Brother Liang Talks to His Orchids Every Day, and Grows Them on His Balcony with Perfectly Intact Leaf Tips

Photo 1, from right: Liu Mingliang, Yang Aiguo, Yang Daowu, photographed in front of Liu Mingliang's personalized exhibition hall at the 27th China Orchid Expo

Mr. Liu Mingliang, executive director of the Changsha Orchid Association, is known to everyone as "Brother Liang" - not only because his name contains the character for "bright," but also because his shaved head shines bright, and his orchids are beautiful too.

A few days ago,a few orchid friends and I went to Brother Liang's home to admire his orchids,and we happened to run into several reporters from Hunan City Channel interviewing him at his home about growing orchids on his balcony.I could tell that the reporters were captivated by the more than 300 beautiful orchids before them, and moved by this man so utterly devoted to orchids.They surrounded Brother Liang and the more than 300 orchids, constantly shifting angles and positions, chatting and filming as one question followed another. Every now and then the reporters would hold the microphone out to the guests and ask a question or two. Before anyone noticed, several hours had passed.

Photo 2 The reporters interviewing Brother Liang and Mr. Liu Neian, the grand master of Hunan orchids

Previously, I knew that Mr. Liu Mingliang was a well-known orchid fanatic far and wide, and a key backbone member of the Changsha Orchid Association, Changsha's orchid community, and the 27th China Orchid Expo. He spent almost all of his time outside work on cultivating orchids. He loved going up the mountains to collect orchids, loved taking part in all kinds of orchid events, and loved giving orchids to others; he was full of love for orchids and full of enthusiasm for his orchid friends, and listening to him talk about orchids in particular showed off his extraordinary power to inspire. His orchid friends were all over the world, and in Changsha and western Hunan alone, several hundred people had been influenced and inspired by him to become die-hard orchid enthusiasts.

After watching this interview from the sidelines, I came to understand Brother Liang even more deeply

Photo 3 On Brother Liang's balcony, more than 300 pots of orchids - every pot healthy, every leaf tip perfectly intact, and a high rate of new shoot production

1. How does he grow orchids on a balcony with perfectly intact leaf tips?

Growing orchids on a balcony poses many practical difficulties in terms of ventilation, light penetration, and moisture retention, and it is very hard to achieve perfectly intact leaf tips the way greenhouse orchid growing does. Yet looking at the orchids on Brother Liang's balcony, one is truly astonished: every pot healthy, every pot with perfectly intact leaf tips, every pot with a high rate of new shoot production. This time, he revealed his 5,000 secrets to the reporters: (1) Carefully blend the potting medium and choose the orchid pots. According to the orchid variety and the condition of the seedlings, choose orchid pots of different sizes and different potting medium formulas, so that the mix for every pot of orchids is

Photo 4 Brother Liang's home, where butterflies fly in when the window is pushed open

specially customized.(2)Improve ventilation conditions.Summers in Changsha are very hot, and the temperature on the balcony often reaches38-39degrees, so ventilation and air flow on the balcony must be strengthened. He installed several small fans on the balcony ceiling, and at a distance of3metersfrom the balcony he placed large fans2units, to dissipate heat from the orchid area out beyond the balcony.(3)In high-temperature weather the air conditioner runs nonstop, the fans run nonstop, the windows stay open,and the humidifier is turned on to cool things down.(4)In winter there are supplemental grow lights for extra light.(5)Water carefully.In summer, watering is generally done in the morning or evening with a heavy spray, after which the fans are turned on to dry the leaf surfaces and leaf centers. Because the orchid area's conditions are limited, he waters by pushing a cart to the bathroom to water, and each watering session takes4-5hours.

Photo 5 Brother Liang's orchids 1

2.He plans to build a wild orchid conservation base in the countryside

When the reporters asked where these orchids came from, Brother Liang said they were all wild orchids native to Hunan, selected and bred from the great mountains of western Hunan. Some he had selected and brought down from the mountains himself, some he had bought from grass farmers, and some he had exchanged with orchid friends. They were mainly Cymbidium faberi, Cymbidium goeringii, Cymbidium tortisepalum, Cymbidium kanran, and Cymbidium ensifolium, and every pot of orchids had a story behind its origins. He said that when he used to work in western Hunan, he often went up the mountains with orchid friends on holidays to collect orchids, and that selecting and breeding orchids on the mountains was a most interesting thing to do, while also involving a few rules that must not be broken: First, do not carry bags or bring picks and hoes, to ensure no reckless digging or collecting; Second, for any plant selected, if it has more than 10 shoots, the old pseudobulbs must be left behind, to ensure

Photo 6 Brother Liang's orchids 2

that there is still a source of propagation on the mountain; Third, any plants that are dug up and then discarded during selection must not be tossed or thrown about carelessly, but must be planted back on the mountain; Fourth, when going up the mountain with orchid friends to select orchids, tell them the rules and require them to follow them just the same. Nowadays, he still often digs for orchids on the mountains around Changsha or goes to western Hunan, but this is mainly for outings, for exercise, or at the invitation of orchid friends. He said that there are very few good flowers left on the mountains now, so on his last several trips up the mountain he hardly made a single selection.These orchids are the result of his20accumulation over many years, and are extremely precious resources. He plans to build a Hunan Province wild orchid conservation base to protect and propagate these wild orchid varieties selected and brought down from the mountains, and he is also setting about researching how to protect Hunan's native wild orchid resources. At the same time, he continues to collect and exchange some new wild varieties.

Photo 7 Brother Liang's orchids 3

3. He is an orchid grower full of passion and joy

The reporter asked“Don't you get tired doing all this?”Brother Liang said, growing orchids is a joyful thing!Although sometimes he works continuously for4-5hours, sometimes even longer, his heart is always full of passion and joy! He said,on his balcony he keeps160more than300varieties, totaling more thanpots of orchids, and throughout the year a delicate fragrance fills the air. Stepping onto the balcony, one's mind becomes clear and calm, one's spirit refreshed and body relaxed, breathing freely, thinking freely.He also shared with us many wonderful stories about him and his orchids……He said, you have no idea - when you collect a fine orchid, or rescue a rare variety,,or after several years of anticipation you grow a down-from-the-mountain gamble plant until it blooms, and it opens into a top-grade flower, what an exciting, meaningful, and fulfilling thing that is!

Photo 8 Brother Liang's orchids 5

Observing orchids growing, sprouting, and blooming every day, seeing orchid leaves like jade ribbons, admiring orchid flowers like beauties, and smelling their delicate fragrance like the divine, truly dispels fatigue, regulates the spirit, and fills one with delight and endless charm.Orchids are the spirits of the natural world. And being spirits, they must understand human nature. He said that since he began growing orchids, he has talked with his orchids every day. Sometimes this conversation is as deep and serious as facing a revered teacher, sometimes as relaxed and lively as facing one's own child, and sometimes it feels just like being in love with a beautiful woman one adores - always so genuine, so natural, and utterly intoxicating.This kind of pleasure gained from growing them oneself is the pleasure of labor, the pleasure of life, the pleasure of health, and an elegant pleasure. From chatting with Brother Liang, I learned thathe plans to write these feelings down and publish a collection of prose essays to share with his orchid friends.

Photo 9 Brother Liang's orchids 6

Photo 10 Brother Liang's orchids 7

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Photo 14 Brother Liang's orchids 11

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I very much look forward to the early completion of his wild orchid conservation base, and the early publication of his collection of orchid prose essays.

Let us give a thumbs-up to Brother Liang for his devotion to orchids and his success in growing orchids on his balcony with perfectly intact leaf tips!