Where can Bletilla striata seedlings be purchased? A guide to buying channels

Bletilla striata is a traditional astringent hemostatic Chinese medicinal herb. For a long time, wild resources supplied the market, but as resources have dwindled, its price has continued to climb over the past 15 years. At the same time, the high price has stimulated efforts to transition from wild to cultivated sources, and the scarcity of resources has also forced the development of artificial cultivation. Let's take a look below at where Bletilla striata seedlings are sold!

Where are Bletilla striata seedlings sold?

Bletilla striata seedlings are sold at Bletilla striata planting bases throughout the Yangtze River Basin in China. Bletilla striata prefers a warm, shady and humid environment. Its planting bases are mainly in Guizhou, Shaanxi, Gansu, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and other places, but the scale varies. They usually adopt a "company + base + cooperative + factory" model, implementing a business approach of "decentralized cultivation, unified management, unified technology, unified purchasing, unified branding and unified sales."

How much does a Bletilla striata seedling cost?

A Bletilla striata seedling costs about 2 to 3 yuan each. At the highest price, it once reached 5 to 6 yuan per seedling. However, prices vary greatly depending on seedling quality, market conditions and other factors. Usually about 8,000 to 10,000 seedlings are planted per mu, and the planting cost varies depending on the seedlings chosen. Planting with tubers costs about 30,000 yuan, domesticated seedlings about 15,000 yuan, and bottle seedlings about 8,000 yuan. Generally, after 3 years, a high-yield field can reach about 500 jin of dried goods, a medium-yield field 300 to 400 jin, and a low-yield field about 250 jin.

How should Bletilla striata seedlings be selected?

1. Variety identification: There are very many varieties of Bletilla striata, but among these varieties only five or six meet medicinal standards, and only three can produce high yields. If you do not have the ability to identify them yourself and merely trust the one-sided claims of seedling suppliers, it is entirely possible to buy inferior varieties.

2. Seedling selection: The most common ways to propagate Bletilla striata seedlings are direct seeding, tuber propagation and tissue-culture seedlings. Among these, direct seeding is the most reasonable and economical. Tuber propagation has a high survival rate and high yield, but the cost is too high. Tissue-culture seedlings have the lowest survival rate.

3. Beware of hormone-treated seedlings: There can be a gap of 1 to 3 months in the emergence time of Bletilla striata, but some companies abuse hormones and chemical fertilizers to advance emergence by more than 5 months. Seedlings that have been treated with growth hormones look very healthy, but after transplanting they easily turn yellow and wither and die.

4. Ordering time: In theory, Bletilla striata can be planted all year round, but the most suitable seasons are spring and autumn. Spring is most suitable for planting domesticated seedlings, and early autumn is also fairly suitable for planting domesticated seedlings. In late autumn and winter, tubers are generally purchased, and planting in summer is generally not recommended.