Liwei's Ramblings No. 3: Let's Talk About Pots and Growing Media

Liwei's "Ramblings" - 3 (Pots and Growing Media) This chapter is only based on this nursery's environment, management and local climate, for reference only!! This nursery is located in Bengbu City, Anhui Province, on the south bank of the Huai River, which is a climatic dividing line, with four distinct seasons and a drier climate compared with Jiangsu and Zhejiang. This has practical implications for the choice of pots. When I first started growing orchids, I used every kind of pot, (unglazed clay pots, purple clay pots, sweating clay pots, porcelain pots, etc.). After coming into contact with famous varieties and making more trips to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I saw that most of them used unglazed clay pots (black), purple clay pots, and sweating clay pots. The growing media were Xiantu, mountain soil, bark, snake wood, Zhijinshi (orchid stone), and so on. The formulas varied, the methods of use varied, and it was a headache! There was no way around it, so I adopted the take-it-as-it-comes approach: whichever grower had sturdy plants, good roots, and many flowers, I would learn their method completely. I chose unglazed clay pots (black), with a growing medium of Xiantu plus Zhijinshi at 7:3, planted in layers of large, medium and small. The management method was also what the orchid growers taught. After one season, the problem came: the plants grew fairly well, but the roots did not. The root system was rather short, and some ran upward, which was depressing! Looking for the cause, I found: 1. The management was wrong; the method of watering thoroughly only after drying out completely is not practical locally. 2. I had not taken the local climate into account; compared with Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the climate is drier, and the unglazed clay pot (black) has such good air permeability, water absorption and moisture dissipation that the surface of the medium was still moist while the lower layer had already dried out, so the roots did not grow downward but ran upward (the medium was fine on top and coarse below). 3. Xiantu was too hard and did not absorb water, and the proportion of Zhijinshi was too small to retain moisture, so it could not coordinate with the pot. Later I found that the orchid plants previously grown in sweating clay pots had sturdy plants, good roots, and many flowers too. (Purple clay pots and porcelain pots were also not good, under the same management.) A newborn calf does not fear the tiger, so I changed them, changed them all. Looking into the reason, the characteristics of the sweating clay pot lie between those of the unglazed clay pot and the purple clay pot and porcelain pot. The growing medium was also adjusted: Xiantu was replaced with soft black Xiantu, which absorbs water better (and also has a higher organic matter content), and Zhijinshi was reduced by one part. After one year, I felt good about it! I have used it to this day. Now that I think about it, none of the above are the real reason; it still comes down to management. A senior figure in the orchid world told me: understand the nature of orchids, and anything can be used to grow orchids; the key is the word "enlightenment" [Liwei's Ramblings -- 4 (Potting)]