A Brief Discussion on the Selection and Application of Growing Media

There are many kinds of media materials used for growing orchids in our country. The traditional material is humus soil, while pond mud is commonly used in Guangdong. Soil that contains a large amount of humus, is loose, drains well, and is neutral or slightly acidic (PN6.5-7.0) is the most ideal. Traditional orchid growing in Guangdong mostly uses pond mud, that is, the surface soil from fish ponds. In winter it is taken out and spread thinly to dry (about 1 cun thick), then broken up for growing orchids, with coarse material below and fine material above. It is relatively rich in organic matter, and has many voids in the salt, which helps with air and water movement. But only good-quality material will do. Poor-quality pond mud tends to clump, has many drawbacks, and is not suitable for use. Experienced orchid growers use good-quality pond mud to grow traditional broad-leaf orchids, and the results are very good. In the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area, mountain soil (commonly called orchid mud) is mostly used, such as the soil from Yanwo Ridge in Yuyao, Zhejiang, the rocky hills of Fuyang, the mountain soil around Baochu Pagoda in Hangzhou, as well as Tongguan Mountain in Yixing, Jiangsu, Junshan soil in Nantong, and Ziyou soil from Yushan in Changshu. These soils are loose; when held in the hand they form clumps, and when the hand is opened and given a slight shake, they immediately break apart. The collected orchid soil is first spread thinly and evenly on the ground, exposed to sunlight, and turned layer by layer for several days to achieve solar disinfection and sterilization. Then it is sifted through a fine sieve to remove Argen and weeds before use. For beginners growing orchids, garden soil mixed with one of two parts sand grains can be used after disinfection. Cow dung soil can also be used, that is, fermented dry cow dung is broken up and ground fine, then mixed into sandy soil or field soil in a 1:3 ratio. It is best to select cow dung from cattle that ate dry grass in winter, because after rumination the dry forage still has fine fibers, but still retains some elasticity and has a certain amount of nutrients. This kind of cow dung soil is soft and fertile, and is very suitable for the strongly aerobic habits of orchids. In addition to the traditional materials above, at present in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and parts of Guangdong, the media materials used for growing orchids include longan bark, shuo root, sphagnum moss, Shanglin stone, white stone, crushed brick, crushed tile, and prepared ceramsite, among others. Among them, shuo root (commonly called snake wood) is used in Japan and Taiwan todayOrchid Growingthe most commonly used medium material, relatively safe, with very good results. When the author was investigating in Hong Kong, there was once aOrchid Growingenthusiast who invested 200,000 yuan to grow a batch of rare orchid species. Among them, several pots used insulation material fiberglass as the medium, and they also grew very well, with very thick and strong roots, very good, with lush leaves and elegant flowers as well.