Downhill cymbidium goes 45 days without water, and this is how it turned out on a balcony where rain never reaches it

Growing orchids in the city is simply not as good as in the countryside when it comes to temperature, environment, soil and water. But orchid hobbyists go all out to grow their orchids well, bringing every trick they know into play. Methods you could think of and methods you could never imagine all show off their brilliance in the process of growing orchids

The orchid-growing environment of Dahai, an orchid hobbyist in Shenzhen, is an open balcony, with no rain able to reach it from above, though ventilation is quite good. The wild orchids he potted in early March this year are still growing well now, and his Chinese cymbidiums (Cymbidium goeringii) have already pushed their new shoots up out of the soil

Dahai went away on April 2 and did not get home until May 17, a stretch of 45 days. During that time the orchids were left completely unattended, yet unexpectedly the orchids were still doing very well. So just what method did he use?

He placed a lot of mineral water bottles on the ground in the gaps between the orchid pots. Some of the bottles had slits cut in them and were filled entirely with water. Then on the day he left he gave the orchids one thorough watering. He said that this way he did not have to worry about the orchids not having enough humidity.

This method is somewhat similar to the fish tank method in Haoshe Nongfu's article yesterday, so it seems this kind of moisture retention really does work. And the fact that the orchids were still growing vigorously after 45 days without watering is enough to prove that orchids are not afraid of drying out, and once again confirms the orchid watering principle of "better dry than wet"

His balcony faces east, so there are three hours of sunlight every morning, and the sun cannot reach it at other times. Orchids love this kind of environment, and especially in summer there is no longer any worry about sunlight scorching the leaves

Dahai only got home today, so he had not yet had time to remove the moss. When he lifted the moss, he discovered the new shoots of his Chinese cymbidiums (Cymbidium goeringii) that had emerged from the soil

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