How to Grow Orchids? Master These Little Care Tips
"Plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum" are together called the "four gentlemen among flowers," which shows that the orchid has a very unique charm. People often grow orchids at home to express their "gentlemanly" bearing. But how exactly should orchids be grown?
Many people have heard endlessly about the fame of the orchid since elementary school. Teachers often taught us names of plants with special meanings, such as the "four gentlemen among flowers" and "pine, bamboo and plum." We often praise the plum blossom's unyielding resilience and the noble character of bamboo that climbs higher node by node. But what meaning does the orchid carry?
In The Analects there is the sentence "Enter a room of angelica and orchids, and after a long time one no longer smells their fragrance," expressing the orchid's noble, elegant character of not competing with other flowers for beauty. Because of this, many people like to grow orchids in their own homes. At the same time, when orchids bloom they can also give off a captivating fragrance, which has made orchids accepted by more and more families.
The orchid is one of the ten oldest flowers in our country, and its cultivation history is also very long. Around the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there were already records of orchid cultivation. At the same time, the orchid was also one of the varieties most loved by King Goujian of Yue. During the Wei and Jin periods, orchids had already begun to be grown in every household.
Orchids can be propagated by division, so that one orchid plant can grow into more orchid plants, which can reduce the money wasted on constantly buying orchids. Orchids can be divided in spring or autumn, and division should be avoided in winter as much as possible. This is because orchids themselves are relatively fragile in winter, and their roots in particular are afraid of cold. Generally, division can be done once every three years.
Orchids are shade-loving plants and do not have a strong defense against intense sunlight, so when growing orchids you must pay attention to suitable lighting. Sunlight that is too harsh is very likely to harm orchids. Finally, avoid letting orchids be exposed to too much rain; a small amount of rain is fine. But if the plum rain season comes, remember to move the orchids back indoors.
How to Grow Potted White Orchid (Michelia alba), How to Prune White Orchid
The white orchid (Michelia alba) originally comes from the Himalayan region, and by nature it likes environments with ample light, moderate temperature and good ventilation. So the white orchid likes to grow in healthy places. The white orchid is an excellent pollution-resistant landscaping tree species for areas with air pollution. It has a good-looking appearance and a pleasant fragrance. So do you all know how to grow the white orchid? Let us take a look together at how to grow the white orchid.
How to grow the white orchid:
1. Watering: The growth of many plants cannot be separated from water, and of course the white orchid is no exception. The white orchid likes ample water and soil moisture, so watering is an important step in growing a good white orchid. When spring comes, you can water once every other day; in summer, when it is too dry, you need to water twice a day; in autumn, you can water once every two or three days; in winter, you do not need to water so frequently, as long as the soil is kept moist.
2. Fertilizing: Watering is indispensable, and fertilizing is even more so; the two are closely related. When fertilizing, it is best to pair it with some phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Applying it on a clear evening when the soil is dry is the best time.
3. Sunlight: The white orchid by nature very much likes sunlight, so its growing environment cannot be separated from sunlight, but in summer we must pay attention to preventing drought. The summer sunlight is too intense, and without careful care the white orchid is prone to drought and withering.
How to prune the white orchid:
In summer, when the white orchid grows vigorously, choose a 3-5 cm section where new buds have grown and prune there. After pruning, immediately seal the wound with a mud ball mixed with fungicide and auxin, and wrap it tightly on the outside with a small plastic film.
Conclusion:Have you all understood the above knowledge about how to grow the white orchid? The fresh fragrance of the white orchid is the most impressive; although the flower is delicate and small, its fresh fragrance greets the nose, and the fragrance of the white orchid is different from that of other flowers. It is a fragrance that is neither arrogant nor impatient; it is a fragrance with endless aftertaste; it is a fragrance that makes people deeply nostalgic.
Orchid Cymbidium Orchid Illustrated Guide: How to Grow Orchids / How to Propagate Orchids
Orchid ProfileOrchid Cymbidium
Aliases: Huji flower, Chinese orchid, angelica orchid
Classification: Orchidaceae flowering plants
Family and genus: Plantae, Angiosperms, Monocotyledons, Asparagales, Orchidaceae, Cymbidium
Full bloom period: all four seasons
Orchid (scientific name: Orchidaceae), belongs to the family Orchidaceae, and is a monocotyledonous, perennial herbaceous plant, also called Huji flower. Because most varieties of terrestrial orchids originate in China, orchids are also called Chinese orchids. The roots are long and tubular, and the leaves cluster from the stem, linear-lanceolate, with 2-3 leaves forming a tuft. The roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of the orchid all have certain medicinal value. The orchid is a flower famous for its fragrance, with the characteristics of being noble and elegant. Famous people ancient and modern have rated it extremely highly, and it is likened to a gentleman among flowers. Among ancient literati, the beauty of poetry and prose was often likened to "orchid writing," true friendship to an "orchid bond," and good friends to "orchid guests."...
Orchid Cultivation Methods and Precautions, Introduction to Orchids
Orchid (scientific name: Orchidaceae), belongs to the family Orchidaceae, and is a monocotyledonous, perennial herbaceous plant, also called Huji flower. Because most varieties of terrestrial orchids originate in China, orchids are also called Chinese orchids. The roots are long and tubular, and the leaves cluster from the stem, linear-lanceolate, with 2-3 leaves forming a tuft. The roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of the orchid all have certain medicinal value. The orchid is a flower famous for its fragrance, with the characteristics of being noble and elegant. Famous people ancient and modern have rated it extremely highly, and it is likened to a gentleman among flowers. Among ancient literati, the beauty of poetry and prose was often likened to "orchid writing," true friendship to an "orchid bond," and good friends to "orchid guests."
The orchid is one of China's ten famous flowers, loved by everyone, and it has a pleasant fragrance. "Beside the road, among the grass, there are orchids, not showing their heroic posture or splendor; only when the subtle fragrance reaches the heart and lungs does one realize a rare flower hides in the garden." This kind of orchid that gives off a subtle fragrance has always been favored by people.
The alluring and slightly mysterious subtle fragrance of the orchid cannot be compared with the fragrance of any flower in the world. Whether it is the light fragrance of Cymbidium faberi, the strong fragrance of Cymbidium goeringii, the osmanthus-like fragrance of certain Cymbidium ensifolium, or the sandalwood-like fragrance of certain Cymbidium sinense, they all share one common characteristic: clear and subtle.
Orchids are often used for tea. Orchid tea has a jade-green color, with silvery tips visible, a clear liquor color, and a mellow taste; it smells pleasantly of orchid fragrance, and when drunk it has a sweet aftertaste. It can stand shoulder to shoulder with famous teas such as Huangshan Maofeng and Taiping Houkui. If you want to store orchids for a long time, you can cut the orchids, dry them in the air, and mix them into tea leaves for later use. Take a little, pour in boiling water, steep for a short while, and it is ready to drink. The floral fragrance of the orchid comes from the volatile oils secreted by the aromatic oil glands in the column of the orchid flower. Due to the plant's physiological functions, the secretion of these volatile oils may be intermittent, so people feel the fragrance sometimes present and sometimes absent, now hidden and now visible, sometimes light and sometimes heavy. The main chemical components of these volatile oils are mixtures of esters or lactones of organic compounds and terpenoid enols, eneketones and similar compounds.
Morphological Characteristics of Orchids
The orchid is a perennial herbaceous plant. The roots are fleshy and enlarged, without root hairs, and have symbiotic fungi. It has pseudobulbs, commonly called reed heads, covered on the outside with leaf sheaths, and often connected with multiple pseudobulbs, existing in rows at the same time. The leaves are linear or sword-shaped, leathery, upright or drooping; the flowers are solitary or in racemes, with many bracts borne on the pedicel. The flowers are bisexual and aromatic. The corolla is composed of 3 sepals, 3 petals and the column. The middle sepal is called the main petal. The lower 2 are the secondary petals, and the extension of the secondary petals is called the "hu." The upper 2 petals are upright, relatively thick and fleshy, with the tips curling inward, commonly called the "peng." Left-right symmetry, the lip, pollinia and the gynostemium are the basic characteristics of Orchidaceae plants: the characteristic of pollen forming masses has some exceptions. Apart from the Apostasioideae and Cypripedioideae, which do not have them, most other Orchidaceae plants also have pollinia stalks. The ancients regarded "one stem with one flower as an orchid," and one stem with many flowers as a "hui."
