Cultivation Tips for Albino (Su) Flowers of Yunnan Orchids: Shade the Buds When They Emerge, and the Blooms Will Be Pure as Ice and Jade
Friends often ask: among the Su flowers of Yunnan orchids, why does the degree of whiteness of the blooms differ from place to place, household to household, and time to time? Is it a varietal factor? Or a cultivation factor? In my view, based on my own experience, it should be stated clearly that it is not a varietal factor but a cultivation factor, and to change this situation and solve this problem, scientific cultivation techniques must be used.
Su Flowers of Yunnan Orchids
The Su flowers among Yunnan orchids refer to Su flowers in the original sense of the word. The original meaning of Su is white, and the original-sense Su flower among orchids is an orchid that is entirely white with no mixed colors. Su orchids, like moonlight, like auspicious snow, like the tide's silver rim, like blue clouds, spotless, elegant and pure, cleansing to heart and mind, are the finest taste of Chinese orchids, the highest realm of Chinese orchids, the traditional charm of Chinese orchids. This taste, this realm, this charm, perfectly match the Oriental aesthetic sensibility and temperament of quiet detachment and inner beauty beneath outward grace, and are therefore highly esteemed. It can be said that original-sense Su flowers are the essence of Chinese orchids. Consulting historical records ancient and modern, the several Su flowers recognized among Chinese orchids mostly come from Yunnan orchids; the well-known ones include: Da Xue Su (Large Snow Su), Xiao Xue Su (Small Snow Su), Xue Lan Su (Snow Orchid Su), and Lian Ban Su (Lotus-Petal Su). These few Su flowers, pure as the moon, clean as snow, bright as the tide, with fine veining like clouds, are the crowning masterpieces of Yunnan orchids.
Since original-sense Su flowers among Yunnan orchids are held in such high regard, how to cultivate Su flowers with scientific techniques has become a question worth exploring and putting into practice for all of us. The cultivation of Su flowers reflects the overall cultivation level of orchids. Su flowers are easy to grow, but hard to get the Su quality fully in place.
Su Flowers of Yunnan Orchids
How to get original-sense Su flowers fully in place, that is, fully white, is something our predecessors explored and gained some experience in. It is worth learning from, and its core is shading. More sun means colored veining in the blooms, more shade means whiter blooms; this is the scientific basis for the shading cultivation technique of Yunnan orchid Su flowers. Taking Lian Ban Su as an example, when it is found in deep mountain valleys, the scape is white, the flowers are white, the veins are white, icy and jade-boned, pure and elegantly plain; after being transplanted into pots and grown at home, the degree of whiteness changes, with the flowers white but the scape tending green, and the petal veining becoming coarse and prominent. Investigating the cause, in the mountains the leaf-litter layer is thick, and the flower buds sprout and grow within that leaf-litter layer, shaded for a long time; added to this, the orchid clumps grow under tree shade and receive little sunlight, and so the flower stems are quietly white and delicately pale. This shows that environmental change causes flower color change, and restoring the environment can restore the flower color. How to restore the environment depends on cultivation techniques to achieve.
The cultivation technique for Su flowers should begin when the buds emerge. Da Xue Su, Xiao Xue Su, and Lian Ban Su successively produce flower buds after the Beginning of Autumn and the End of Heat. When buds are seen to emerge, three methods can be used to shade them. One is to cover the buds with water moss so the buds are not directly exposed to sunlight. Another is to cover the buds with a light-blocking paper sleeve to isolate them from sunlight exposure. A third is to place the orchid pot in a shaded spot where no sunlight reaches all day. In late winter and early spring, the Su flowers gradually open; when the flowers are blooming, do not place them in sunlight for viewing, to avoid the situation where original-sense Su flowers open pure white but later turn green.
Su Flowers of Yunnan Orchids
The cultivation technique for Su flowers is a profound field of study, awaiting further joint exploration by fellow orchid growers, with the aim of restoring to Su orchids their clean floral quality, and thus hoping in it, finding beauty in it, and finding benefit in it, savoring the noble realm of original-sense Su flowers, quiet in the secluded valley yet sending fragrance far and wide. Fellow orchid growers, have you ever cultivated Yunnan orchid Su flowers? If you also like growing orchids, you are welcome to follow and share, and thank you for your comments and likes, thank you!