How to fertilize orchids? Traditional orchid fertilization methods

"Jinzhang Lanpu" (Jinzhang Orchid Manual) mentions a "fertile mud method," which involves pouring human feces over burnt soil and leaving it piled for two or three months. When using it, take the "fertile mud" and mix it with "sandy soil." It also says, "Fish scale water is also a fertilizer, but it must be soaked until the odor has passed; after a long time it becomes clear and can be used." "Lanhui Jing" (The Orchid and Huilan Mirror): "Take good mountain soil and mix it with manure collected in the twelfth lunar month to form clods, place them in fire and lightly burn them, then take them out and put them in a jar to sun-dry. If there is dew or heavy rain, cover it; light rain does no harm. This is called 'golden mud.' Only after three years, when this mud can grow grass on its own, may it be put into pots, but it must not be used in large amounts: one or two liang for a small pot, three or four liang for a large pot. It should only be placed at the bottom of the pot and must never come near the roots, for fear the roots cannot tolerate the fertilized soil and harm will result instead." "Yilan Yaojue" (Essential Secrets of Orchid Cultivation) describes the "method of watering orchids and huilans to make them strong": "When orchids and huilans grow in the mountains, the soil is deep and the vital energy is abundant; they need no added strengthening and are naturally fragrant. But if moved into pots, the soil is thin and poor; without the aid of strengthening to help them grow, how can they flourish? However, strengthening watering must be done at the right time to be effective; otherwise it is wasted effort and causes harm. Each year at the spring and autumn equinoxes, within ten days before and after, you may water twice per node, and during the moldy rainy season also water twice. When watering, you must choose a time when the north wind turns cool, so as to avoid heat toxins injuring the roots; be warned. After watering, shield them from the sun for five days; otherwise black and white spots will appear on the leaves, which is instead unsightly. When watering, first observe whether the leaves are strong or thin. If the pot is vigorous and the leaves luxuriant, you may water slightly more. If the leaves are small and somewhat spotted, then water lightly. If in the pot there are one or two shoots and the rhizome is incomplete, you should hold back and cultivate them plainly. If by the ninth or tenth month the roots and leaves have finished growing, there is no need to water. People often say strengthening water is unsuitable for orchids, but this is all because they have not examined the principle. Here I specially write in detail below whether each kind of strengthening water is suitable or not, for reference. Silkworm droppings are mild in nature and mulberry leaves are cool; collecting the sand and soaking it in water is a wonderful prescription. After watering, yellow leaves can return to green, and it best promotes leaf growth and root formation. In the fourth month, collect the droppings of the second silkworm brood, soak them in water, and wait until the heat has passed and the liquid has cleared before use. When watering, blend with clear water, and it is essential to avoid sunlight for several days. Where in the mountains can deer be found, and how could their dung be brought home? Though it may be obtained in herbal medicine shops, you should know this dung is formed from firewood. The ancients passed down that water soaked with deer dung is most wonderful for watering orchids, yet it is not easy to obtain. Deer used in medicine-making eat firewood, grass, beans, and wheat; their nature is damp-heat, and it cannot be used. Swallow root soaked in water is most excellent; it warms and tonifies while also greatly promoting growth. Poured into the pot, it removes damp-heat, and is second to none for promoting root growth and leaf development. After swallow root has been soaked in water for two months, it can be used for watering; for promoting roots and growing leaves, it truly deserves to be called the best prescription. Old dung added as a watering is the strongest, but orchid roots are tender and weak and cannot withstand it; moreover it gathers damp-heat and much saltiness, and watering the secluded flower with it will certainly cause injury. Human feces is salty in nature and very damp; watering with it is of no benefit. The leaves of a vigorous pot may at first flourish after watering, but over time the leaves will all drop off, and it will be beyond saving. Only if one uses "golden juice" transformed from decades-old feces will it do no harm to orchid leaves. Herb juice, you should know, is weak in strength; when clarified to be like water it is also good. But watering too much may indeed go against the season; after watering, face the wind and avoid sunlight. The juice of a hundred herbs, though safe, is unfortunately thin in strength. If you water several times too many, it may miss the proper season and instead be unsightly; just water with care. After the buds first emerge from the soil, they are mostly small and delicate and not suited to it. If you ask how to treat thin seedlings, watering with milk is a secret few know. Human milk is essence and blood rising, heavenly spirit descending, transformed into sweet moisture without saltiness. After the buds appear, use one wine cup per pot, diluted with clear water. By