One pot of orchids blooms a hundred flowers: Grandpa Zhao is obsessed with growing orchids
Grandpa Zhao is obsessed with growing orchids, and one pot produced over a hundred blooms.
Grandpa Zhao is the famous flower fanatic in our village. Ever since he retired in 2015, he has been obsessed with orchids. He started growing orchids in his own small vegetable garden. Hard work pays off: this year, one of his pots of Jianlan orchid (Cymbidium ensifolium) bloomed with dozens of flowers, which thrilled him endlessly.
What is the reason? It all started with a chance encounter. On one trip to town to run errands, Grandpa Zhao got stuck in a traffic jam because the road was being repaired. So he rested at the spot where traffic was halted, waiting to be let through. Just then, a young shepherd happened to pass by, holding orchids in his hands. After talking with him, Grandpa Zhao spent just over a hundred yuan and bought them all. He took them home to care for them, and under his careful management, they grew quite well. After that time, caring for orchids became his second job.
After retiring, Grandpa Zhao, in his spare time, would take his tools to his firewood hill land to take a look and casually search for things like orchids. Sometimes, when a market day came around, he would even walk more than 10 km of mountain road to the flower and bird market in town to pick out orchids, and after buying them, he would walk back home again.
His dedication to orchids goes beyond even that. Sometimes, to solve a question about orchids, he would even go to the county bookstore to buy books to read. Or he would ask veterans with richer orchid-growing experience for advice. So at home, apart from doing a bit of work, Grandpa Zhao spends the rest of his time gathered in his own small garden, weeding, watering, and fertilizing the orchids.
It can be said that he has poured most of his energy and effort into growing orchids. Everything he has done has been rewarded. And so, this year, a pot of Jianlan orchid (Cymbidium ensifolium) he grew bloomed with dozens of orchid flowers, which made him extremely excited, and he even called the people around him to come and see. Through his own accumulated practice, he has learned a great deal about growing orchids. As for exactly how to care for and manage orchids, shall we listen to his detailed explanation next time? Please stay tuned.