Six common mistakes in orchid cultivation, how many have you made?
OrchidsCultivation：Growing orchidsSix common mistakes
Orchids are much hardier plants than many other flowers, and they are easy and effortless to care for. But you often hear people say orchids are hard to grow. In fact, this is usually because they do not understand them well enough and use the wrong methods, which makes growing orchids frustrating. Actually, as long as you can get to know thegrowth habits of orchidsgrowth habits of orchids anew, what problem could remain? Generally, there are roughly 6 common mistakes in growing orchids:
1. Root suffocation
Most orchids are epiphytic orchids. No matter which growing medium is used to plant orchids, if you water too frequently and let the medium become saturated with water, the roots will remain in a soaked state. This prevents the aerobic roots from breathing, and on the other hand the symbiotic fungi in the roots also cannot breathe and die. Then the roots begin to rot and die. With no roots to absorb water, the plant suffers from water shortage, which shows up as leaves becoming shriveled, making people mistakenly think it is lack of water and water even more, so the orchid does not survive.
There are two ways to judge whether watering is needed. One is visual inspection: look at how dry or wet the growing medium is. If it is still wet, do not water again. The other is to weigh the orchid pot by hand. If it is heavy, likewise do not water again. Usually in the high-temperature period from late spring to early autumn, orchids grow vigorously, the temperature is higher and water evaporates quickly, so more attention is needed; water as soon as the medium is dry. However, in the low-temperature period in winter, water evaporation is slow, and orchid plants mostly remain in a stalled state of growth, needing very little water for growth, so the watering interval can be lengthened. In particular, most orchids are tropical plants, such as Phalaenopsis and Oncidium. Watering during a cold wave easily causes cold damage to orchids.
2. Frequent repotting
Orchids grow slowly, so the frequency of repotting is not very high. Furthermore, the micro-environment in the pot, such as the symbiotic fungi in it, needs time to develop. Frequent repotting clears out the old growing medium, which does not help the growth of symbiotic fungi. Repot only if you find the orchid plant tends to tip over, or if water is used up very quickly. For direct repotting, simply move it into a pot one size larger; if you want to divide the plant, use a pot of the same size as the original. When repotting, simply remove the old, withered roots; there is no need to wash the roots.
3. Random pruning
For most orchids, after the flowers fade, the flowers should be cut off. Only a few orchids, because their inflorescences have indeterminate growth, do not need their flower stalks cut off. Pruning leaves and branches is a major taboo for orchids. Unless they suffer from an infectious disease and the affected part must be cut away to prevent it from spreading further, do not prune no matter what (sometimes when orchid leaves get a disease, the plant will shed the injured or aged leaves on its own). This is because the leaves, stems and thick roots are all places where orchids store water and nutrients. Cutting off these parts at will will deplete the orchid's nutrients and make its growth vigor weaker and weaker.
4. Planting too deep
Do not plant orchids deeper just because they are unstable. In particular, sympodial orchids send out young shoots from the base of the stem. If the orchid plant is planted too deep, the newly grown young shoots are smothered in the medium and easily rot, so when planting, the height of the medium only needs to reach the base of the stem.
5. Applying strong fertilizer
Because orchid roots absorb very well, applying strong fertilizer easily dehydrates the roots, just like the principle of pickling vegetables with salt water, and the symbiotic fungi in the roots also easily die because of the fertilizer. So when fertilizing, follow the principle of "small amounts, applied often", dilute the fertilizer concentration, adding water at 1000-2000 times. This applies to both chemical and organic fertilizers.
6. Poor ventilation
In particular, the root systems of epiphytic orchids are mostly exposed in the air, and their leaves also grow on trees with good ventilation. Therefore, epiphytic orchids are mostly grown in breathable materials and special orchid pots with holes in the pot walls, then hung in a well-ventilated environment for cultivation, and in this way the orchid plants naturally grow well.