Dendrobium propagation methods: how to cultivate this perennial herb of the orchid family
DendrobiumAlso known as diaolan, it is a perennial herb of the orchid family and a precious traditional Chinese medicinal material; it is divided into Dendrobium nobile, Dendrobium officinale, Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo, Dendrobium fimbriatum and Dendrobium wardianum, and Dendrobium officinale is called “the first of China's nine great immortal herbs.”
Dendrobium is used medicinally as fresh stems or dried stems; it has the functions of benefiting the stomach and promoting fluid production, and nourishing yin and clearing heat, and is mostly used for conditions such as yin damage and fluid depletion, dry mouth and excessive thirst, poor appetite and dry retching, post-illness deficiency heat, and blurred vision; it is also a sovereign medicine widely used in traditional Chinese medicine from ancient times to the present for treating various syndromes of kidney yin deficiency and damage.
Dendrobium is not only increasing in dosage in domestic traditional Chinese medicine clinical formulas, but is also in great demand for export sales and as an industrial raw material for Chinese patent medicines, with an annual demand of 800,000 to 1,000,000 kilograms.
Dendrobium propagation methods are divided into two major categories: sexual propagation and asexual propagation. At present, asexual propagation is mainly used in production.
Sexual propagation: Dendrobium seeds are extremely small, with about 20,000 seeds per capsule, appearing as a yellow powder-like form. They usually do not germinate, and can only germinate and grow under environmental conditions with sufficient nutrients, suitable humidity and moderate light, generally requiring culture in a tissue culture room.
Asexual propagation is divided into three types
The first is division propagation: carried out in spring and autumn, preferably before Dendrobium sprouts at the end of March or the beginning of April. Select 1- to 2-year-old plants with good growth, no pests or diseases, well-developed root systems and many sprouts as stock plants, pull them up by the roots, remove dead branches and broken branches, cut off excessively long fibrous roots, keep old roots at about 3 cm, and divide them into several clumps according to the number of stems; each clump must have 4-5 stems and can then be used as seed stems.
The second is cutting propagation: carried out in spring or summer, preferably in May to June. Select robust 3-year-old plants, take their plump and rounded stem segments, keep 4-5 nodes per segment, about 15-25 cm long, insert them into limestone or river sand, with the depth set so that the stem does not fall over, and wait until the axillary buds on the stems sprout and grow white aerial roots, then they can be transplanted. Generally, when selecting materials, upper stem segments are mostly used, because they have apical dominance, so the survival rate is high, the number of sprouts is large, and growth and development are fast.
The third is aerial bud propagation: mostly carried out in spring or summer, mainly in summer. In Dendrobium plants more than 3 years old, axillary buds (also called aerial buds) sprout on the stems every year and grow aerial roots, becoming small seedlings; when they grow to 5-7 cm, they can be cut off and transplanted.