Digging out an old article on orchid pot surfaces to revisit

Digging out an old article to look at -- orchid pot surfaces When browsing the internet and looking at thoseorchid pictures, one of my great pleasures is looking at the pot surfaces of other people's orchid pots. Making a pot surface is like a farmer preparing a vegetable plot. A neat and meticulous farmer will absolutely prepare a vegetable plot like a work of art, making everyone who sees it praise it. First, a big iron rake is used to turn the soil up in large clumps and let them dry in the sun for a few days, then the large clods are broken up and raked smooth, and next a hoe is used to pat it into evenly shaped little rice-cake-like forms, while the surrounding ridges and furrows are also drawn straight and glossy with the hoe, just like the parting a girl makes when braiding her hair. In this way the whole vegetable plot looks angular and neat, flat and soft like a steamed cake. But making a pot surface does not require the trouble of rakes and hoes, yet it should likewise be pleasing to the eye. In the "Cymbidium faberiTongxin Lu" there is a record about making pot surfaces: the pot surface must rise more than two cun above the pot rim, shaped like a steamed bun. Flat and slightly convex, the four sides must not be too sharply cut, for if cut the roots are easily exposed. Near the leaf stems, press firmly and gently with the hand, so that even after heavy rain it will not sink low; moss or grass can then be spread and planted right away. The method described above of shaping the pot surface like a steamed bun is still used by many people today, but with the granular potting media used now it is not easy to form a steamed bun shape unless a flared-mouth pot is used, or water moss, green moss and the like are used to hold the potting medium in place. Shaping it like a steamed bun is the ancient method, and its principle is this: doing so can to a greater extent ensure that the pseudobulbs get ventilation and air penetration as well as moisture and warmth retention. However, as for ventilation and air penetration, today's granular potting media can fully achieve this even without a steamed-bun shape. If you personally admire the ancient method and your growing environment is relatively enclosed with high demands for ventilation and air penetration, then doing so is not out of the question either. So what should a pot surface that makes people feel comfortable and pleased look like? First, sum up three points: the first is practicality; the second is neatness; the third is beauty; the fourth is creativity. Practicality means the pot surface must ensure ventilation, air penetration, moisture retention and warmth retention; neatness means the potting medium on the pot surface must be clean and angular; beauty means the colors of the potting medium on the pot surface can be used for matching, whether using the whiteness of Kanuma soil, or the redness of ceramic granules... one can also plant green moss, emerald grass, small bamboo and the like, or add miniature rockery, small stones, figurines and so on according to individual preference, as long as it is natural and appropriate. As for creativity, this point cannot be illustrated with an example for the moment; as long as it is different from others, unexpected yet reasonable, it has reached the realm of creativity. Seeing a decorative ruyi scepter or lingzhi fungus craft piece inserted in an exquisite Japanese porcelain orchid pot, it actually complements the image of the orchid as this auspicious grass and immortal plant. It seems there is much to be written about the pot surface of orchid pots. However, judging from the pictures seen online, one almost never sees anyone specially taking photos for people to appreciate, though at orchid exhibitions in Japan and South Korea one can see some exquisite pot surfaces. It seems that mostorchid growersonly pay special attention to the growth of the orchid plant, while paying no attention to the overall ornamental effect of the orchid. It is like a person who still has to solve the problem of food and clothing -- how could he even talk about refined attention to fine food? In fact, applying such a mindset to orchid growing is quite backward. Or it could be put this way: most orchid people today still cannot grow orchids with complete freedom while never overstepping the rules, so they still cannot direct their attention to the overall appreciation of orchids. Growing orchids is cultivating the mind, and cultivating the mind naturally means cultivating it so that it is pleasing to the eye. Just like raising your own child, physical health is certainly important, but at the same time giving him cultivation and a natural, appropriate appearance is also very important. So, to make a not very apt analogy, knowing the child tells you about the father; likewise, a good pot surface can also reveal an orchid grower's knowledge and cultivation as well as growing technique. http://www.dfac.cc/showtopic-24-337330-0-0-1.htm