An Analysis of the Influence and Role of Wind in Orchid Cultivation

[Editor's note: This is an often overlooked issue, yetorchidsit does indeed affect their growth.] A few months ago, the orchid enthusiast Mr. Ye raised the question inOrchidmagazine of whyorchidsfail to grow larger. Subsequently, quite a few orchid enthusiasts offered various helpful views on growing media, fertilisation, watering and other aspects. But judging from my own years of experience growing orchids, a management problem would not cause an entire batch of orchids to fail to grow large. Only when something goes wrong with the orchid-growing environment could such a result occur. In recent years I too have run into this problem. Four years ago, as I was growing more and more orchids and had relatively little space to grow them, when I repotted at the start of the year, I had no place left for more than ten rather good wild-collected varieties, yet it seemed a shame to throw them away, so I welded two iron frames and placed them on the balcony floor. The orchid pots were 20cm above the ground, and the growing medium was the same as for the orchids on the balcony surface. After the Spring Festival, the orchids on the floor sprouted new shoots just like the orchids on the balcony. A few months later the new shoots on the balcony surface had grown to medium-sized mature plants, while the new shoots of the dozen or so pots of orchids on the floor were still only 4-5cm tall. This situation continued right through to the end of the year. When I repotted the following year, I saw at a glance that the roots of the old plants were hollow, with few new roots. I thought it might be caused by the growing medium being too soft and holding too much water. So I switched to a new growing medium (small gravel plus commercially sold orchid bark) and planted a batch of new orchids. After another year, the orchids on the floor were just the same as the year before: the roots of the old plants were hollow and the new shoots still would not grow large. In the third year, I switched to orchid growing medium produced in Taiwan, China, and tended them with more care in management and watering than before. As a result, there was less root rot on the old plants, but the new shoots still would not grow large. I truly could not figure it out no matter how hard I tried. So I went back and read articles on the key elements of growing orchids, and only then did I solve the mystery in my heart! "Wind" was the chief culprit behind the orchids' failure to grow large. Because the balcony floor was enclosed by walls on all four sides, wind could not reach it all year round, and the orchids could not get the moistening of "wind", so they became small shoots that would not grow large. To confirm my own view, when I repotted last year I took three pots whose old plants were very good, and whose new shoots were only a few centimetres tall, changed their growing medium, and placed them on the balcony surface. Two months later, those 3 new shoots that had failed to grow large the previous year resumed growing. By the latter half of the year, one pot's new shoot, after regrowing large, even produced a flower bud; one pot's new shoot, after growing to size, turned into twisted, thick, unusual leaves; and one pot grew into a normal large plant. This proves that a gentle breeze not only prevents rot in orchids but is also a necessary condition for orchid growth. Whether the above views are correct or not, I ask orchid enthusiasts and experts to verify further, and I welcome everyone's guidance on any mistakes. (Guangdong Guan Jinquan) Address: Room 701, No. 4, Lane 2, Nansan Street, Siyou Xinma Road, Guangzhou Postcode: 510600 Telephone: 87377720