A Detailed Guide to Hydroponic Techniques for Chinese Orchids

Chineseorchidtraditionalcultivationtechniques cannot do without natural soil and artificial growing media. In conventionalcultivation, watering and fertilizing are indispensable.Orchidsdepend on three major factors for growth: soil, water and fertilizer. If these are not properly controlled, they will seriously affectorchidgrowth and development. In order to free orchid growing techniques from traditionalcultivationmethods, to present them to people in a newer, more beautiful and better form, and to bring people a more elegant and fragrant experience, the soilless cultivation nutrient solution factory of Yanjiang District, Shaoguan City, through several years of practical exploration, solved the technical difficulty of nutrient solution ratios for orchid cultivation, developed a special nutrient solution for hydroponic orchids, and achieved success in hydroponic orchid techniques. Here is a brief description of some technical aspects of hydroponic orchids and the physiological and ecological changes of orchids after hydroponics: 1. Hydroponic methods for orchids: Hydroponic orchids can be done in allfour seasonsof the year, and it is especially better before rooting and sprouting in early spring. Before hydroponics, select mature plants of three connected seedlings or five connected seedlings, take them out with roots, cut off residual roots, diseased leaves and rotten tips, wash them clean, let them dry in the shade for half a day, then spray with one-thousandth thiophanate to disinfect the whole plant. When planting, carefully place the roots into a specially made fixing sieve, fix the orchid seedlings on the sieve with limestone or dolomite of 3X5 cm diameter, then place the fixing sieve with the planted orchid seedlings into a special basin already diluted with nutrient solution. Replace the nutrient solution every 1O to 15 days, each time adding half a bottle cap of nutrient solution per basin, and add clean water up to the drainage hole. After 15 to 30 days of cultivation, new roots will grow, and the plant will sprout and bloom normally. 2. Advantages of hydroponic orchids: After several years of exploration, hydroponic orchids have been proven to have the following advantages: 1. It can fully meet the water and nutrient requirements of orchid growth and development. It only requires replacing the nutrient solution on time without watering or fertilizing, effectively overcoming the contradiction of too much or too little water or excess or lack of fertilizer, and it can also solve the drawbacks of poor growth or susceptibility topests and diseasescaused by improper use of water, fertilizer and growing media in traditional cultivation. 2. It is not limited by conditions, which helps popularize orchid cultivation. In the past, orchid cultivation had strict requirements for pots, growing media and technical measures, especially for growing media, which was even more demanding. For urban residents and the vast number of orchid lovers, this was something that could be encountered but not sought. Hydroponic orchids require only nutrient solution, water and pots, with simple techniques and easy regulation, which is extremely helpful for popularizing orchids in thousands of households. 3. It can effectively overcome the drawbacks of traditional cultivation. In traditional orchid cultivation, it is very easy for black roots, rotten roots, yellow leaves and wilted seedlings to appear due to improper control of water, fertilizer and cultivation techniques, which makes beginners growingorchidsshy away. Often after problems appear, people seek good solutions from many sources, and opinions vary widely, yet they still cannot figure it out after much thought. With hydroponic orchids, simply replacing the nutrient solution at regular times and in fixed amounts can meet their growth and development needs, and the problems that are difficult to control in traditional cultivation methods will not occur. (Liu Hanguang)