How to choose orchid potting medium? Scientific medium selection is the key to growing orchids well

Promote Chinese orchid culture, spread orchid knowledge

With the development of society and the progress of technology, orchid growing medium has also shifted from the previous soil culture to breathable, replacement-oriented granular medium with more stable properties. Up to now, there are all kinds of orchid growing media, one could say the varieties are rich and diverse. Although there are many types of medium to choose from, after all, growing orchids itself is quite technical, and it cannot be succeeded in just by acting on impulse. Most experienced growers have, through time, figured out the orchid medium suitable for their own cultivation, but we beginners are still very confused. When faced with the wide variety of orchid media on the market, we still do not know how to choose, and even after buying, we do not know how to use them. Choosing orchid medium is the key to growing orchids well, and it is also the most important part of reducing the orchid mortality rate. Most people's orchids frequently develop diseases because of improper medium selection. Therefore, if everyone can know what kind of medium is suitable for orchid growth, can use it right away, and it is efficient, convenient and highly safe, then growing orchids will also become easy and simple for us. This is also one of the keys to lowering the technical difficulty of growing orchids. Please read carefully to the end; it will definitely overturn your understanding and be of great help to your future orchid-growing journey.

First, when growing orchids, we must break through the concept of soil. Growing orchids well cannot be done with soil; granular medium must be chosen. In recent years, one orchid medium widely used by many orchid enthusiasts is Songli Wang orchid medium, developed and produced by Orchid Bar after many years of research. It has already been upgraded and iterated many times. Its production area is in the Dahong Mountain in Hubei, one of the three main production areas of Chinese cymbidium in China. Its composition is irregular granules made from chestnut bark and pine bark through processing and full fermentation. Its quality is very light, it drains well and retains moisture, is rich in orchid fungi, and has sufficient nutrition. It can be used right after opening the bag without fertilization. It is a very simple and efficient organic orchid medium.

The chestnut tree component it contains is the cork used to make bottle stoppers, now exported in large quantities to Europe, especially France, for making wine bottle corks. It is also a natural harbor for the reproduction and life of various orchid fungi and multiple microorganisms beneficial to orchid root growth, while at the same time being unsuitable for the growth of unwanted fungi. Of course, using it as orchid growing medium still requires some special processing. Based on the advantages of this Songli Wang orchid medium, more and more people are using Songli Wang orchid medium to grow orchids, and it has become the first choice for current flower enthusiasts in orchid cultivation. However, when purchasing, everyone must pay attention to counterfeit and fake goods, and must buy through Orchid Bar's official channels. For example, searching "Songli Wang" on a certain e-commerce platform will find it, so as to avoid being deceived and losing both money and plants.

First, the traditional cultivation of orchids has always been the art of promoting orchid growth by optimizing the growth environment of symbiotic fungi. As long as an environment conducive to the growth of orchid fungi and inhibitory to harmful fungi can be created, orchids can grow well. The growth environment of wild orchids provides us with an optimized model favorable to orchid fungus growth. Songli Wang orchid medium is a natural harbor for the reproduction and life of various orchid fungi and multiple microorganisms beneficial to orchid root growth, while at the same time being unsuitable for the growth of unwanted fungi. Experienced orchid growers all know that orchids rely on the symbiosis between orchid roots and orchid fungi to obtain nutrients. However, in actual cultivation, few people clearly know whether there are orchid fungi in their orchid pots, what the state of orchid fungi in the orchid pot is, and how the situation of unwanted fungi and the degree of their mixing with orchid fungi affect orchid growth. For the vast number of orchid enthusiasts, only by being clear about these issues can orchids possibly be grown better. This kind of medium happens to be suitable only for orchid fungus growth and unfavorable to the reproduction of unwanted fungi. This is what we have proved through ten years of practice, observation and summary. Precisely because of the good symbiosis between orchid roots and orchid fungi, orchids send out many roots, long and white, and these can be maintained for 2 to 3 years. According to relevant identification, this medium contains large growth of various orchid fungi such as Armillaria species, Marasmius species, Xerocomus species, Corticium species, Clitocybe species and other orchid fungi, as well as rich beneficial microbial groups, and is very suitable for orchid root growth.

