How to fertilize cymbidium orchids in summer? Remember these key points

Summer iscymbidium orchidan important season for growth. At this time the temperature gradually rises, rainfall increases, andorchidsgrow vigorously, so their fertilizer requirement increases. Correct fertilization affects the normal growth of both new and old pseudobulbs, and also lays the foundation for bud formation in autumn. In the original habitats of cymbidium orchids, the air humidity is generally quite high, and nitrogen in the air dissolves very easily in water, which is then absorbed by roots and leaves. After being collected from the wild, they lose this uniquely favorable living environment. Moreover, most orchid growers emphasize permeability when cultivating cymbidium orchids, using large amounts of brick pellets, orchid stone, sainty soil, etc. These substrates have very poor fertilizer retention. The fertilizer they themselves contain is also limited. As the flower-growing proverb says: whether it lives or not depends on water, whether it grows or not depends on fertilizer. This shows the importance of fertilization. Therefore, in daily cultivation, fertilizer is extremely important, and fertilizing is meant to satisfy the nutrient needs of the orchid plant to the greatest extent. One: Summer fertilizing must adhere to giving equal importance to the "three elements." Orchidsrequire mainly the following nutrient elements: 16 nutrient elements including carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, molybdenum, and chlorine, among which the three elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are needed in larger amounts. Other elements are also needed for the growth of orchid plants, but the required amounts are extremely small. If trace elements increase, they can also cause considerable harm to orchid plants. Nitrogen can promote the formation of chlorophyll and protein in plants and is the "life element" of the metabolic process. If nitrogen fertilizer is increased during the growth period, it can make the plant robust, increase carbohydrate production, and benefit photosynthesis. Phosphorus promotes plant cell division and growth, especially promoting root growth, increasing nutrient absorption, directly participating in the plant's photosynthesis, accelerating the movement of photosynthetic products to the roots, promoting well-developed roots, and benefiting flower bud differentiation. Potassium fertilizer has a regulatory effect and participates in part of the metabolic process. Potassium is usually distributed in the most vigorous parts, such as young buds, tender leaves, and root tips. When potassium is deficient, the stress resistance of orchid plants becomes poor, making them susceptible topests and diseases. Therefore, adhering to equal importance of the three elements plays an important role in the emergence ofcymbidium orchidyoung buds and the sprouting of new roots. There must be sufficient nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to meet the growth needs ofcymbidium orchids, accelerate the growth of new buds and new roots, and promote cell division. Otherwise, in order to reproduce and carry on the new-old succession, cymbidium orchids will transfer nutrients from the old plants to the offspring seedlings, resulting in the phenomenon of "backward seedlings," and the old plants will gradually turn yellow and die. If cymbidium orchids lack fertilizer during the growth period, the new seedlings will be thin and weak, prone to disease, and difficult to grow strong. Two: Use both organic fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer. Inorganic fertilizers include urea, compound fertilizer, monopotassium phosphate, Huabao, etc. These inorganic fertilizers are referred to as inorganic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers include: cow dung, rapeseed cake, soybean cake, etc. Inorganic fertilizers must first dissolve in water into an ionic state before they can be absorbed. Organic fertilizers must be fully fermented and decomposed into inorganic substances through the action of microorganisms, and only after dissolving can they be absorbed by the roots. Inorganic fertilizers take effect quickly, while organic fertilizers take effect slowly but last a long time. The ancients who cultivated orchids used special organic fertilizers, and the flowers were fragrant and mellow. In my own cymbidium cultivation, I wrap fully fermented organic fertilizers such as cow dung with wet loess, form them into round balls, dry them in the sun, and place them at the edge of the pot so that the orchid plants can absorb them slowly, while using inorganic fertilizer for foliar spraying. Using both together gives excellent results. In my personal experience, orchid plants given only inorganic fertilizer have a somewhat poorer fragrance than orchid plants given organic fertilizer. Some organic fertilizers and inorganic fertilizers cannot be mixed. Orchid growers need to pay attention to this. 1. Farmyard manure such as human and animal excrement and urine cannot be mixed with alkaline fertilizers such as plant ash, lime, and calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer. The main component of human and animal excrement and urine is nitrogen. If mixed with strongly alkaline fertilizers, it will become ineffective due to neutralization. 