Spring orchids and Cymbidium faberi are divided, according to differences and changes in the shape and texture of the main petal, secondary petals, peng and lip, into plum petal, narcissus petal, lotus petal, butterfly petal, rare varieties and pure-heart types, etc. The plum petal type has short and round sepals, relatively thick and fleshy, slightly curved inward, with a narrow base; the lip is short and hard, and the peng petals are thick and fleshy with tips curved inward to form a pouch; when the flower first opens it points slightly upward. Famous varieties include Song Mei, Xishen Mei and others. The narcissus petal type has sepals slightly longer than those of the plum petal, with tips gradually pointed; the peng petals are thick in texture and also form a pouch at the tip, and the lip droops slightly or curls back. Famous varieties include Wang Zi, Cui Yipin and others. The lotus petal type has broad and large sepals, thick in texture, narrow at the base, and wide with a protruding tip at the apex; the peng petals do not form a pouch, and the lip is relatively moist and slightly curled back. Famous varieties include Da Fugui, Cuigai Hua and others.
The butterfly petal type has the inner side of the two downward sepals becoming thicker in texture, forming wavy wrinkles, and having red patches; sometimes the number of sepals or petals suddenly increases (such as in Lvyun, whose corolla often has about 8 pieces), or the flower shape has special changes. The pure-heart type has the perianth, flower stem and bracts of the same color, pure green, yellow-green, etc., without mottled stripes of mixed colors, such as mottled green, yellow-green, etc., without mixed-color markings. Precious varieties include Zhang He Su, Lao Wentuansu and others.
Ecological Habits of Orchids
The orchid by nature likes shade, fears direct sunlight, likes moisture, avoids dryness, and likes fertile environments rich in large amounts of humus and with good air circulation. Therefore, the cultivation medium requires: good aeration, looseness, good drainage, and slight acidity. The most commonly used outdoor cultivation medium is mud flower soil. The climate and environment of each place can all affect the growth of orchids, so the choice of planting material differs. For example, in the southern Fujian area, the weather in all four seasons is relatively warm and does not get too cold, orchids grow quickly, and small pebbles are suitable for planting. First, it saves resources. Second, pebbles help ventilation and do not accumulate water. Orchids grow well when the relative air humidity is 60-70%; too dry or too wet can easily trigger orchid diseases.
Controlling moisture is the most fundamental condition for growing orchids well. Orchid leaves are relatively thick in texture, with a cuticle on the surface for protection, so orchid leaves do not consume large amounts of water. The orchid's pseudobulbs and fleshy roots can store certain nutrients and water, so they are relatively drought-tolerant. Apart from the rooting and sprouting stages and the rapid growth stage, which need more water, at other times they consume less water. If there is too much water, causing waterlogging in the soil and blocking root respiration, root rot easily occurs. Too much water can also cause the cell walls of orchid leaves to fill with water, opening the leaf stomata, resulting in diluted nutrients, which in turn causes weak tissues, poor growth and disease. Orchids like rain but fear waterlogging, and like moisture but fear dampness. Because air humidity differs in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the growth speed of orchids differs, the water requirements also differ. Accordingly, there is a saying that whether one can grow orchids mainly depends on whether one can water them.
Orchids like lightness, and when fertilizing, it is better to apply lightly than strongly. Like other plants, nitrogen can promote lush growth of stems and leaves. Phosphorus can promote well-developed orchid roots, promote robust development of reproductive organs, and spread of stems and leaves. Magnesium, sulfur, iron and other trace elements can make leaves green and flowers strong. During the vigorous growth period of orchids, more fertilizer should be applied; during the dormant period or weak growth period, no fertilizer may be applied. If fertilizer is applied excessively, it will burn the roots and leaves, causing irreparable loss.
In addition, zhilan refers to fragrant grass.
Cultivation Techniques for Orchids
We Chinese have been appreciating and cultivating orchids much earlier than the Western cultivation of tropical orchids. As early as the Spring and Autumn period 2,400 years ago, the Chinese cultural sage Confucius once said: "Angelica and orchids grow in secluded valleys, and do not cease to be fragrant because no one is there; a gentleman cultivates the way and establishes virtue, and does not change his integrity because of poverty."
The orchid is a fragrant grass. -- Shuowen
Heng lan zhi ruo. -- Book of Han, Biographies of Sima Xiangru
The root of the orchid and the pagoda tree is the angelica. -- Xunzi, Encouraging Learning
The root of the Chinese orchid is white angelica, and white angelica symbolizes the common people. Hui and angelica have been the essence of the traditional virtues of benevolence, righteousness and civil governance since ancient times. The great Tang poet Li Bai wrote, "The secluded orchid's fragrant wind blows far; the hui grass spreads its fragrant roots." The roots of Cymbidium faberi are rooted in the people.
When cultivating, the separated orchid clumps should not be divided too sparsely. Each clump should have at least 3-5 shoots, and it is best to keep one-year-old plants, two-year-old plants and three-year-old plants in the same clump.
Lining the Pot
Cover the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot with a piece of tile, then gradually fill it in with bricks, tiles or shells, with large gaps filled with mud granules or bean stones, generally about 1/2-1/3 of the pot's internal height. The remaining clear height above is about 10-15 cm, reserved as the cultivation soil layer. Its specific height should be determined according to the type of orchid, the length of the orchid roots and the height of the pot. The lining material should not be filled too densely, and some gaps should be retained. Practice has proved that some new roots can grow well in the gaps of the lining layer.
Planting
On the lining layer, first fill in 2-3 cm of cultivation soil, press it lightly with your hand, and then you can place the orchid upright on top of it. According to the size of the plant and the flower pot, you can plant several individual plants, 2 clumps, 3 clumps or more clumps in one pot. 3 clumps are suitably planted in a tripod arrangement. 4 clumps can be planted in a square shape, and 5 clumps are suitably arranged in a plum blossom shape. The orchid roots should spread out naturally, and the leaves should spread in all directions. Slowly put the orchid roots into the pot, so that the orchid roots spread naturally and as much as possible do not rub against the inner wall of the pot. After the orchid plant is put into the pot, gradually fix the posture of the orchid plant. When one pot holds one clump, the old pseudobulbs should be placed to one side, so that new buds have room to develop. When one pot holds several clumps, the old pseudobulbs of each clump should be relatively gathered in the middle of the pot, so that new roots and new buds have enough space to develop outward.
Filling Soil
When planting, hold the leaves with one hand and add nutrient soil with the other, holding the base of the orchid plant and lifting it slightly upward to spread the root system, while shaking the orchid pot. Let the cultivation soil go deep into the root zone; continue adding soil and shaking the orchid pot to adjust the position and height of the orchid plant. Press along the edge of the pot with your hand, but do not press too hard and injure the roots. Continue adding soil and pressing until the soil surface is 2-3 cm above the pot rim, slightly in a steamed bun shape. The cultivation soil should cover all the orchid roots, covering up to the base of the pseudobulbs. As for the depth of soil filling, tradition holds that: spring orchids are suitable for shallow planting, and Cymbidium faberi for deep planting, but generally the degree is that the leaf bases on the pseudobulbs are not buried. When newly sprouted orchids grow in the wild, the plants leave obvious markers above and below the soil surface, and these markers can be used as the standard. The size of the flower pot should also match the size and number of the plants; it should not be a large pot with small and few plants, nor a small pot with large and many plants. Generally, the number of plants should be based on the principle that after an estimated 2-3 years they will just fill the pot. The size of the plants should match the height of the pot. This is both beneficial to growth and meets ornamental requirements.
Top Dressing
After planting is completed, a layer of small stone granules or green moss can be spread on the surface of the pot soil, preferably high-quality moss from under the forest. This is both attractive and can regulate moisture, and can also protect the leaf surface from being polluted by muddy water, so that new buds will not rot at the core from infection by pathogens in the soil; in addition, it can also reduce the washing away of the pot soil by rain and keep the pot soil loose.
Watering
After planting is completed, water for the first time immediately, and the pot soil must be thoroughly soaked. The water droplets should be small, and the impact force should not be strong. If placed in a water basin to soak, never soak for too long. Once the pot soil is soaked, immediately take the orchid pot out, then move it to a shaded place for care.
When watering orchid plants, different water management measures should be made according to various natural factors affecting the transpiration of the orchid plants, such as humidity, temperature, light, wind force, season and weather.
First, look at humidity. If the air humidity is relatively low and transpiration is strong, then water more; conversely, if the air humidity is high or even saturated and transpiration almost stops, then water less or even do not water.
Second, look at temperature. When the temperature is high, transpiration accelerates, the water requirement is large, and the watering frequency should also increase accordingly; conversely, when the temperature is low, water molecules move slowly and diffusion is weak, so less water is needed.
