What should be noted when watering orchids?

1. As for the degree of watering, it should be until the growing medium in the orchid pot is thoroughly soaked and water flows out from the bottom of the pot. 2. The growing medium in the pot should not be too dry, nor should the bottom of the pot be seen wet and dripping all day long; it is best to keep it moist at all times, except when watering. 3. For several weeks before sprouting, be sure to keep the growing medium moist at all times to encourage sprouting; after sprouting, water should be more plentiful, and after the plant is half-grown it should again be reduced. 4. During the sprouting period, it is best to water with slightly acidic (pH 5.5 to 6.5) rainwater. 5. If there is rainy weather, then delay watering by one day. 6. If pests damage the stems or buds, and there is a risk of the infestation spreading, watering should be reduced or stopped to prevent contagion, and the affected parts should be handled separately. 7. When watering in cold, overcast and windless weather, it is best to water only the growing medium. 8. If the weather is fine when watering, then one should also rinse the leaves from above to wash away dirt on the leaf surface, so as to aid photosynthesis, but it is best to do this about once every two weeks. 9. For growing old plants (backbulbs), it is best to just moisten the growing medium; it must not be too dry or too wet, to prevent withering or rotting to death. 10. The water used to drench orchid plants is best rainwater, and tap water is second best. 11. The acidity/alkalinity of the water (pH value) is best between 5.5 and 6.5, but water between 6.5 and 7.5 is also very good; one can use ginger test paper (available on the market) to test the pH value of the water. Apart from rainwater, other water should be put into a water vat in the morning and preferably used up in the afternoon; it is best to water once a month with thin rice-straw-ash water to prevent the growing medium from becoming acidified. (Bu Jinzhen)