The Treasure Guide to Growing Southern Orchids in the North: This Is How I Grow Orchids in the North
OrchidsCultivation: How I Grow Southern Orchids in the North (Repost)
Ever since I fell in love with orchids in 1996, I kept thinking day and night about when I could grow a few beautiful orchids, smell their fragrance, and satisfy my craving. Thus began myorchid growingjourney. First I looked among wild-collected orchids. Due to my limited knowledge, I killed quite a few orchids. Back then there were many beautiful orchids among the wild-collected ones, but unfortunately I didn't know how to spot the good ones - what's a lotus-petal type, what's a plum-petal type, and what's called a butterfly type - I didn't know any of it. I just kept buying orchids. They were cheap anyway, so if one died I'd just buy another. I wasted a lot of money. With great effort I managed to keep some orchids alive, but it was all for nothing - they were all local Douban orchids, fragrance-free. How depressing!! Then I started growing localHuilan orchids. By this time I already had a certain foundation in orchid growing. It was already 2000, and growing localHuilan orchidshad become second nature to me!! After the flowers bloomed, the orchid fragrance was delightful. I should have been satisfied, but later I heard some orchid friends say that no matter how many orchids you have, they can't compare to a single famous variety. So I headed toward famous varieties. After another 3 years of collecting, I had many famous Huilan varieties (plain-flower and colored-flower ones, plus some butterfly-flower ones). I planned to sell them, but unfortunately the prices were too high and there was nowhere to sell them. Who among ordinary people would be willing to spend several hundred or even over a thousand to buy a single plant? So I just kept them there. But later this friend would come and take a soak, that friend would come and take a soak - hahaha, they actually took away many of my Huilan orchids. With the space freed up, I then set my sights on Jiangsu-ZhejiangChunlan orchids. But there was nowhere to buy them! So I registered as a member on Zhongjiao Web and began my true orchid-growing journey. This was already 2007!! At this time in 2007, orchid prices were too high, especially for Jiangsu-ZhejiangChunlan orchids, while Fujian-GuangdongChunlan orchidswere quite cheap. But I heard some orchid friends say they were hard to grow, so I dismissed the desire to buy and just watched how things would develop. Hahaha, after 2008 orchid prices actually dropped a lot!! By then I had been on Zhongjiao Web for two years. Combining my years of orchid-growing experience and the theoretical methods from Zhongjiao Web, I started growing southern orchids and began trying to grow southern orchids in the north!! I introduced some varieties!! After several years of cultivation, I found that southern orchids are actually quite easy to grow!! In my humble opinion, let me share my views!!
One, don't let them die; in the first year after introducing southern orchids, you must use granular medium for growing. To increase quantity, sellers mostly use small nutrient pots with small stones forcultivation. This medium has few diseases and doesn't hold water, so after buying them back I use granular medium plus plastic pots forcultivation. Expose them to as much sun as possible. When frost comes in winter, move them to a sunny spot. When the temperature reaches about 5°C, move them indoors! For regular watering, just use tap water that has been left standing for a few days, watering once a week. Don't fertilize, just spray some monopotassium phosphate (southern orchids are mostly grown with hormones, and their own hormones are enough to last a year). Grow the roots well. This year, since they've just been introduced and aren't adapted to our climate here, most won't produce new shoots! Don't worry!! As long as they don't die, that's fine!!
Two, don't let them thrive; this may sound a bit funny, but it's not funny at all. Because in the first year you only water without fertilizing, just spraying a small amount of monopotassium phosphate, the old plants' own hormones are mostly used up, replaced by the monopotassium phosphate sprayed regularly. By the second year, the newly introduced old plants are noticeably thinner and weaker. At this point I replace the granular medium about 2 cm below the pseudobulb with soft, loose humus soil, expose them to more sunlight, and in winter let them endure a few cold snaps as much as possible. This year, extend the watering interval as much as possible. When it's time to water, add some organic fertilizer at a ratio of one part per thousand. Of course this is hard to calculate, so I just water with water from my goldfish tank!! When it's time to sprout, you'll see small shoots poking out, though they're quite weak, the leaves are very yellow and lacking trace elements, somewhat like viral infection. Don't be afraid - water with ferrous sulfate a few times at as low a ratio as possible. When the shoots grow to about 3 cm, spray with rice vinegar plus monopotassium phosphate about once every ten days, until the orchid shoots reach a certain height!! At this point, because of the regular watering with organic water and ferrous sulfate, the orchid leaves will slowly turn green! Of course they won't all turn green, so this stage is called "don't let them thrive"!! Hahaha!
Three, don't let them die; hahaha!! After several years of tempering, southern orchids have basically adapted to the northern climate. This year the southern orchids have essentially been reborn, and you can shift to normal management!! The shoots sent up last year, having been watered with organic water for a long time and having endured several cold snaps, have received vernalization. The pseudobulbs have formed heads, and the orchid leaves are much greener and glossier. In winter, try not to move them indoors (Chunlan orchids can tolerate lows of minus 3°C). Spray more monopotassium phosphate, and keep the orchid pots a bit drier. At this time, some of last year's orchid shoots will even produce flowers. After confirming the variety, remove the flowers on the third day after they open, then shift to normal management. When it's time to sprout, you'll have quite a few pleasant surprises!! Hahaha!! This is what's called "don't let them die"! Hahaha!!
The above is just my humble opinion!! For orchid friends' reference. Please correct me where I'm wrong!! Hahaha!!