the eighth or ninth month, the seedlings will naturally become vigorous. Clam juice is extremely effective for watering orchids; it is cool, warming, and tonifying with endless wonders. Roots become strong and leaves flourish, autumn plants develop, and new flowers appear early and differently. Soak clam meat in water, expose it to sun by day and dew by night; after a long time it can be used. Its nature is both warm and cool, and it also tonifies; it is truly beneficial. For all the strengthening waters above, when using them you must blend them with clear water. Observe whether the leaves are strong or thin and whether the pot is large or small, and judge the amount accordingly. Yet you must also watch the weather; only when the north wind shifts may you water. If you do not follow the seasons and water at random, it will certainly ruin matters; do not blame the author of the manual for saying this incorrectly." "Diyi Xiang Biji" (Notes on the First Fragrance) discusses fertilizer for orchids: "The Changshu method: each year use pond mud to repot, and there is no need to apply fertilizer. If one cannot follow this method, the flowers and leaves will lack spirit, and those that can still grow vigorously must use the fertilized soil method. The methods vary: either use bean pod shell water, or the juice of a hundred herbs, or chicken feather water, or water soaked with deer dung. In all cases, during the sixth or seventh month, when the soil in the pot is thoroughly dry and rain showers are about to come, water the whole pot full with the fertilizer water, then wait for heavy rain to wash it through thoroughly. If the shower is not thorough enough, use a spray tube to pour stored rainwater through until it penetrates, so that the fertilizer energy moves downward, which is said to prevent stagnation and root injury." "Some say that in summer and autumn, watering with river water can replace the fertilized soil method. Among the fertilizer waters used earlier, bean pods taste astringent, hundred herbs taste sour, chicken feathers are rank in smell and may attract insects and ants, and deer dung is the same idea as hundred herbs and does not promote much growth either. Only chicken feathers must be soaked from the eleventh or twelfth month of the previous year until the fifth or sixth month; when clear and entirely free of rank odor, then the water may be used for watering." It also says, "In Changshu, when using manure, it must first be exposed to night dew for over a month before it can be used. It is best to do this around the spring and autumn equinoxes, when the soil is extremely dry, pouring it down from the side of the pot, never letting it touch the leaves or roots, then immediately wash it through thoroughly in the same way. After applying it, for half a month do not let it be exposed to the sun, otherwise it will wilt and rot." In "Lanyan Shulüe" (A Brief Account of Orchid Sayings), regardingorchidsthe use of fertilizer is described as follows: "When using pit sand, rinse it with water until clear and leave it for two months, then take it out, sun-dry it, and grind it into a very fine powder before use. However, it may only be used on disease-free leaves. As for medium and small leaves, even if disease-free, it is best not to use it. Even on the most vigorous leaves, use only one qian for a small pot and only five qian for a large pot; more will cause harm. Whenever repotting in spring, mix it with mud and plant with it away from the roots. If using pit sand alone and changing to fresh mud, after planting, if there is no disease by Minor Heat, then after three years mix it with old dung, very dilute, for strong concentration will cause harm. From Minor Heat to White Dew, wait until the soil in the pot is not hot, and water it up to three times before rain. If there is no rain, water it thoroughly with clear water each early morning. Other methods are unsuitable; using them will certainly cause injury." The "pit sand" mentioned here is what we modern people call "urine alkali." The method of using fertilizer in "Lanhui Tongxin Lu" (A Common Record of Orchids and Huilans): "In using fertilizer, less is best. In places like Ningbo and Shaoxing, they burn hair into charcoal, grind it fine, and apply it to orchids; they soak pit sand until dilute, grind it fine, and apply it to huilans." "Or collect white-colored dog dung dried in the wild," "or mix infant milk feces with sandy mud, place it in a well-ventilated spot to dry, let it age for two years, and use it at the edge of the pot. These two methods of cultivation are worth adopting." "In the third, fourth, seventh, and eighth months, when the surface of the pot is about to dry, you may water with fertilizer. The method of forcing flowers during the dog days also requires fertilizer. But you must be careful and attentive. The fertilizer may be fresh soybean milk from a tofu shop, or bean grass juice, or old dung; each has its own merits. As for what I use, I take water from bamboo shoot shells of the previous year. In spring when eating bamboo shoots, fill a container with the shells, add a little clear water, cover it with a pot, and let it rot and stink freely. Take and use it the next year; then its nature is somewhat milder, and its vapor does not scorch, and it is proper to blend it with clear water. After watering, avoid sunlight for five or six days, and only when the pot surface has dried in the wind can it receive sun again." "Lanhui