Third, look at light. When light is strong, transpiration accelerates, accelerating the diffusion of water molecules, and the water requirement is greater; conversely, less water is needed. Therefore, when light differs and shading degree differs, water management also differs: those exposed to the sun are watered more, and those facing away from the sun are watered less.
Fourth, look at wind force. When wind force is strong, water evaporates quickly; when wind force is weak, water evaporates slowly; dry southwest wind will enhance evaporation, while on the contrary, moist southeast wind will cause transpiration to weaken relatively; orchid pots placed in a wind gap receive more wind and evaporate water quickly, while orchid pots in a sheltered place receive less wind and evaporate water slowly.
Fifth, look at the season. Different seasons have different temperatures, humidity and light, and the transpiration of orchid plants also differs greatly. In the hot and dry summer, water more; in the plum rain season, water less or do not water; in the low-temperature, cloudy and cold winter, do not water; in the early spring with lower temperatures, water less; in the mild late spring, which is the sprouting period, water more; in the dry autumn, water more.
Sixth, look at the weather. Weather in nature is ever-changing, and different weather has different light, temperature and humidity, and the transpiration of orchid plants also varies greatly. The basic approach is: water more on clear days, water less on cloudy days, no need to water much when rain is imminent, and do not water on rainy (or snowy) days.
Test-Tube Cultivation
With the continuous development of orchid tissue culture techniques and sterile sowing techniques, the phenomenon of orchids flowering in test tubes is attracting increasing attention. The main reason this phenomenon can attract the attention of breeders is that artificially hybridized new varieties that originally required many years of conventional cultivation to bloom can, in test tubes, be artificially induced to bloom through 1-2 culture cycles. In this way, individuals with excellent traits can be purposefully selected and bred according to the flowering situation, and relatively poorer individuals can be eliminated, thereby shortening the entire breeding cycle and greatly reducing the workload of cultivating large numbers of varieties that have not yet flowered, making breeding work more targeted.
Because we have long been engaged in the development and research of several conventionally cultivated terrestrial orchid species in the genus Cymbidium, the orchids mentioned below all refer to these several orchid species, including Cymbidium goeringii, Cymbidium ensifolium, Cymbidium goeringii var. longibracteatum, Cymbidium tortisepalum, Cymbidium faberi, Cymbidium kanran and others.
According to observation results, the ways orchids flower in test tubes can roughly be divided into three types. The first type is that the axillary buds of the orchid seedling develop into flower buds. This way is the same as the flowering way of orchids in conventional cultivation, except that in conventional cultivation it is a clump of seedlings that produces flowers, while in test tubes it is a single seedling that produces flowers. This situation is relatively common in Cymbidium ensifolium and relatively rare in varieties such as Cymbidium goeringii and Cymbidium goeringii var. longibracteatum. The second type is that the terminal bud of the orchid seedling develops into a flower bud, similar to what is usually called "arrow in the grass" (arrow in the grass heart), with the flower growing from the very center of the orchid seedling. This situation appears in all orchid species, especially commonly in Cymbidium goeringii. The third type is that the flower bud directly differentiates from the apex of the protocorm. This type is completely controlled by the hormone level in the medium, flowers quickly and uniformly, and has a high differentiation frequency, and is the main method of inducing flowering.
Another convenience brought by orchids flowering in test tubes is that it makes in-bottle hybridization of orchids possible, which is a completely new applied research field. Some breeding work requires repeated hybridization, backcrossing and selfing to achieve the breeding goal and select and breed excellent new varieties. For example, in the hybridization of pure-heart varieties and plum-petal varieties, the first filial generation is usually plum-petal but definitely not pure-heart, so it is necessary to backcross the first filial generation with the pure-heart parent once, or self the first filial generation once, and then select pure-heart plum-petal from the second filial generation. Using conventional methods, this process would certainly take more than ten years. Now, with the method of inducing orchids to flower in test tubes, we can let the first filial generation flower in the test tube, and carry out self-pollination in the test tube or mutual pollination between first filial generation plants, and cultivate seeds. These seeds can be sown directly on the medium without disinfection to obtain the second filial generation, and then flowering can be induced, so that the desired variety can be selected from the second filial generation. Compared with conventional methods, this process can save at least two cultivation cycles from bottle seedling to flowering.
Propagation Methods for Orchids
Orchids are commonly propagated by division, sowing and tissue culture.
Division propagation: This can be carried out in both spring and autumn, generally once every three years. Any plant that grows robustly and has dense pseudobulbs can be divided. After division, each clump must retain at least 5 pseudobulbs connected together. Before division, watering should be reduced to make the pot soil relatively dry. When potting after division, first cover the bottom hole of the pot with broken tiles, then spread coarse stones, occupying 1/5-1/4 of the pot depth, then place coarse-grained soil and a small amount of fine soil, and then plant with sandy loam rich in humus. The planting depth should be such that the pseudobulbs are just buried in the soil; leave a 2 cm rim at the edge of the pot, spread Selaginella uncinata or fine stones on top, and finally water thoroughly, place in a shaded place for 10-15 days, keep the soil moist, gradually reduce watering, and carry out normal care.
Sowing propagation: Orchid seeds are extremely fine, and within the seed there is only one incompletely developed embryo, with very low germination power. In addition, the seed coat does not easily absorb water, so sowing by conventional methods cannot germinate. Therefore, orchid fungi or artificial medium are needed to supply nutrients for germination. For sowing, it is best to choose fruits that have not yet split. After sterilizing the surface with 75% alcohol, take out the seeds, soak them in 10% sodium hypochlorite for 5-10 minutes, take them out and rinse them 3 times with sterile water, then sow them in culture bottles containing medium, then place them in a dark culture room, keeping the temperature at about 25°C. After they germinate, move them into the light and they can form protocorms. From sowing to transplanting takes half a year to one year. Tissue culture has already been successful, and where conditions permit, this method can be used for propagation.
Propagation Techniques
Site selection: The surroundings should be open, with good ventilation, and close to water surfaces, with moist air and no coal smoke pollution. On the southwest side of the site, evergreen broadleaf trees can be planted, and the canopy density should be about 0.7, which can reduce afternoon sunlight exposure and regulate humidity and temperature.
Watering: Rainwater or spring water is preferable, and water containing salt and alkali should not be used. If tap water is used, it should be left to stand for several days before use. Watering should depend on the temperature. In spring, the amount of watering should be small, and in summer it should be more; in the plum rain season, which is exactly when orchids sprout leaf buds, the pot soil should be slightly dry; after autumn when the weather turns cool, the amount of watering should be reduced appropriately, and keeping it moist is enough. In winter indoors it should be dry, reducing the frequency of watering, and it is suitable to water at noon. Orchids can be exposed to light rain, but continuous rain or heavy rain can easily cause heart rot and leaf rot, so attention must be paid to rain protection.
Fertilizing: For planting orchids, cake fertilizer is suitable. Mix 4 parts plant ash, 10 parts bean cake and 10 parts bone meal evenly, put them in a vat, add water several times until the bean cake is soaked and swollen, then cover and seal, and after one year of decomposition, make them into dry granules. When using, place them on the pot surface. If whole manure is used, it should also be decomposed for one year, then diluted with water, filtered to remove residue, and used. Generally, fertilizing starts in May and stops at the Beginning of Autumn, with the principle of applying thin fertilizer frequently. Fertilizing should be carried out in the evening, and the next morning water once with clear water.
Shading and cold protection: Except in early spring and winter, orchids should be placed under open-air sheds. The shade shed requires good ventilation. When orchids have just come out of the room in March to April, they can get more sun, and afterward the shading time gradually increases. In winter, orchids must be moved indoors for cold protection, and the room temperature should be kept at 1-2°C. In addition, after orchids come out of the room in spring and before they enter the room in autumn, attention must be paid to preventing frost.
Precautions
Wounds must be protected from bacteria -- when repotting or dividing, if the roots have wounds, first apply fungicide to the wounds to prevent pathogens from invading.
The pot should not be too large -- planting a small plant in a large pot uses a large amount of planting material, which easily leads to poor ventilation, and watering is also difficult to control. If too much water is absorbed, the planting material is not easy to dry, and bacteria invade and cause root rot.
Orchids should be planted shallowly -- orchid plants should not be planted too deep, otherwise long-term dampness will cause rot. When planting, fill the planting material around the roots, and the base or pseudobulbs must be exposed.
The roots should be spread out -- when planting orchids, the roots should be evenly spread out and should not be squeezed together, so that each root can contact the planting material, and ventilation is also good.
Do not water for several days -- newly planted orchids may have injured roots. After the wounds are coated with fungicide, do not water for 3-5 days, so that the fungicide can take effect and also promote the growth of new buds and new roots.