2. Superphosphate cannot be mixed with strongly alkaline fertilizers such as plant ash and lime, otherwise the effectiveness of phosphorus will be reduced. Sparingly soluble phosphate fertilizers such as phosphate rock powder and bone meal cannot be mixed with alkaline fertilizers such as plant ash and lime, otherwise they will neutralize the organic acid substances in the soil, making the sparingly soluble phosphate fertilizer even harder to dissolve, and crops will be unable to absorb and use it. 3. Chemical fertilizers cannot be mixed with bacterial fertilizers. Because chemical fertilizers have strong corrosiveness, volatility, and hygroscopicity, if mixed with bacterial fertilizers such as rhizobia, they will kill or inhibit the living bacteria and make the bacterial fertilizer ineffective. Three: In July, fertilizing should appropriately increase potassium fertilizer. Potassium mainly exists in the plant's cell sap in ionic form and does not participate in the composition of important organic matter in cymbidium orchids. Potassium has relatively high mobility within the plant, continuously transferring from aging tissues to new tissues, with a high reuse rate. Potassium can promote the activation of enzymes in the body. It can promote the absorption of nitrogen and benefit protein formation and nucleic acid metabolism. It plays a great role in increasing the content of lignin and cellulose in the body and enhancing the toughness of leaves and stems. July is precisely the leaf elongation period of cymbidium orchids. Because cymbidium orchid leaves are ribbon-shaped, some reaching more than 50 cm in length, to keep cymbidium orchid leaves tough, upright, and gracefully shaped, July is a foundational period. Only by increasing the application amount of potassium fertilizer in July, increasing the content of lignin and cellulose in cymbidium orchids during the leaf elongation period, thickening the leaf cell walls, and developing a well-developed mechanical tissue, can the inherent characteristic of cymbidium orchid leaves with the bearing of a scholar-official be manifested. Four: Apply thin fertilizer frequently Cymbidium orchid plants are relatively tall, but their pseudobulbs are the smallest among terrestrial orchids. Because the pseudobulb is a warehouse for storing nutrients and water, a small pseudobulb means a small storage capacity. Under wild conditions, cymbidium orchids rely on well-developed root clusters and strong underground absorption capacity to meet the growth needs of the aboveground parts. In this way they can compensate for the shortage caused by small pseudobulbs and low storage capacity. However, under artificialcultivationconditions, due to the limitation of pot capacity, the advantage of the cymbidium orchid's well-developed root clusters cannot be brought into play, and the nutrients absorbed by the roots often cannot meet the needs of the aboveground parts for growth and development, so it must be supplemented multiple times and in sufficient amounts with various elements. Because cymbidium orchids have no pseudobulb neck, but have many leaves and high consumption, they like fertilizer more than other terrestrial orchids. Therefore, fertilizing should be frequent, but thin fertilizer should be applied frequently. It is best to apply dilute liquid fertilizer. From early March to early October each year, water once with diluted decomposed organic fertilizer. During the growth period, spray Lanjunwang once every 10 days. From August to November, spray Huabao No. 3 or monopotassium phosphate once every 15 days, alternating use, to promote flower buds. Five: Foliar fertilization and root fertilization. Foliar fertilization is a fertilization method in which fertilizer is mixed to a certain concentration and sprayed onto the leaves, entering the interior of the leaves through leaf stomata and the cuticle. It is mainly used as a fertilization measure to strengthen crop nutrition and prevent and treat certain element deficiencies in crops, and it is also an important way to improve fertilizer utilization efficiency. When plants absorb external nutrients, the absorption pathways are mainly: nutrients --- cell wall water film --- plasma membrane --- cell interior. Nutrients absorbed through the leaves mainly transfer to the growth center, and during the reproductive growth period, they transfer to the main organs. According to experiments, the speed and effect of foliar fertilization are 1 times faster than root topdressing. It is generally not limited by fertilizer variety (referring to inorganic fertilizers). Attention should be paid to the scientific matching of various elements, strictly controlling the ratio of water added, preferring dilution over concentration, and eating small meals more often. On the day after each foliar fertilizer application, spray the leaves with water once. In this way, it can both improve fertilizer efficiency and keep the leaf surface clean, allowing leaf stomata to open and close freely. It should be noted that foliar fertilization can only serve as a supplement to root fertilization and cannot completely replace root fertilization. The effects of foliar fertilization vary greatly, especially for some major elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers. Experiments show that more than 10 foliar applications are needed to reach the total amount of one root fertilization. Therefore, foliar fertilization can only be carried out on the basis of root fertilization and can only serve as a supplement to root nutrition. Botanically speaking, the part of the cymbidium orchid root that absorbs inorganic salts is the non-suberized root tip, mainly through ion exchange, generally through the soil solution. After ion exchange, the ions of inorganic salts are adsorbed on the surface of the root cell protoplasm. The key to ion exchange lies in whether the concentration of the root cell sap and the concentration of fertilizer in the soil are balanced and consistent. If the fertilizer concentration is higher than the root cell sap concentration, root water will flow toward the fertilizer, causing root damage. Nowadays, everyone mostly uses coarse granular substratecultivation, and the water content of the substrate in the pot is often insufficient. Therefore, adding enough water to dilute the fertilizer is what ensures that cymbidium orchids can safely absorb fertilizer without causing damage to the roots. Once the ions outside the cymbidium orchid roots enter the root cells, after being transmitted through a series of living cells in the root, they finally enter the vessels, are transported along with the water flow in the vessels to the pseudobulb, then transported to the chlorophyll in the leaves for photosynthesis, and finally the organic matter produced by photosynthesis is transmitted and distributed through the sieve tubes to the growth center and other parts that need it most.