Xiaoshi" (A Short History of Orchids and Huilans) discusses fertilizer use: "Fertilizers: in ancient methods, strengthening water included sheep and deer dung water, hide and horn shaving water, grass juice water, bean shell water, bean cake water, blood water, silkworm dropping water, and bath water; I have tried none of them. I think sheep and deer dung, blood, and bath water are too filthy, and filth causes root mold. Silkworm droppings, bean cake, and bean shell juice water are too hot and may also injure roots. Hide and horn and grass juice are too greasy and also not good. Only chicken and goose feather water soaked until rotten is acceptable. Nowadays in Shanghai there is a pure-cultivation method: if one wishes to water with strengthening water, mix shredded bird's nest with ox bone powder and a little chicken feather, and soak it in spring water for one year; if it can be aged longer, so much the better. Soak it in a large jar according to the method, sun and dew it in summer and autumn, and let it frost and freeze in winter, but it must not be rained on; if rain comes, cover it immediately. It must be allowed to rot, not to mold. When using it, observe whether the flowers are old or young and how many pseudobulbs there are, and take and use it according to the plant. Applied to top-grade famous flowers and newly planted delicate plants, it works just as desired; it is truly a most wonderful new method. All pure-hearted orchids and huilans, regardless of good or bad, dislike fertilizer; with fertilizer they will not bloom. If watered with strengthening water, the orchid leaves will gradually wither away. People do not understand their nature and instead complain that the flowers do not grow, not knowing that pure-hearted orchids are clean and, even on their native mountains, dislike fertilizer; nowcultivatedin pots, they should all the more be cultivated plainly." It also says, "In all cases, watering with fertilizer should be frequent and dilute; above all avoid sudden and heavy applications." The book "Lanyuan Jishi" (Records of the Orchid Garden) makes a general summary of the ancients' use of fertilizer, dividing former orchid fertilization into sixteen kinds. The first is golden juice, that is, human feces, sealed in a jar and left for two or three years before use. The second is human middle white (a Chinese medicine name). Take long-aged pit sand, soak it thoroughly in clear water, dry it in the shade, grind it into powder, mix it with an equal amount of mountain soil, and place it at the edge of the pot. The third is dog dung, white being best. Use as above. The fourth is silkworm droppings, that is, silkworm feces, which must be from the previous year, stored in a jar and soaked for three or four months until it becomes a brown liquid, then mixed with water at twenty to thirty times and poured on. The fifth is poultry dung: mix chicken dung and pigeon dung with an equal amount of mountain soil, place in the shade to ferment, then break it fine and place an appropriate amount along the pot rim. The sixth is sheep tripe grass: generally take the undigested residual grass from sheep tripe at a slaughterhouse, add water and store it in a jar, and after half a year dilute with water and apply. The seventh is river clam: store clam meat in a jar, and after half a year add ten times water and water the orchids with it. Its advantage is that after half a year the clam water has no strange odor. The eighth is snake skin: cut it into pieces, add water, soak in a jar, seal it, and bury it deep underground; after one or two years, add a hundred times water and apply. The ninth is fishy water: take fish scales, bones, and innards, compost them for one year, then add water and apply. The tenth is dew: use it to moisten a dry cloth; during the dog days collect field dew, and use one bowlful each morning, which can make vigorous orchids bloom as soon as possible. The eleventh is cake type (bean cake, rapeseed cake): after composting and fermentation, add water and apply. The twelfth is broad bean shells or bamboo shoot shells: add water, compost, ferment, and set aside for use. The thirteenth is grass juice: compost golden camellia and the like. The fourteenth is bone powder: livestock bones burned into bone charcoal. The fifteenth is infant milk feces: mix with mountain soil, dry in the wind, and apply after one or two years. The sixteenth is human milk: when new buds emerge from the soil, give one small cup each time to make them grow strong. The fertilizers listed by Mr. Gu are those commonly used in old-time orchid cultivation. Though composting them is cumbersome and they have a foul odor, they are good organic fertilizers. Most modern orchid growers do not use them. But in my personal view, if conditions permit, it is still better to compost some. Modern peoplegrowing orchidsoften favor only inorganic fertilizers. On the one hand, inorganic fertilizers are single in composition, and on the other hand, the amount and timing of application are hard to judge. Still, generally speaking, their quick effect is an advantage. What has been discussed above are all the methods of preparing and using fertilizer from our forebears. Things like bird's nest, human milk, and deer dung, aside from being unaffordable, are probably impossible for some to obtain. We can refer to the experience of our predecessors, discard the dross, and make it useful for ourselves. Excerpted from "OrchidTreasure Classic"