Avoid strong light -- newly planted orchids must all avoid direct strong light to prevent dehydration, and should be placed in a warm and shaded place. Spraying can be used to increase air humidity until the orchids return to normal growth.
Leaves Turning Yellow
This is generally root rot or hollowed-out roots. It is necessary to improve watering, and change the environmental humidity and light intensity.
Another reason orchid leaves turn yellow is normal grass decline, because it is exactly the sprouting time, and with metabolism, nutrients cannot keep up. The old seedlings decline and leave nutrients for the new seedlings to grow. However, other reasons cannot be ruled out, such as root rot, soft rot and stem rot. These require frequent observation, and once discovered they must be dealt with decisively, otherwise the whole lot may be lost.
Distribution and Collection
Collecting wild orchids in the mountains is of great significance for discovering new varieties and selecting excellent hybrid parents. In the collection process, consideration should be given to choosing the flowering period, improving the survival rate, the local climate, the local orchid soil dryness and wetness, and factors such as different local growing environments. At the same time, attention should be paid to safety, fire prevention, not straying into restricted areas, and keeping collection records.
In the process of orchid cultivation and business, due to the frenzied speculation by orchid merchants on some novel orchid varieties, the prices of orchids once rose abnormally, and "sky-high-priced orchids" kept appearing. Driven by huge economic interests, large-scale destructive collection of wild orchid resources appeared, and many wild orchid habitats were extremely damaged. For this reason, the state adopted protective measures such as establishing no-collection reserves, establishing variety protection levels, improving legislation on wild resources, and strictly punishing illegal collectors.
From the perspective of long-term, effective use of orchid resources and respect for and advocacy of environmental protection, orchid enthusiasts should establish a scientific, reasonable, environmentally friendly and law-abiding awareness of orchid collection.
City flower of Guiyang, city flower of Shaoxing, and provincial flower of Zhejiang Province. During the period of the Republic of China, the Nanjing Special Municipal Government promulgated the orchid as the city flower of Nanjing.
Cold Regions
If orchids are to be grown well in northern regions, efforts should be made to create environmental conditions suitable for their growth and development and to meet the requirements of the orchid's biological characteristics, so that they can grow and bloom well. Specifically, the following tasks should be done well.
1. Choose Good Pots and Cultivation Soil
For ordinary household orchid growing, it is still better to choose clay pots. If you want to increase the decorative effect and add beauty, you can put a colored-glazed porcelain pot outside the clay pot. The size of the pot should be suitable for the orchid roots to spread out completely inside the pot. For the pot soil, orchid soil is best. You can also mix it yourself. You can use 6 parts leaf mold or peat soil, 3 parts sandy soil and 1 part cake fertilizer, or mix 5 parts leaf mold, 3 parts compost soil and 2 parts coarse sand evenly. For the potting method, see: Common Knowledge on Selecting Orchids and Cultivation Techniques.
2. Apply Thin Fertilizer Skillfully
When fertilizing orchids, apply thin fertilizer and never apply concentrated fertilizer. There is a saying: "Clear orchids, turbid jasmine." Newly planted orchid plants should not be fertilized in the first year; start fertilizing after Qingming in the second year until the Beginning of Autumn. Apply fully decomposed dilute cake fertilizer water 1-2 times a month. Because orchids have fleshy roots, never apply undecomposed fertilizer, lest it cause root rot. Before each fertilization, control water for 1-2 days, and apply after the pot soil is slightly dry. On the morning of the second day after application, water once to prevent unclean matter in the fertilizer liquid from polluting the root system and harming the orchid roots. When applying liquid fertilizer, be careful to avoid splashing and staining the leaves. For orchid plants that have been cultivated for several years and have reached flowering age, nitrogen fertilizer is mainly applied in the early stage to promote new bud germination and rapid growth; in the later stage, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer is mainly applied, which is beneficial for pseudobulb enlargement, wide and thick leaves, and provides sufficient nutrients for flower bud differentiation. Specifically, before flower bud differentiation each autumn, it is suitable to apply two consecutive liquid fertilizers based mainly on phosphorus and potassium fertilizer; during the bud gestation period, on a clear evening first wash the leaves with clear water, and after they dry, use a small sprayer to spray 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution on the leaf surface and the back of the leaves, or apply plant ash water to the roots. Fertilizing outside the roots at this time is beneficial for promoting the development of orchid roots, stems and flowers. Do not fertilize on cloudy and rainy days, and stop fertilizing during the winter dormant period. About 20 days after the flowers fade, apply two more liquid fertilizers based mainly on nitrogen fertilizer or compound chemical fertilizers, which can promote plant growth. [6]
3. Light Should Be Suitable
Orchids by nature like shaded, cool environments and fear direct sunlight. Therefore, in the north, from April to early May, before 9 a.m., they can appropriately see more sunlight; after mid-May, shading is needed, and at this time they need to be placed in a cool and ventilated place for cultivation. In winter, place them near a south-facing window to receive more light, so as to enhance their vitality and promote flower bud differentiation. Especially for Cymbidium sinense and Cymbidium kanran, which bloom in winter, they should be placed indoors in a sunny place in winter; without light they will not bloom well. [6] In short, growing orchids should achieve "not out in spring, not in the sun in summer, not dry in autumn, not wet in winter," meaning that in spring, avoid cold wind invasion and do not move them outdoors; in summer, they fear direct sunlight and should be placed in a cool and ventilated place; in autumn, avoid dry pot soil, because this is exactly the orchid's bud gestation period, and the amount of watering should be appropriately increased; in winter, they are in a dormant state, and too much water easily causes root rot, so the principle is to alternate between dry and wet.
Orchid Disease Prevention and Control. The main pests and diseases of orchids include：
Southern blight: mostly occurs in the plum rain season. Attention should be paid to ventilation and light transmission and good drainage of the pot soil for prevention. After onset, the infected pot soil can be removed, and pentachloronitrobenzene powder or lime can be sprinkled on.
Anthracnose: present all year round, and more rampant in high-temperature and rainy seasons. In addition to improving environmental conditions, during the onset period, first spray with 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder 800-1500 times solution, once every 7-10 days, and then supplement with 1% equal-strength Bordeaux mixture, once every half month.
Scale insects: they reproduce fastest under conditions of high temperature, high humidity and poor air circulation. Use conventional methods for prevention and control.
Root rot is also called nematode disease. Nematodes parasitize orchid roots, causing root rot, poor growth of aboveground leaves, leaf color fading and yellowing, and even causing plant wilting. Nematode damage causes a large number of wounds and also causes infection by other soil-borne pathogens, leading to plant disease and accelerating plant death. The cultivation substrate should be disinfected, and 100-degree steam sterilization can be used to kill insect eggs. In severe cases, immediately repot, soak the diseased plants in the medicinal solution for 20-30 minutes, take them out and dry them, and replant with new substrate.
In summary, to grow orchids well, one must master their natural growing environment conditions, take reasonable measures, and strengthen care and management. According to the "Orchid Growing Formula": "Not out in spring, not in the sun in summer, not dry in autumn, not wet in winter," this is a summary of our country's experience in growing orchids.
Pollution-Free Pest and Disease Control Methods：
Below are some small folk remedies circulating among the people for pollution-free control of orchid pests and diseases. "Small" remedies can often perhaps solve "big" problems, and orchid enthusiasts may as well give them a try.
1. Tea Seed Cake
Tea seed cake, also called tea bran or tea seed cake, is the residue left after tea seeds are pressed for oil, and farmers often use it to wash clothes. Tea seed cake contains saponins and glycosides, and its water extract is alkaline, with good stomach-poison and contact-killing effects on pests.
Control methods:
Soak crushed powdered tea seed cake and boiling water at a ratio of 1:5 for a day and a night, use it to pour over orchid pots, and at the same time pour it over the place where the orchid pots are placed and other orchid pots. It has a relatively good control effect on snails.
Spraying orchid plants with tea seed cake water has a very good control effect on aphids and red spiders, reaching more than 90%.
Tea seed cake water can also kill earthworms. Pour the pot soil thoroughly with tea seed cake water, and after a short while the earthworms will drill out of the soil surface, and they can be picked out and removed. There are differing views in orchid circles on whether earthworms help or harm orchids. One view holds that earthworms in the pot, when active, will destroy some orchid fungus hyphae and injure the root tips of orchid roots, and are pests that must be removed. Another view holds that earthworms in orchid pots can eat many decaying substances in the pot and rotten orchid roots, and the activity of earthworms can loosen the soil, and their droppings can also serve as fertilizer for orchids, so their merits outweigh their faults and they need not be killed. Which is right and which is wrong remains for orchid enthusiasts to weigh the pros and cons and make a judgment based on their own practical observation.
