How to grow orchid roots well? Besides moss, there is also this potting medium

When growing orchids, you must first grow the roots. In the process of caring for orchids, we generally use moss to wrap the root system and then pot them, or spread a layer of moss on the surface of the orchid potting soil. This can provide very good moisture retention and is also fairly breathable. As long as you do not water too much, root rot is unlikely to occur. So besides moss, is there any other good material that drains well and is breathable?

This good material is sawdust, but it is best to buy sawdust that has already been fermented. In fact, if flower lovers simply have time, they can also ferment wood shavings themselves. Put them in a burlap sack, place it inside a bag, and then leave it outside exposed to wind and rain for half a year. You can also mix it with soil and put it in a large container to ferment for about half a year.

Then mix the sawdust with some residue-free material that has been soaked in clean water for 24 hours and then dried again in the sun, and then add some dry, well-fermented poultry and livestock manure, and it can be used as nutrient soil. After potting the orchid, damaged roots recover more easily, and the well-fermented sawdust also contains relatively abundant nutrients, so after repotting it can quickly grow new roots.

If it is not yet time to repot the orchid, you can also use nutrient soil made from fermented sawdust and add it to the potting soil. Just loosen the potting soil with a small shovel, then mix the sawdust soil into it, add an appropriate amount of dry fertilizer, and water thoroughly once. After a week, you can mix in some more sawdust soil. As nutrients are continuously released, the orchid grows stronger and stronger, with more flowers and lush leaves.

Of course, when repotting, you can directly use nutrient soil fermented from sawdust, or use 1 part leaf mold soil plus 1 part garden soil, mixed with 1 part sawdust. The biggest characteristics of sawdust are that it is relatively loose, breathable, heat-retaining, and moisture-retaining. Long-term watering will make the soil compact and hard, making it hard for air to pass through. At this time, it is best to use sawdust mixed with nutrient soil to care for orchids. In winter it can retain heat, in summer it can retain moisture, and it can also promote the growth of new roots, helping the plant regain vitality.

In northern regions, because the soil tends to be salinized and alkalized, orchids are difficult to grow. Using some leaf mold soil plus sawdust to grow orchids will make the pseudobulbs larger, the buds strong, and the roots plump, and the roots will also appear semi-transparent and fat-like, making root rot less likely.

Sawdust will rot after being used for a period of time, so when used as an orchid substrate it must be mixed with other nutrient soils. Moreover, sawdust is suitable for fungal growth and grows well with the orchid fungi associated with rotten roots, keeping the orchid roots in good condition. This is a kind of substrate for natural, pollution-free cultivation.