Why is watering orchids said to take three years of skill?
Let's talk about the three-year "skill" of watering!
It is often said that watering orchids takes three years of skill - where exactly does this "skill" come from? In my understanding, it should be like this! I remember an orchid grower who had achieved success saying this: let orchids live comfortably and eat their fill, and then they will grow well!
To grow orchids well, you must first understand the growth habits of orchids; orchids are shade-loving plants, and at 40% sunlight they can meet their photosynthetic needs.
Orchids are mycorrhizal plants; their nutrient supply is obtained by plundering the nutrients of fungi living around them to complete their nutritional supply. There are as many as 400 known types of bacteria that can support orchid growth; and most of them are aerobic bacteria!
Growing orchids means first growing the orchid fungi well; therefore the potting medium for orchids must be rich in nutrients for bacterial growth. At the same time it must also match the growing environment of the bacteria! Humidity 40%-60%, temperature 16-30 degrees. It must have a certain degree of air permeability.
Nowadays orchid potting media are of every description; each has its own characteristics, so I will not describe them here. When mixing, it must have a certain degree of granularity; only then can the air permeability of the medium be guaranteed; ensuring the orchid roots' breathing function proceeds smoothly!
The orchid-growing environment is an important factor in orchid growth! The orchid-growing environment I speak of here has two aspects;
First, the internal environment of the pot. The internal environment of the pot is mainly the physical properties of the medium; granularity. water content. volatility. air permeability. The combination of these factors is the decisive factor in ensuring "moisture" inside the pot! Each watering is a process from wet - moist - dry, and the longer the "moist" process lasts, the more stable the bacterial community. That is, the more fully the bacteria supply nutrients to the orchid. So placing sphagnum moss or fine soil on the pot surface serves this purpose. Too wet or too dry is not conducive to bacterial growth!
Second, the external environment; the external environment; is composed of factors such as ventilation, light, humidity, and temperature; ventilation affects humidity and temperature; sunlight is an important factor affecting temperature! Both orchid fungi and orchids need air; but too much ventilation also affects humidity and temperature! So the reasonable adjustment of ventilation, temperature and humidity is also a key issue in the orchid shed!
Finally, let's talk about where the "skill" of watering lies; where the skill lies is being able to reasonably control the amount of watering, and grasp the time interval between waterings so that the humidity inside the pot is kept in a moist state as much as possible!
One. Fully understand your orchid-growing environment
Two. Mix a potting medium ratio that suits you;
Three. Unify your pots and medium as much as possible.
Four. Master the amount of water when watering, and grasp the time interval between waterings (note that it is related to the weather)
Five. Just after potting, flush with plenty of water frequently; this helps balance the wet and dry of the potting soil and the fertilizer content, and after the plant has settled in, normal management can resume!
Six. Watering cycle; after three months it can gradually be extended, because the medium begins to decay and become finer; the water content of the medium will become greater.
The traditional orchid-growing method uses fine soil. light fertilizer. less watering; with moisture as the main focus! Today's heavy-water cultivation uses coarse medium. heavy fertilizer. heavy watering; with flushing as the priority and moisture as the supplement! The principles are strikingly similar!
I publish orchid knowledge and pictures every day, taking you to understand orchids in depth and teaching you to grow orchids easily. If there is anything you do not understand about orchids, you can ask me at any time or leave a message below. If my knowledge has helped you, I hope you can give me a like or share it to help more people!