Whether a fertilizer or pesticide for orchids works well must be tested through practice

To be honest, who doesn't want theircultivated'sorchidsto sprout more, grow more seedlings and bloom more! It can both reflect one's own orchid-growing skill and carry certain economic benefits. So in the past dozen years or so, many manufacturers and companies have targetedorchid growers'this common psychology, with root-promoting and plant-growing products... those so-called high-tech products hitting the market one after another, catering toorchid growers'preferences. The instructions claim miraculous effects, but what are the actual results? Take America's "Root Promoter" for example. The instructions on its bottle say: "For orchids and flowers with no roots, rotten roots or black roots, first wash and disinfect the roots, dry them in the shade, then soak the roots in undiluted 'Root Promoter' for 2 hours before replanting; the effect is remarkably fast." I don't know whether they ever conducted real trials on Chinese orchids (Cymbidium), but the results when my friends and I followed the instructions clearly did not match what was claimed, and quite a few plants died. For several years afterward, I practically gave up eating for fear of choking, and felt a bit afraid whenever I saw such products. Friends said, "You fuss over yourorchidstoo much, so it's hard to have many of them." In the spring of 2003, I was teaching part-time at Zhejiang Education Institute on Wensan Road in Hangzhou, and there I learned that it housed a company called Huilan Technology, which specialized inorchidhybrid breeding and tissue culture, and had developed and produced a product called "Guolan Germination Promoter" that could promote orchid plants to sprout more. But because of that earlier bad experience, I obviously just listened without taking it seriously. Later I visited the company's laboratory and trial base and saw with my own eyes large numbers of orchid seedlings of various forms bred through artificial hybridization and tissue culture techniques; some had very beautiful leaf variegation, and some had short, wide leaves. I also saw pots oforchid plantsthat had been treated with "Guolan Germination Promoter" growing very luxuriantly in ordinary conditions. The facts right before my eyes did move me again, but I still warned myself not to act rashly and to wait and see. I then got in touch with some large orchid-growing households in Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Taizhou and other places. It turned out they had already been trying it, and when I asked about the results, their answers were very positive. Only then did I begin to think of giving it a try. In the spring of 2004, the Huadu Horticulture Market on Shiqiao Road in Hangzhou held a cross-strait orchid exhibition. There I met Mr. Zheng Liming of Huilan Technology again and bought two bottles of "Guolan Germination Promoter." After returning home, I immediately prepared a 100-fold dilution according to the instructions and poured it around the orchid plants, judging the amount so that it would thoroughly moisten the orchid roots without letting the solution flow out of the drainage holes. This way of using it saves solution. I applied it once a week, from mid-February to early May. As a result, the sprouting rate of most orchid plants was noticeably higher than in previous years: some front-growth pseudobulbs sent out two strong shoots at the same time on the left and right sides; some new shoots, before they had even fully matured, split off another new shoot; some old back-growth pseudobulbs also sent out new shoots; some two plants produced three shoots; and some four plants produced four shoots, all of which grew into large plants with more than four leaves. Strong plants especially had a higher sprouting rate and grew into large plants faster. When I parted the potting medium to check, I found the orchid roots were white and thick. In the second half of the year, almost all these orchid plants produced thick, sturdy flower buds, and they are blooming now. It seems that in addition to promoting germination, "Guolan Germination Promoter" also has the effect of promoting rooting, strengthening seedlings and promotingflowering! Quite a few orchid friends saw that my orchids' sprouting rate and growth vigor surpassed theirs and asked what new tricks I had learned. I told them it was because I had used "Guolan Germination Promoter." Of course, a few pots of orchids showed no obvious increase in sprouting rate; I don't know whether that was related to the variety or to other reasons. Besides using the "Germination Promoter," conventional fertilizer and water management cannot be neglected either. Watering well and fertilizing lightly are theorchid-growingfundamentals. Orchid fertilizers and pesticides on the market today can be described as a bewildering variety. Some have undergone rigorous testing, especially practical trials at orchid bases before being put on the market, and such fertilizers and pesticides are relatively safe and effective. But some pesticide factories and chemical fertilizer factories have no one who understands orchids and no orchid base; they take fertilizers and pesticides originally used on grain and vegetables, change the name, and put them on the market as orchid fertilizers and pesticides. That is not very safe. Because of the special nature of orchid mycorrhizae, orchids differ greatly from other plants in their requirements for and tolerance of fertilizers and pesticides. Therefore, the author believes that when purchasing orchid fertilizers and pesticides, orchid growers should first find out whether the product has truly undergone careful trials on orchids. Does it work or not? Is it good or not? You had better try it yourself and let practice speak! (Shishan, Zhejiang)