2. Strong-Smelling Vegetables (scallions, garlic, chives, ginger, onions, etc.)
Strong-smelling vegetables all have their own distinctive odors, and their smells can play a role in killing insects and sterilizing.
Control methods:
Take 25 g of garlic, crush it and squeeze out the juice, dilute it in 10 L of water, and immediately spray the orchid plants. It can treat aphids, red spiders, scale insects and gray mold. Press peeled garlic into small pieces and place them at equal distances on the surface soil of the orchid pot, and after a few days earthworms and ants will be gone.
Soak chopped scallions and water at a ratio of 1:30 for a day and a night, then filter, and use it to spray orchid plants several times a day for several consecutive days. It has good effects on controlling aphids, mollusk pests and preventing powdery mildew, etc.
Take 1 jin of ginger, add half a jin of water, mash and extract the juice, add 6 jin of water to each jin of juice, and spray orchid plants. It can control aphids.
Mix chive juice and clean water at a ratio of 1:60, spray it on the orchid plants, spray twice a day, repeating for several days, and it can cure black spot disease.
Take 15g of chopped onion bulbs, put them in 2 jin of water, seal and soak for 7 hours, then filter, and spray the filtrate on the orchid plants to treat red spider mites and aphids.
3. Cigarette butts
Tobacco leaves contain about 3% nicotine. Nicotine has a strong contact-killing and stomach-poisoning effect on pests. Take about 20 smoked cigarette butts and one portion of quicklime, add water, stir and soak, then filter, add another 30 portions of water, and spray it on the orchid plants, potting soil and the bottom of the pot to eliminate ants and other pests without a waxy coating.
4. Washing powder and detergent
Washing powder can dissolve the cornea of scale insects, while forming a layer of foam that wraps around the insect body, causing the scale insects to suffocate to death. Washing powder solution can prevent and control some diseases and pests.
Control methods:
Dissolve a small amount of washing powder in warm water, then dilute with water to a 1000-fold solution and spray on the orchid plants to kill aphids, whiteflies and red spider mites. Dilute to a 600-fold solution, spray once every three days, and continue spraying three times, and all the scale insects will die.
Mix pig bile and clean water at a ratio of 1:100, add a small amount of washing powder, and spray it on the orchid plants to prevent and control anthracnose and soft rot. After spraying the orchid plants with washing powder solution, once the pests are dead, the leaves must be rinsed several times with clean water so that the orchid plants can grow normally.
5. White liquor
Mix white liquor and water at a ratio of 1:2, spray on the orchid plants, spray once a week, and continue spraying three times, and it can kill scale insects.
6. Orange peel
Place orange peel at the bottom of the pot to prevent ants and other pests from entering the potting soil and harming the orchids. Orange peel can also be cut into small pieces and scattered on the surface of the potting soil, and if not watered for a few days, it can treat aphids, scale insects and so on.
7. Brown sugar
Mix powdered brown sugar and boiling water at a ratio of 1:100, and after it cools, spray the brown sugar liquid on the orchid plants, spray once every 3 days, and continue three times; it has a relatively good effect on preventing and controlling downy mildew, powdery mildew, black spot disease and leaf blight.
8. Diesel oil
Mix diesel oil and water at a ratio of 1:60 into an emulsion, then dilute it with 100 times water and spray on the orchid plants to treat scale insects and so on.
9. Plant ash
Soak plant ash and water at a ratio of 1:50 for two days and nights, then filter, and spray the filtrate on the orchid plants; it can both treat aphids and increase potassium fertilizer.
10. Table vinegar
Mix table vinegar and clean water at a ratio of 1:8, and use it to evenly spray the front and back of orchid leaves to treat scale insects. If the scale insects have already become adults, the acidity of the mixed liquid can be slightly increased, spraying once every three days, and continuing three times, and the adult scale insects can be killed. Spraying vinegar liquid on the leaf surface can also eliminate black spot disease, powdery mildew, leaf spot disease, yellowing disease and so on. Industrial acid vinegar must not be used.
Orchid cultivation methods: spring care
In spring there is more cloudy and rainy weather, the temperature changes greatly, and cold waves are likely to occur. If orchids are not well cared for and managed, they will rot at the roots and buds, seriously affecting their normal growth.
Household balcony-type orchid growing sites should have cold-proof and rain-proof facilities. Cymbidium sinense and Cymbidium goeringii must be placed indoors for protection and management, while Cymbidium ensifolium, Cymbidium kanran and others can be placed outdoors, but attention must be paid to drainage and moisture-proofing of the orchid pots. It is best to set up plastic film above the orchid pots to shield them from rain, pulling it open when sunny and covering it when raining, to prevent invasion by cold wind, cold rain, frost and snow.
When growing orchids, one should always ensure good ventilation. Orchid seedlings in greenhouses and warm sheds should be equipped with exhaust fans to replace the air and regulate humidity. Ordinary simple warm sheds and low ground-planted sheds covered with plastic film for freeze protection and rain shielding should also frequently open windows or lift part of the film to allow air convection, so as to ensure fresh air and moderate temperature inside the shed.
After the Spring Festival, for Cymbidium sinense and others, cut off the flower stalks and do not let them bear fruit. Use 0.1% omethoate or dichlorvos solution to gently wipe the front and underside of orchid leaves, and use sterilizing drugs and insecticidal drugs to spray once every 7 days and 10 days respectively around the balcony, site and potted orchids where orchids are cultivated. Two hours after using insecticidal drugs, spray clean water once on the leaf surface of the potted orchids to remove residual drugs.
Before dividing orchid pots, stop watering for 3-5 days, and when the potting medium in the pot is 70% to 80% dry, carefully pour out the orchid plants and medium, trying as much as possible not to break the orchid roots. Wash them clean with disinfectant water or clean water and let them dry, and repot after the orchid roots become soft and whitish. Use sterile new potting medium for repotting, with the roots clinging to the medium, new plants facing outward and old plants facing inward, and the orchid head exposed one third above the soil surface. After planting, place in a shade shed, spray on the leaf surface in the morning and evening, water thoroughly after 24 hours to settle the roots, and after 15 days move to normal management.
For orchids planted with new potting medium, apply a light and thin fertilizer once every half month to one month. During the large-seedling and strong-seedling stage, nitrogen fertilizer should be applied frequently, once every three to five days. For revived orchids, fertilization can go from once every half month to once a week, depending on whether the orchids can absorb it. However, weak grass, rootless grass and leafless bulbs absolutely need plain culture and must not be top-dressed, otherwise haste makes waste and they will instead suffer harm.
Orchid distribution areas
Orchids are world-famous flowers. Chinese orchids have more than 15,000 varieties. In Asia, Chinese orchids are mainly Cymbidium faberi; in Oceania and Africa, most are Cymbidium; Singapore has Vanda; Finland has lily of the valley; Yugoslavia has lily of the valley; Seychelles has Yucca; Zimbabwe has Gloriosa; and the national orchids designated by South American countries are: Brazil's Cattleya, Costa Rica's Cattleya. Ecuador and Guatemala both have Cattleya, Colombia has Cattleya, and Ecuador has white magnolia.
Because most varieties of terrestrial orchids originate in China, orchids are also called Chinese orchids and are listed first among China's top ten famous flowers. In China, except for North China, Northeast China, and Ningxia, Qinghai and ** in the Northwest, every province and region has different species of Cymbidium plants. Generally speaking, terrestrial orchids mostly grow in temperate and subtropical regions, such as Jiangsu and Anhui; epiphytic orchids mostly grow in tropical and subtropical regions, such as Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan, China.
Chinese orchids are mainly divided into seven major categories: Cymbidium goeringii, Cymbidium faberi, Cymbidium ensifolium, Cymbidium kanran, Cymbidium sinense, Cymbidium goeringii var. longibracteatum, and Cymbidium tortisepalum, with thousands of horticultural varieties.
Cymbidium goeringii is also known as grass orchid and mountain orchid. Cymbidium goeringii is widely distributed and rich in resources. The flowering period is February to March of the year, and it can last about 1 month. The flowers have a rich and pure fragrance. Precious varieties include lotus, plum, narcissus, butterfly and other petal types in various colors. In terms of petal type, the famous varieties from Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the most typical.
Cymbidium faberi has thick and long roots, narrow strap-shaped leaves, relatively rough and hard texture, dark green color, obvious serrations on the leaf margins, and prominent midribs. The flowering period is March to May, and the flowers have a strong fragrance that spreads far and lasts long. Flower colors include yellow, white, green, light red and compound colors, mostly colorful flowers, and there are also plain flowers and butterfly flowers.
