Will using fresh wood shavings for potted orchids burn the roots?

Wild-collected unbloomed plants, established orchids with severe root rot, weak single-rooted seedlings, and old pseudobulbs cut off during division of named varieties are best potted in clean wood shavings. For Cymbidium bicolor, Cymbidium hookerianum, Cymbidium eburneum, Paphiopedilum and others that require good air permeability in the potting mediumorchids，cultivationthe results are also good. The practical results of local orchid growers using clean wood shavings to plant orchids are that in the first year growth is very vigorous, especially the orchid roots, which are strong, numerous, and also produce a high rate of new shoots. In the second year the growth vigor is poorer, and some even show blackened, withered leaf tips. On repotting and inspection, the orchid roots are still good, but the wood shavings have decomposed and broken down, settling and caking, with almost no nutrients left. The wood shavings layer has loosened severely and has lost the water-retention, drainage and aeration properties of the fresh wood shavings layer. This inevitably affects the respiration and absorption of the roots, thus leading to poor growth of the orchid plants. For orchid plants potted in fresh wood shavings for about 12 months, the leaves above ground are emerald green and glossy, and below ground the roots are strong and yellow-white, with no damage to the root tips observed. Analysis shows that the decomposition and "fermentation" process of clean wood shavings in the pot is very slow, and even if some "fertilizer heat" is produced, because the wood shavings are airy and are often flushed by watering, much of the heat and fertility is carried away, and only a small part is absorbed by the orchid roots, so no "root burn" occurs. Looking further at the nutrient supply problem of planting orchids in wood shavings, judging from the thinner leaves and lighter leaf color of orchids potted for one year, its nutrients are lower than those of clean orchid soil, so during the growth period of the orchid plants it is also necessary to bury granular fertilizer in the wood shavings layer to supplement nutrients. After planting orchids in clean wood shavings for about a year, if decomposition and settling are severe, there is no need to repot; simply press down on the wood shavings layer with your fingers, add more wood shavings or orchid soil granules to the gaps, make the roots and pseudobulbs closely contact the planting material, tidy up the pot surface, and continue routine care as usual. (Zhang Zhengguo)