Second, Songli Wang orchid medium also has a very prominent advantage: because it is a granular organic medium, its air permeability, drainage and moisture retention are all very good. It is also rich in orchid fungi and can provide sufficient nutrients for orchid fungi and orchid roots, with no need for fertilization. The chestnut bark inside is soft and has a large air content. After watering, excess water can be drained immediately and moisture can be effectively retained. Using this orchid medium to grow orchids means there is no need to worry about root rot caused by overwatering, while the moisture retention effect is also very good, which is very beneficial to orchid root growth.

Third, Songli Wang orchid medium was developed and produced according to the growth environment of orchids in nature. Most orchids grow in places where pine bark, pine needles, chestnut bark and chestnut leaves have fallen and accumulated. Orchids growing in such places are very luxuriant, and at the same time have many flowers and strong fragrance. The substrate in such places is loose and fertile, rich in organic matter, and good in air permeability and drainage, suitable for orchid fungus growth. It is the growth substrate that orchids naturally choose in nature. After many observations, it is believed that after pine bark or pine needles rot, they produce a kind of fungus beneficial to orchid growth, just as Fuling grows on pine roots, because Fuling likes the probiotic group produced after pine bark rots. Also, rural cultivation of shiitake mushrooms all uses crushed chestnut trees processed and inoculated with shiitake mushroom fungus groups to grow shiitake mushrooms. This is because chestnut tree fragments are not easy for unwanted fungi to grow on and are suitable for the growth of shiitake mushroom fungus groups. Songli Wang orchid medium exactly uses chestnut bark and pine bark as the main materials, simulating this growth environment of orchids to the greatest extent, constantly finding ways to update and iterate, and doing its best to be better and more perfect. Therefore, orchids grown with Songli Wang orchid medium all grow very well, with thick roots, many shoots and strong seedlings. In the later stage, no fertilization is needed, yet the orchids still bloom and fade as usual. A few plants can grow into a large pot in three or four years. The orchids seem as if they are still growing on the mountain. Whenever repotting, the orchid roots have almost filled the pot, white and long, very spread out, except that the medium has been assimilated, decomposed and absorbed by the orchid roots and reduced by a lot. In some pots, almost only two or three handfuls of medium remain.

Fourth, using Songli Wang orchid medium has the effect of quickly rejuvenating orchids with rotted roots and weak seedling condition. When first potting with Songli Wang orchid medium, orchid fungi are mostly in spore form, and the quantity is not large. The orchid fungus spores in Songli Wang orchid medium will over time transform into orchid fungi and continuously reproduce, gradually increasing. For Songli Wang after boiling, there may even be no fungus group, but once Songli Wang orchid medium comes into contact with orchid roots, the orchid fungi at the orchid roots will penetrate over and rapidly reproduce inside Songli Wang orchid medium, gradually increasing. The process in which orchid root growth and orchid fungus increase mutually and in a balanced way absorb each other's secretions and excretions for their own use is what we call "synchronization." When using Songli Wang orchid medium to grow orchids, careful orchid enthusiasts can discover that there are many white fungi inside the medium. This kind of fungus is what we often call orchid fungus, and we also call it "probiotics." But there is also another situation where the fungus is green. This is unwanted fungus, which we also call "anaerobic bacteria." This kind of unwanted fungus is caused by poor ventilation, and we need to strengthen ventilation.

The characteristics and advantages of the four aspects mentioned above all reduce, to a greater or lesser extent, the technical difficulty of growing orchids in various aspects, and relatively speaking greatly increase the success rate of growing orchids. This medium still has many other advantages. For now, the above four aspects are introduced first so that the vast number of orchid enthusiasts can have a preliminary understanding. Interested orchid friends can first plant a few pots and try. Because the production area of this medium is regional, orchid friends not in the production area can purchase online. For example, searching "Songli Wang" on a certain e-commerce platform or clicking "Read Original Article" in the lower left corner will find it. A good medium can make growing orchids easy and yield twice the result with half the effort. This medium can be used right after opening the bag, or mixed with stones at 1:1. Beginners are recommended to mix it with stones, while experienced growers can use it directly. Author: Mei Fei, founder of the Orchid Bar forum, secretary of the Orchid Association of Jingshan City, Hubei Province, and an internet celebrity in the orchid industry on major self-media platforms.

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