Several phenomena and cause analysis of orchids not blooming

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A normal mature orchid, as long as it has reached two or three or more connected plants, can generally bloom if cultivated properly (a few single orchids can also bloom; thin-leaved orchids with thick roots, such asCymbidium kanran, often show this phenomenon). I often hear some orchid growers say that their orchids have been grown for several years without blooming. The reasons are roughly the following phenomena and causes.

1. Seedling orchids (seed-grown orchids) and tissue-culture orchids may not necessarily bloom even after being cultivated for many years. Like other plants, for example, fruit trees must reach a certain age before they can bloom and bear fruit, and orchids must also reach a certain age before they can bloom and set seed.

2. Differences in species among orchid types and different climate conditions in different regions often make it difficult for orchids to bloom. TakeCymbidium goeringiifor example: in some regions it is relatively difficult to bloom, or relatively few can bloom. For example, in Hainan or southern Guangdong, wherefour-seasontemperatures are relatively higher than in other parts of the country and relatively more even,Cymbidium goeringiiin the above regions, even if flower buds appear, they cannot bloom because they do not receive normal spring flowering conditions (low-temperature vernalization) (I have heard this, but have not verified it). There are also other orchid types: because of the large latitude differences between north and south, phenomena of not blooming or not blooming normally also occur. For example, some wild orchid types are extremely sensitive to climate, and once they reach places with relatively large climate differences, they never bloom again. However, such orchid types are few. Among Chinese orchids,Cymbidium goeringii，Cymbidium ensifolium，Cymbidium faberi, Chun Jian, Lianban,Cymbidium sinense, and Cymbidium kanran can bloom in most provinces across the country, especially now that air conditioning and solar greenhouses can be used artificially to regulate temperature and thereby promote orchid growth and flowering.

3. The physiological growth of orchids is disrupted for various reasons, and new leaf buds suddenly appear during the flower bud formation period. In this case, the orchid plant no longer has more nutrients to maintain normal flower bud differentiation, thus causing the flower buds to stop growing and fail to bloom.

4. Improper cultivation methods can also cause orchids not to bloom. Here there are mainly the following situations: 1. The orchid growing medium contains too much nitrogen fertilizer and relatively little phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, which leads to excessive vegetative growth and inhibited reproductive growth. Just like fruit trees planted by farmers around their houses: because the soil is too fertile and garbage and poultry and livestock manure are often dumped on it, the result is that they only grow branches and leaves but do not bloom or bear fruit. Orchids are the same. The solution is to replace the medium with one having balanced nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrition or to apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. 2. Watering too much during the flower bud differentiation period and keeping the medium too wet will likewise lead to vigorous vegetative growth and inhibit reproductive growth. Because the medium is too wet, the nutrients contained in the medium are often released and absorbed by the roots together with water and transmitted to the leaves to participate in the plant's metabolism. Once metabolism is strong, respiration becomes vigorous, thereby offsetting the products of leaf photosynthesis. The accumulation of organic matter in the orchid plant is affected, and flower bud differentiation lacks the necessary driving force. The solution is to properly control water for orchids in July and August each year (the flower bud differentiation period for most orchids), keeping the medium on the dry side, and at the same time spray the leaf surface with monopotassium phosphate once every 10—15 days, spraying two to three times in succession, which is beneficial to orchid flower bud differentiation and formation. 3. Insufficient light is also one of the reasons orchids do not bloom. Although orchids are shade-loving plants, they still need a certain amount of sunlight to maintain normal physiological activity. When orchids receive sufficient light, the accumulation of organic matter is relatively greater, and flower bud formation also has sufficient driving force. Some orchid growers, due to limited conditions, have to grow orchids indoors,grow orchids, so naturally they bloom relatively less. The solution is to let orchid plants that cannot get sunlight enjoy sunlight as much as possible (of course they must not be exposed to fierce sun), especially the warm, soft sunlight in the morning. In addition to light, the accumulation of photosynthetic products (organic matter) also depends on the temperature difference between day and night. If the day-night temperature difference is not large, orchid respiration at night is vigorous and will consume the photosynthetic products produced by the orchid during the day. Therefore, in areas where the day-night temperature difference during the flower bud formation period is not large and orchids often have difficulty blooming, consideration should be given to artificially creating a day-night temperature difference.

5. There is also a situation where orchids cannot bloom due to special reasons of the orchid itself, or it can be said that a very small number of orchids do not much like to bloom. This phenomenon has appeared in various orchid types, and I have also encountered it: a plain-bud Cymbidium ensifolium collected locally in 2004 has been cultivated in this garden for six or seven years and has also multiplied to more than ten pots, and to this day it has never been seen to bloom. This is probably the infertility phenomenon of plants (orchids)!

Yifeng Orchid Garden (Tianxia Wushuang 20106 20