Cymbidium ensifolium is also called four-season orchid, including summer orchid and autumn orchid that bloom in summer. Four-season orchid is robust and upright, with green leaves and abundant flowers, strong fragrance and beautiful flowers, not afraid of heat, not afraid of cold, with strong vitality and easy to cultivate. Different varieties have different flowering periods, and flowers can be seen from May to December.
Cymbidium sinense, also known as baosui orchid, baisui orchid, fengsui orchid and so on, is native to China's Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan, Taiwan, China and Hainan. Orchid growers in various parts of southern China, especially Guangdong and Yunnan, most enjoy cultivating and viewing it.
Cymbidium goeringii var. longibracteatum is often called authentic Sichuan orchid. Although Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan all have famous varieties, the famous Sichuan orchid varieties are the most precious. Flower colors include red, yellow, white, green, purple, black and compound colors, bright and dazzling, with graceful appearance, elegant charm, strong fragrance and pure taste, and it is often the first choice praised by orchid growers.
Cymbidium kanran is distributed in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and the southwestern regions of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. The leaves of Cymbidium kanran are narrower and longer than those of four-season orchid, especially narrower at the leaf base. The leaf posture is elegant and unrestrained, green and refined, and there are varieties with large, medium and small leaves and with variegated edges. Flower colors are rich, including yellow, green, purple-red, deep purple and so on, generally with variegated veins and spots, and there are also clean and flawless plain flowers. The sepals and petals are both relatively narrow and fine, with a unique style, delicate and lovely, and an intoxicating fragrance.
Orchid variety classification
Variety identification is an appraisal of the overall qualities of orchids and is a discipline that best demonstrates the skill of orchid cultivation. Therefore, orchid masters of past dynasties have all been especially cautious about this, never making conclusions rashly, and always adhering to the "three looks" principle.
Leaf shape
In seasons without flowers, the main basis for people to identify famous orchid varieties is to look at leaf shape, including leaf buds and plant shape. The color of orchid buds when they emerge from the soil has a certain reference value for the appreciation of orchid varieties, and the bud stage needs careful observation. Generally speaking, if the new buds are white, white-green or green, Cymbidium goeringii is generally a plain-heart variety, and Cymbidium faberi is mostly plain-heart or green Cymbidium faberi; if the bud tip has a white rice-grain-like "white peak," it may produce fine flowers.
Flower buds
Traditional famous orchid varieties not only have their own characteristics in leaf shape, but their flower buds are also richly distinctive.
Therefore, when identifying, people should look at both leaf shape and flower buds. Regarding the identification of flower buds, predecessors summarized the "nine shapes and eight forms" of orchid and Cymbidium faberi head shapes and the "five gates and eight forms" of Cymbidium faberi small bud arrangements. These valuable experiences are of great benefit to us in identifying varieties and are worth our good digestion and absorption.
All things develop and change. In orchid cultivation practice, people have found that even for the same pot of orchids, sometimes the color of its flower buds differs in different years, and even in the same year. I have experience with this. After many years of observation, the famous orchid and Cymbidium faberi varieties I cultivate, such as Dafugui and Yuanzi, sometimes have differences in their flower buds in different years; in some years the flower bud color is deeper, and in some years it is lighter.
Flower presentation
The most direct and effective way to identify orchid and Cymbidium faberi varieties is to look at their flower presentation, and this is also the main reason why introduced varieties should be introduced only after seeing the flowers. Generally speaking, as long as the flower presentation is up to standard, the variety can be identified once the flower is seen. But everything has its particularity, and the same variety of orchid and Cymbidium faberi often produces different flower presentations depending on different cultivation methods.
Special varieties
[Shaoxing orchid]
Shaoxing is one of the earliest places in China where orchids were planted and has long been called the "hometown of orchids." The Southern Song Baoging "Kuaiji Xu Zhi" records: "Orchid, the Yue Jue Shu says: Goujian planted orchids at Lanzhu Mountain. The old classic says: Lanzhu Mountain is the place where Goujian planted orchids." Lanzhu Mountain is in present-day Lizhu Lanting and is still famous at home and abroad for its abundant production of Cymbidium goeringii. Shaoxing orchids are diverse in variety, and their flower shape, color and fragrance are all unique. With one branch in a room, a clear fragrance fills the air and refreshes the heart.
The Ming dynasty calligrapher and painter Xu Wei wrote in his poem "Orchid": "Do not be surprised that spring light does not belong to you; one fragrance is enough to surpass a thousand reds. Even if the fragrance is picked into Han Niang's sleeve, it will not become the scent of musk in the world." Traditional famous orchid varieties such as "Song Mei," "Lou Mei," "Huanqiu Heding" and "Zan Die" all come from Shaoxing. Shaoxing's rare variety "Lüyun" is a rare resource under national-level protection. In 1959, a rare-petaled famous Shaoxing orchid was named "Zhongshan Hudie He" by Beijing Zhongshan Park. In 1982, the Standing Committee of the Shaoxing Municipal People's Congress designated the orchid as the city flower of Shaoxing and established the Shaoxing Orchid Association, the first orchid association in the country.
[Chinese orchid Cymbidium faberi]
Chinese orchid Cymbidium faberi usually refers to a portion of terrestrial species among plants of the genus Cymbidium. The pseudobulbs are relatively small, the leaves are linear, and the roots are fleshy; the flower stalk is upright, with 1 to more than 10 flowers, the flowers are small and fragrant, usually light green with purple-red spots. Different species vary greatly in leaf and flower morphology and flowering period. It is produced south of the Qinling Mountains and in the southwestern regions. It has a long cultivation history, at least more than a thousand years, and is one of China's top ten traditional famous flowers. Since ancient times, people have regarded orchids as a symbol of nobility, elegance, patriotism and unyielding integrity.
This formed an orchid culture with strong Chinese national characteristics. It is propagated by division, sowing or tissue culture. Pot cultivation with humus soil requires good ventilation and drainage; it prefers a semi-shaded and moist environment. The overwintering temperature for Cymbidium sinense, Cymbidium ensifolium and Cymbidium kanran is about 10°C, and for the other species about 5°C. What is called Chinese orchid today was called "hui" in ancient times. Just as Huang Tingjian of the Northern Song dynasty (1045-1105) described orchids in "Youfang Ting": "One stem with one flower and surplus fragrance is lan; one stem with five or seven flowers and insufficient fragrance is hui."
[Chinese orchid]
Confucius, in "The Family Sayings of Confucius: In Adversity": angelica and orchids grow in the forest, and do not cease to be fragrant because no one is there; a gentleman cultivates the Way and establishes virtue, and does not change his integrity because of poverty. The Song dynasty was the heyday of China's orchid cultivation history, with numerous books and descriptions related to orchid cultivation. For example, Luo Yuan of the Song dynasty wrote in "Erya Yi": "The leaves of the orchid are like those of the sedge, and it sprouts in early spring.
Its flowers are very fragrant, and it mostly grows in forests. When a gentle breeze passes, its fragrance rises abundantly and reaches outside, hence it is called zhilan. Orchids in Jiangnan bloom only in spring, while those in Jingchu and Fujian bloom again in autumn and summer." Zhao Shigeng of the Southern Song dynasty wrote "Jinzhang Lanpu" in 1233, which can be said to be the earliest surviving work in China devoted to the study of orchids, and also the world's first monograph on orchids. The whole book is divided into three volumes and five parts, briefly describing the morphological characteristics of more than 30 varieties of purple orchids (mainly Cymbidium sinense) and white orchids (that is, plain-heart Cymbidium ensifolium), and also discussing the grade of orchids. After "Jinzhang Lanpu," Wang Guixue wrote the book "Wangshi Lanpu" in 1247, which gave detailed descriptions of more than 30 orchid varieties.
In addition, the Song dynasty also had the book "Lanpu Aofa," which mainly described cultivation methods and was divided into seven parts: division and planting methods, flower planting methods, placement and watering methods, watering methods, flower fertilizing and soil methods, methods for removing ants and lice, and miscellaneous methods. As for the book "Zhongyi Biyong" written by Wu Zan, it also introduced orchid cultivation. In 1256, Chen Jingyi's "Quanfang Beizu" described orchids in relative detail. The complete printed copy of this book was collected in the Japanese Imperial Household Agency library, and in 1979 Japan returned a photocopy to China. In the Song dynasty, works using orchids as a subject in Chinese painting included "Spring Orchid Painting" by Zhao Mengjian, considered the earliest surviving famous orchid painting, now treasured in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, orchid cultivation entered a prosperous period. As orchid varieties continuously increased and cultivation experience became increasingly rich, orchid cultivation had become an object of public appreciation. At this time, there were relatively many books, painting albums, poetic lines and orchid patterns printed on porcelain and handicrafts describing orchids, such as Zhang Yingmin's "Luoli Zhai Lanpu" of the Ming dynasty and the orchid-related records in Gao Lian's book "Zunsheng Bajian."
