Can orchids be rained on during the plum rain season? I try to mimic the wild state and do this

Once orchid enthusiasts have gained a certain understanding of watering orchids, they fall into another tangled loop. They already know how to control water for orchids, but what if the orchids are grown outdoors in the open on rainy days? These days, because the Yangtze River basin has had a lot of rain, many orchid enthusiasts wrote to Haoshe Farmer asking about these details.

Haoshe Farmer's advice to them is: if you do not grow many orchids, and you have the conditions and time to move them, then during consecutive rainy days you can choose to move them to a sheltered place, so you do not have to worry about the orchid pots being too wet and the roots rotting. But if you grow as many as I do, moving them in and out every time is obviously impossible, so I will use my own method to explain to everyone.

Haoshe Farmer built an orchid shed in the open field, with shade netting on top (75% shade rate). During the plum rain season I have never used plastic film to block the rain. Because I think using plastic film will increase the humidity and temperature of the whole orchid shed, which is not good for the normal growth of orchids in summer, and instead makes them prone to stem rot and root rot.

The density of the shade netting itself can keep raindrops from directly hitting the orchid leaves; it has a buffering effect. In fact, the rain inside the shed is a little lighter than outside the shed. This kind of rain can wash the leaves, and clean leaves can breathe better; orchid leaves need to breathe. There is another advantage: Haoshe Farmer's orchids basically are not watered, unless in summer when it is especially dry and I water them manually, which also saves a lot of labor.

The picture above shows the Cymbidium goeringii and Cymbidium faberi in Haoshe Farmer's orchid shed, all in a simulated wild state. Of course, this kind of rain exposure has a condition: Haoshe Farmer is in a mountainous area without industrial pollution, where the air quality is good, and the rain will not have much effect on the orchids. If you are in an industrially polluted area, then whether to let them be rained on or not, please take care of yourself.

An orchid enthusiast raised a practical question: before, you said orchids cannot be watered in the summer afternoon, so what if it rains? Those who ask this question are attentive orchid enthusiasts. Let me tell you.

The orchid shed under the shade netting is also relatively cool in summer. Both ends of my orchid shed are open, so air circulation is very good. The orchid shed built beside a small stream often has cool breeze blowing through. Generally speaking, the temperature of the orchid potting soil in the shed is not as high as outside. Even if there is a summer afternoon thunderstorm, it will not form hot steam, so the effect on orchids is not great.

To thank everyone for their support of this official account, Haoshe Farmer has nothing to repay you with, so I specially take the charcoal-dried white tribute chrysanthemums grown at home last year as gifts, and hold a fan lottery on 2018--06--18. The number of lottery winners is tentatively set at 80, and every winning fan will receive the chrysanthemums given by Haoshe Farmer free of charge.

The specific lottery details will be announced on June 17, please pay attention and do not miss it. Scan the QR code above to follow this official account.