Understand the orchid's growth habits before watering

On the farmcultivationAmong the many categories of crops, their water requirements differ as much as heaven and earth depending on the type. Peanuts, flax, baby bok choy... cannot withstand 24 hours of soaking, and the whole plot may suffer root rot and die; water caltrop, rice and narcissus must be soaked in water to grow, flower and reproduce. They are all plants, yet their water consumption and tolerance for soaking differ extremely depending on the category. Understanding the habits of each crop and giving it the right amount of water iscultivationa major key to crops, and indeed the key to a bumper harvest or a poor one;growing orchidswhen it comes to watering is the same. Therefore, to grow orchids well, we must understand the orchid's habits, and remember clearly that orchid roots are the orchid's respiratory organs. Constant excessive waterlogging blocks the root pores with water; in mild cases this causes difficulty in breathing, in severe cases complete suffocation. Everyone knows that difficulty in breathing is a pathological state, and complete suffocation is a cause of death. "Likes moisture but fears wetness," "likes dryness but fears aridity" - these are the comments the ancients made about the orchid's habits, and they are apt and fitting. The so-called "wet," "moist," "dry" and "arid" are expressions of how much water the object or space - that is, the orchid pot or orchid room - contains. "Arid" means an excessive and prolonged lack of water, which will cause the orchid to develop poorly and easily fall ill. "Wet" means too much water, which has the drawback of causing excessive elongation or suffocating the orchid roots. Between "dry" and "moist" lies the moderate water condition. From the meaning of the ancient sayings recorded above, we can know that "dry" with a touch of "moist" is the condition the orchid loves, and is the most ideal state for the orchid's growth, reproduction and flowering. This state is not only so inside the pot, but should include the whole surrounding space outside the pot as well. Moreover, within a whole day of 24 hours, the longer this state that the orchid loves can be maintained, the more vigorous the orchid's growth functions will be - this is what we require in our watering operations. However, orchids are raised with water. Without watering for a long time they inevitably become too dry, yet once watered they seem too wet, and using only the misting method over a long period also causes filth to accumulate in the pot, making it unsanitary. What to do? Besides adopting a planting method with faster drainage, the author, in seasons of severe cold or heat when the air is dry, still waters as usual when the orchid pot is too waterlogged for watering. How to water? Pour large amounts of water over the floor of the orchid room and orchid shed, and over the walls all around the room, from top to bottom - not watering the orchid but watering the surrounding environment. It seems like a watering method of one's own devising, but it can be used to increase the moisture and humidity of the space in the orchid room. This method neither rots the orchid roots nor fails to keep the whole environment, over a long period, in the state of not too dry, not too wet, "dry" with a touch of "moist" - the most ideal state for the orchid's growth and reproduction. It is a method that kills two birds with one stone. (Wu Anlu)