The Ming dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen's book "Compendium of Materia Medica" gave a relatively complete discussion of the naming, categories and uses of orchids. The Qing dynasty also produced many monographs on orchid cultivation, such as the 1805 "Lanhui Tongxin Lu," written by a Mr. Xu from Jiaxing, Zhejiang, who was addicted to orchids, was also good at painting orchids, and had rich experience in orchid cultivation. The book is divided into two volumes; volume one discusses knowledge of orchid cultivation, and volume two describes methods for identifying and classifying orchid varieties. The whole book records 57 varieties and includes line drawings made by him. Others such as Yuan Shijun's "Lanyan Shulüe," Du Wenlan's "Yilan Sishuo," Mao Xiang's "Lanyan," Zhu Kerou's "Diyi Xiang Biji," Tu Yongning's "Lanhui Jing," Zhang Guangzhao's "Xinglan Pulüe," Yue Liang's "Yanglan Shuo," Wang Hao's "Guang Qunfang Pu," Wu Qijun's "Zhiwu Ming Shi Tu Kao," and Ou Jince's late Qing "Linghai Lanyan" still have certain reference value today.
Orchid dietary therapy or medicinal value
The medical information and health dietary therapy information on Hugarden are for reference only and cannot be used as a basis for diagnosis or medical treatment. Any health problems should be consulted with professional medical staff, and treatment of any disease should follow a doctor's advice.
Ultimate flower-protecting task: to love yourself, start from reality and strictly follow a doctor's advice. Toward illness, do not be careless, do not delay, do not give up hope; face it bravely, use love to warm the silent world, and use your heart to care for the flower field within.
Medicinal value
According to records, the roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of orchids all have certain medicinal value. The roots can treat pulmonary tuberculosis, lung abscess and sprains, and can also set bones; a decoction of Cymbidium ensifolium roots, it is said, is an excellent medicine for inducing labor. The leaves treat whooping cough, the fruit can stop vomiting, and the seeds treat eye cataracts. The whole plant of Cymbidium faberi can treat women's diseases, and the whole plant of Cymbidium goeringii treats neurasthenia, roundworms and hemorrhoids and other diseases. Cymbidium ensifolium leaves can treat deficiency of lung qi in the weak (also written as liver qi). Orchid flower stalks can treat malignant ringworm. Plain-heart orchid petals can induce labor. The plain-heart petals of Cymbidium faberi, dried in the shade, can also induce labor.
In rural areas of some parts of Sichuan, orchids are called "labor-inducing flowers." It is said that if a woman has difficult labor, one should quickly move a pot of "labor-inducing flower" into the delivery room, and when the pregnant woman smells the orchid fragrance, she will give birth smoothly. Whether this has a scientific basis still awaits verification by obstetrics and gynecology experts.
China's traditional orchids are precious flowers with graceful posture and rich fragrance (the fragrance of kings). However, physicians of past dynasties summarized very little about their medicinal value. The whole orchid plant can be used as medicine. Its nature is neutral, its taste is pungent and sweet, and it is non-toxic. It has effects such as nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, promoting urination and draining dampness, and clearing heat and detoxifying. It can be applied to various clinical internal and gynecological symptoms. Summarized as follows:
1. Nourish yin fluids, promote body fluid production and moisten dryness, and treat the sequelae of dry mouth and excessive thirst caused by radiotherapy for malignant tumors.
[Ming] Li Shizhen, "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Orchid herb, odor pungent, neutral, sweet, non-toxic." "Its qi is clear and fragrant, promotes body fluid production and quenches thirst, moistens the muscles, and treats diabetes and jaundice." "...To treat diabetes with a body-fluid-promoting drink, use orchid leaves; this is probably based on this." Modern medical science uses radium (cobalt-60) for radiotherapy after surgery for some malignant tumors or cancers and has achieved certain therapeutic effects, but it causes a certain degree of damage and functional impact to tissues and organs near the tumor. For example, radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, malignant tumors of the salivary glands (mucoepidermoid carcinoma), and upper and middle esophageal cancer damages the various glands of the oral cavity, especially the three major salivary glands, the parotid gland, submandibular gland and sublingual gland, as well as the mucosal gland cells of the upper digestive tract, causing a large reduction in glandular secretion and producing symptoms of upper diabetes such as dry and burning throat, dry tongue and scorched lips, and thirst with frequent drinking. Using orchids can treat this condition caused by radiotherapy for malignant tumors, with very good results.
According to clinical experience, for patients receiving radiotherapy for malignant tumors in different locations and organs, combining with some Chinese herbal medicines gives better results. For example, for radiotherapy patients with laryngeal cancer, it is used together with Shandougen, Baimaogen and Dandelion; for radiotherapy patients with esophageal cancer, it should be used together with Banzhilian, Baihuasheshecao, Xiakucao and Lingxian.
2. Clear heat and cool blood, nourish yin and moisten the lungs, and treat dry cough and prolonged coughing, and pulmonary hemoptysis.
Modern traditional Chinese medicine research shows that the whole plant of Cymbidium ensifolium has the effects of clearing heat and cooling blood, nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, and is often used clinically for hemoptysis due to pulmonary tuberculosis and for regulating prolonged dry cough that does not stop.
For patients with mild to moderate hemoptysis due to pulmonary tuberculosis, use 50-100 grams of fresh Cymbidium ensifolium roots, mash and squeeze the juice or decoct in water and take, twice a day, with obvious effects in 4-6 days.
For patients with dry cough that does not stop, use 30-50 orchid stamens, decoct in water, add rock sugar, twice a day, and take for 3-5 days for remarkable effects. This accords with the statement in "Compendium of Materia Medica" that "orchid herb mainly treats blood production, regulates qi, nourishes the nutritive qi, and removes phlegm and stagnation in the chest."
3. Regulate qi and harmonize blood, promote dampness and reduce swelling, and treat urinary tract infections and women's leukorrhea.
According to "Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica": "The yellow orchid is called honey orchid and can stop diarrhea and leukorrhea, promote the water passages, kill gu poison, reduce carbuncles and swelling, regulate menstruation; taken for a long time it benefits qi, lightens the body and prevents aging, and communicates with the spirits." Modern traditional Chinese medicine believes that orchid roots have effects such as regulating qi and harmonizing blood, promoting dampness and reducing swelling. They treat urinary tract infections and excessive leukorrhea in women.
Use 50 grams of orchid roots, 30 grams of cogongrass rhizome, and 30 grams of winter melon peel, decoct in water and take, continuously for 6-10 days, to treat urinary tract infections.
For excessive leukorrhea in women, use 50 grams of orchid roots, 30 grams of asparagus root, 30 grams of lily, and 1 free-range farm chicken, stew together, drink the soup and eat the meat, once every 2-3 days, continuously for 2-3 times.
4. Soothe the liver and relieve depression, harmonize qi and blood, and treat dizziness and visual blurring, and neurasthenia.
Modern pharmacological research shows that the aromatic component of orchids, aromatic oil, makes people feel relaxed and happy, clears stale qi, relieves depression and dispels stuffiness, and refreshes the mind.
In treating dizziness and visual blurring (Meniere's syndrome), it is effective. Prescription: 30g orchid stamens, 15g chrysanthemum, 15g dwarf lilyturf tuber, 20g agrimony, decoct in water and take, 1 dose per day. Continue for 4-6 days. This is based on the records in "Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica" that "plain-heart Cymbidium ensifolium removes stale qi and relieves depression" and "honey-pickled green orchid steeped as tea harmonizes qi and blood, relaxes the middle and sober one from alcohol."
Use 50 grams of orchid roots, 20 grams of canna rhizome, and 20 grams of Cynanchum paniculatum, decoct in water and take, 1 dose per day, continuously for 10-15 days, to treat neurasthenia.
5. Other medicinal uses
According to the record that "orchid leaves receive the qi of metal and water yet seem to have fire; people know the preciousness of its flower fragrance, but do not know that its leaves have medicinal prescriptions; its leaves can disperse long-accumulated stale and depressed qi with great strength, as in the present-day placement on the right," to treat constipation, stagnation and accumulation in the large and small intestines, thick and greasy tongue coating, dry throat and lung dryness, and unbearable bad breath, use 20-30 autumn orchid flowers and 50g orchid leaves, decoct in water, and when slightly warm, mix in 30g honey and take, continuously for 2-3 times. This accords with the theory that the lungs and large intestine are interior-exterior paired.
