Orchid Buds Chit-Chat: The Knowledge in Orchid New Buds

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Orchid buds always stir the heart of every orchid grower, because the emergence of orchid buds lets us see hope and find a sense of achievement. Orchid buds breaking through the soil truly make us happy, because when little buds come out, it means we have gained something from growing orchids; of course, this gain still requires even greater hardship. I have always believed that for orchid enthusiasts who have only grown orchids for a few years, newly emerged orchid buds are a textbook for learning to understand orchids. Although judging orchid species by orchid buds has some reference value for appreciating orchid varieties, it is not necessarily always accurate; however, by combining other characteristics of the orchid plant, such as plant type, leaf tip, leaf sheath, veins, and patterns, it is possible to infer whether the orchid plant is a fine flower or an ordinary flower, and to infer whether this flower has better gambling potential than other orchid plants. Therefore, carefully observing the shape, color, color change upon sprouting, and whether there is a white tip of orchid buds is a lesson we orchid growers need to learn and master. Generally speaking, orchid buds are green, especially pure white, and most will bloom as plain-heart flowers; of course, there are also red buds that bloom as plain-heart flowers, such as Yumeisu among Cymbidium goeringii. Its small buds are purplish red, but the flowers produced are peach-colored plain flowers. If the small buds have white tips, most will produce fine flowers; if the orchid buds are somewhat round and bulging, they may produce lotus-petal flowers, but this is only one of the tips for selecting fine orchids, not the only one. For example, the plants of lotus-petal flowers are basically lotus-type plants, but lotus-type plants do not necessarily produce lotus-petal flowers. However, now due to the effects of new high technology, differences between eastern and western regions, and different cultivation methods, some small buds may be different. First, let me state that what I am casually typing today only represents the opinion of a novice orchid grower like me. If anything is incorrect, please forgive me. After several years of growing orchids, my feelings about the small buds of certain old varieties are as follows: the small buds of Songmei are light green; the bud tips of Jiyuan are slightly thick and purplish red; the small buds of Longzi are green with red patterns; the small buds of Wangzi are light green with sheath vein patterns, and the bud tips have red coloring; the new buds of Dafugui are purplish red; the small buds of Huanqiu are green with a slight purple halo, and so on. I will not elaborate further on the specifics, because I feel that I can only grasp it intuitively, not put it into words, and novice orchid growers must figure it out and observe for themselves.

After ordinary small buds emerge from the soil, there will be a period when they seem to pause and stop growing before the orchid buds open, generally between one week and several weeks, because during this time the orchid buds are sprouting new roots. Moreover, during this time I think it is better to keep things slightly dry, forcing the new roots of the small buds down toward the moist area below, so they tend to grow downward. Try not to use fertilizer, because if fertilizer is used at this time, it easily damages the new roots. Try to provide as much light as possible to promote photosynthesis in the orchid leaves, produce nutrients, promote orchid root growth, and minimize the pause in growth. In this way, it is generally easy for the newly sprouted orchid buds to become strong plants in the same year, and they may produce several generations of plants, all becoming mature plants in the same year. Of course, to make small buds become strong plants, we still need to give them corresponding management after the small buds emerge. Preventing pests and diseases, maintaining temperature differences, strengthening ventilation, and so on still require us orchid growers to make continuous efforts. Because the orchid buds have already emerged, but growing them into seedlings has not yet succeeded!!

Let me attach a few pictures of orchid buds.

A grass bud of a new lotus