Growing orchids: use this kind of leaf as potting medium, the nutrition is plentiful enough

Orchids are plain and unadorned, with evergreen leaves, foliage that is soft yet firm, and flowers with a delicate, far-reaching fragrance. People have always regarded orchids as a symbol of nobility and elegance. However, many flower lovers who grow orchids are always agonizing over the question of what potting medium is best. Actually, one kind of leaf can also make a good potting medium for orchids.

This kind of leaf is the leaf of the sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima). Fermented sawtooth oak leaves give very good results when used to grow orchids. However, flower lovers are advised that when using them, a mixed amount of 30%-40% is most suitable, and they should not be used in excess. The other potting medium can be mixed with non-easily-powdering composted bark granules, Kanuma soil, a small amount of red soil granules, and other granular potting media.

Potting medium mixed this way is not only breathable and free-draining, but also nutritious. Fermented sawtooth oak leaves are the best carrier for breeding orchid fungi, and can provide a nutrient source for orchid roots that live in symbiosis with root fungi. Flower lovers who find this troublesome can also directly buy a special cultivation substrate for orchids.

Before using oak leaves as orchid potting medium, flower lovers can take the amount needed and first soak them in water for more than 2 hours; the leaves absorb water and soften, and it is best to use them after the color turns black.

In addition, when growing orchids with fermented sawtooth oak leaves, it is best to choose a tall, hole-less No. 8 black plastic pot for growing the orchids. After the above formula's potting medium is mixed, first grab a handful of leaves to pad the bottom of the pot, then the mixed material can be used for planting. When filling the potting medium, while filling the leaf mix, pat the pot body and shake the pot body.

Try to let the mixed potting medium naturally bind tightly with the orchid roots, and do not press the potting medium with your hands. Orchids should be planted rather low, and it is best to leave a distance of 3 cm between the pseudobulb neck and the pot rim. Finally, this last 3 cm is best filled with leaves to make the pot surface, and the leaves at the end should be filled level with the pot rim or slightly higher.

As long as flower lovers, when planting and filling the potting medium, pat the pot body and shake the pot body while filling, there will not be much empty space between the potting medium and the orchid roots in the pot. This formula's potting medium can be used to grow any variety of orchid, and the orchids will also grow very well, the roots will grow in great numbers, and the shoots will also multiply a lot.

Oak leaves decay too fast; generally after one year, or at most two years, the potting medium must be changed. Also, the growth rate is too fast, causing the pseudobulbs to be insufficiently round and large and the nutrition to be unable to keep up. At this time, a special nutrient solution for orchids can be used to supplement nutrition and also enhance resistance; when using, dilute 500 times and water the orchid roots with it.

About watering: this formula's potting medium, in a dry growing environment (balcony), needs frequent watering, and the mixed potting medium generally will not accumulate water. Leaves and bark have very good water-retaining properties. Flower lovers can, according to the temperature and evaporation, water thoroughly once every two nights in a high-temperature environment, keeping the potting medium in a moist state at all times; orchid roots grow best this way, and if the pseudobulb neck is dry for a long time, it will not send out roots or shoots.

In addition, when growing orchids with this kind of leaf, in an environment with suitable temperature (20-26 degrees Celsius), generally in about 30 days the orchid roots will grow out in great numbers, and the length can quickly reach 15-20 cm.

For orchid enthusiasts who like to use a "microwave" before planting to kill insects and sterilize the mixed potting medium at high temperature, and when necessary also need to inoculate "actinomycetes", so as to promptly provide beneficial orchid fungi to the potting medium and ensure the healthy growth of the orchids.