi making up 1/3. Large-grade Zhijinshi is used at the bottom of the pot to retain moisture and drain water, while medium-grade and small-grade are used in the middle and on the pot surface respectively. The potting media must cover the pseudobulbs. This point is very important for dry cultivation and for growing orchids in hard potting media, and it helps with sprouting and rooting.
3. Water source and watering method: Because I am in the city, the only water I have is tap water. Since tap water has already been purified and sterilized, it is a very good water for watering orchids. There is no need to let it sit overnight to volatilize chlorine. When it is time to water, connect a plastic hose to the faucet and use a water gun to water the orchids directly. Do not worry about watering the orchid buds. You must water thoroughly. For one pot of plants I generally water for 1 minute, and after all are watered, go over them again; the second watering can be a bit faster.
4. Watering timing: now around 9 p.m. The pot surface is completely dry. Where I am, the pot surface dries the first day after watering, but inside it is still very wet; that is not the best time to water. Wait until the 4th-5th day, when the potting media is dry to 1-2 cm below the pot surface, still moist under the pseudobulbs, and the potting media at the side holes at the bottom of the pot is slightly whitish, then it can be watered. Let me also mention here why I plant deep: (1) because I grow dry. (2) because the electric fan blows on the orchids constantly, so the surface of the potting media dries easily. (3) because I use hard potting media.
5. Do not spray water arbitrarily: besides watering, I do not normally mist the orchid leaves, nor do I spray water on the pot surface, so my pot surface stays very dry and does not grow moss.
6. The relationship between watering and fertilizing and pesticides: Fertilizing: I generally wait until the potting media is completely dry, then fertilize first, so the root system can fully absorb the fertilizer. After 2 hours, or the next morning, I water with "return water" (a flushing watering); it must be thorough to wash the fertilizer out of the new buds. Some orchid growers water first, then fertilize, and do not flush with return water. I personally think this is not very good, unless they grow wet and water every day; otherwise, after the water in the pot decreases, the fertilizer concentration will rise, which is bad for the root system. After applying fungicide, there is no need to flush with return water; if you flush immediately, the pesticide will not be able to do its job.
7. In winter, you can add some hot water when watering: In winter I do not water directly with tap water. I use a very large plastic bucket as a container and thoroughly mix tap water with warm water from a gas water heater, at a temperature of about 10 degrees, then use a booster pump connected to a water gun to spray and water the orchids.
8. After watering, the orchids must be blown dry: I use an electric fan to blow on the orchids 24 hours a day. After watering, I turn the electric fan to the highest setting, and after 2 hours, when the orchids are blown dry, I switch it to a low setting.
The above is a summary of a little of my experience with watering. I hope everyone will keep summarizing in the process of growing orchids and arrive at a set of watering methods that suits you. I wish everyone better and better orchid growing.