Also on watering: methods and precautions for watering crops

Among the hundred methods of cultivating orchids, watering is said to be the most difficult, all because too much moisture rots the roots, while too dry a regime leaves the roots hollow; hencegrowing orchidsin a flash, and only after three years of practice does one master watering - that is where this saying comes from.

As for the essentials: in winter and spring keep things on the dry side with slight moisture; in summer and autumn keep them consistently moist and on the wet side. This accords withorchidnatural patterns and their habits for survival.

The finer points of future watering lie above all in the initial planting: the main medium, the companion materials and the choice of pot are all closely tied to future watering, so the initial planting is truly the foundation of later care.

Orchids welcome three kinds of rain: first, spring rain to urge buds; second, plum rain to strengthen seedlings; and thunderstorms to make them thrive. There are also three fears: first, winter rain; excessive plum rain; and sudden showers under blazing sun. Whatever the rain, rain falling directly on the crowns is always to be avoided.

The water used for orchids should always be clean and is to be avoided if turbid. If people can drink it, using it freely does no harm.

Watering in summer is meant to penetrate thoroughly, so choose a cool time to water; watering in winter is meant to moisten only slightly, so choose the start of a warm day. Whether rain or watering, after water is applied the plants should be air-dried.
                      
There has never been a teacher for how to water orchids, nor can a fixed pattern be set, simply because the environment, the growing medium and the condition of the plants all differ. Therefore one should sense the unpredictability of the climate and the shifts of yin and yang. Only where one stands, in relation to that environment, can a person act.