Use 50-100 grams of fresh orchid roots, wash clean, mash and apply to the affected area, to treat traumatic injuries, subcutaneous bleeding and muscle tumors.
Edible value
(1) Flower fragrance can scent tea
Orchid fragrance is clear and mellow, and when used to scent tea, the quality is highest. In orchid-producing areas or large orchid nurseries, orchid tea has development prospects.
According to records: "Flowers can enhance tea, and paste can replace drink." In Fujian Province, villagers pickle Cymbidium ensifolium flowers in honey and then drink it. There is also the record: "Use salted plum to steep and extract juice called plum oil, use it to soak fresh flowers, to make fragrance." In Japan's ancient capital, on the east side of Kyoto, there is an old small shop that for decades has sold the hereditary "orchid tea." This is made by picking Cymbidium goeringii flowers produced on the mountains north of Kyoto, drying them semi-dry by a special method, then salting them and putting them in small clay bottles. When using, take two flowers and put them in a teacup, pour in boiling water and drink. After being soaked in water, the orchids recover their original shape, being both beautiful and having a special fragrance, and when drunk the flavor is extraordinary. The flowers can also be eaten at the same time.
(2) Flowers can be eaten
The flowers can be made into soup. According to records, flowers can be added to soup; when about to add them to the soup, first blanch them with hot water, and the flower color will be fresh and the soup taste delicious. Orchids can be made into dishes and are a famous Sichuan dish at banquets, with a clear fragrance that fills the air and lingers around the table, making it unforgettable for a lifetime. Famous dishes in Sichuan cuisine include "orchid tripe shreds," "orchid shredded pork" and so on, and there is also "orchid steamed bun," whose taste is endless.
Orchid cultural background: Chinese painting orchids
China's orchid culture has a history of more than 2,000 years since the beginning of orchid appreciation. The ancient esteem for orchids embodied the characteristics of traditional Chinese aesthetics. Literati and poets of past dynasties repeatedly chanted and praised orchids, not only referring to the orchid's elegant form but even more to its clear and secluded fragrance.
The orchid's appearance is simple and elegant, its leaf shape slender and soft, its flower posture beautiful, plain and delicately fragrant, possessing the temperament of "clear color, clear qi, clear spirit and clear rhyme," and it is also called junzi lan (gentleman's orchid), showing that orchids are close to gentlemen. Literati preferred planting orchids, appreciating orchids, chanting orchids, painting orchids and writing about orchids, with an orchid complex that could not be shaken off.
Poetry, lyrics, songs and fu
(Tang) Li Bai
A lone orchid grows in a secluded garden, hidden among overgrown grasses.
Though it is lit by the spring sunlight, it again grieves under the high autumn moon.
Flying frost falls early with a pattering sound; its green brilliance fears it may cease.
If there is no clear breeze to blow, for whom will its fragrance be released?
Guang Qunfang Pu
(Qing) Liu Hao
The orchid grows in a secluded valley and no one knows it; a guest planted it in the eastern pavilion and left me its fragrance.
I know it has a clear fragrance that can remove filth, and I love even more its fine leaves that skillfully brave the frost.
Its roots settle among dense stones, and its autumn fragrance comes early; the cluster leans on tall bamboo, cool in the midday shade.
I want to leave it together with asarum under the hall, and before my eyes I always see the verses of Chu.
Guang Qunfang Pu
(Qing) Liu Hao
Weeping dew, its light is especially disordered; bearing wind, its shadow slants by itself.
How can vulgar people understand this? Looking at the leaves is better than looking at the flowers.
Ode to Orchid (Yuan) Yu Tonglu
With my hands I cultivated two or three orchid plants; as the sun warmed and the breeze was gentle, they bloomed one after another.
Sitting long, I did not know the fragrance was in the room; when I pushed open the window, sometimes butterflies flew in.
Huanxisha: Orchid
As if in a bronze vase one sees dew-covered sprouts; sparse flowers, cold and fallen, faintly holding charm.
The clear tears of the Xiang River drip into the spring tide; how could heart and heart be so graceful together?
And no leaf after leaf helps the wind's emblem; one heartbroken collection is the Li Sao.
Ode to Orchid (modern) Zhu De
In Yuexiu Park's groves of flowers and trees, a hundred flowers bloom together, each striving in spring.
Only the orchid's fragrance is just right, and for a time it was prized in the city of Guangzhou.
Hidden Orchid by Cui Tu (Tang Dynasty)
Planted in seclusion, who among the crowd would know? Its fragrance it holds only in secret.
It has never been worn by a gentleman, yet it does not mean the national fragrance has declined.
White dew moistens it long before others, and the spring wind always reaches it late.
It is not even the equal of roadside grass; what is the use of all its rich fragrance!
Orchid by Yang Wanli (Song Dynasty)
On a snowy path it stealthily opens pale green flowers, and its icy roots freely send up small red shoots.
It has no peach-or-plum spring-breeze face, but its fame rests in the homes of recluses among the hills and woods.
Because its national fragrance reaches the court and the market, it is not allowed to grow old among frost and clouds.
The riverside selaginella and the garden thoroughwort are no match for it; leave it to the poets to settle the ranks.
Inscription on a Painting of an Orchid by Zheng Xie (Zheng Banqiao) (Qing Dynasty)
Its body is at the very top of a thousand mountains, where in deep cracks of sheer cliffs its wondrous fragrance gathers thick.
It is not that there are no drifting clouds clamoring beneath its feet; they come without knowing it and leave without staying.
Contemporary Poems in Praise of Orchids
Ancient-Style Poem [Huzhou] by Yao Danping
It does not vie for favor with the jade grasses, but only seeks to meet the clear breeze often;
It wishes to spread its fragrance everywhere, to fulfill the passion filling its breast.
Orchid by Yu Yafei
Among the clumps of grass by the roadside there is an orchid, showing no heroic bearing and displaying no splendor;
Only when its hidden fragrance scents the heart and lungs does one realize that a rare flower lies hidden in the garden.
Famous People and Orchids
Confucius Praises the Orchid
Confucius was extremely fond of orchids. Because he placed special emphasis on the cultivation of personal moral character, he vested deep feelings in the orchid. In the book Kongzi Jiayu (The Family Sayings of Confucius), collected and compiled by Wang Su of the Wei of the Three Kingdoms period, a celebrated anecdote of Confucius praising the orchid is recorded.
"Confucius said: 'After my death, Shang will improve day by day, while Ci will decline day by day.' Zengzi said: 'What do you mean?' The Master said: 'Shang likes to associate with those better than himself, while Ci likes to associate with those not equal to himself. If you do not know the son, look at the father; if you do not know the person, look at his friends. If you do not know the ruler, look at those he employs; if you do not know the soil, look at the plants it produces.'" Hence the conclusion was drawn that "a gentleman must be careful about where he places himself." From this, "the chamber of irises and orchids" became a byword for a good environment and an idiom praising orchids.
The Kongzi Jiayu also excerpts another passage from Confucius: "The iris and orchid grow in deep valleys, and do not cease to be fragrant because no one is there; the gentleman cultivates the Way and establishes virtue, and does not change his integrity because of hardship and poverty." This was part of Confucius's answer to Zilu. At that time King Zhao of Chu invited Confucius, and Confucius set out in response, passing through Chen and Cai. "The great officers of Chen and Cai plotted together, saying: Confucius is a sage; the criticisms he makes all strike at the ills of the feudal lords. If he is employed by Chu, then Chen and Cai will be in danger." So they sent troops to surround Confucius, "and Confucius could not proceed; he went without food for seven days, and had no communication with the outside. Even wild-vegetable soup was not enough, and his followers all fell ill, yet Confucius lectured all the more fervently, and his singing to the zither did not fade." At this point Zilu said: "I have heard that Heaven rewards those who do good with blessings and punishes those who do evil with calamity. Now you, Master, have accumulated virtue and embraced righteousness, and have practiced it in person for a long time; why should you be reduced to such hardship?" Thereupon Confucius cited such virtuous men in history as Boyi and Shuqi, Prince Bigan, and Wu Zixu, who in the end met with misfortune, to explain that "whether one meets with recognition or not is a matter of timing; whether one is worthy or unworthy is a matter of ability. Gentlemen who are broadly learned and deeply prudent yet do not meet with the right time are many; why should it be I alone?" He also used the iris and orchid's "not ceasing to be fragrant because no one is there" as a vivid metaphor to argue the view that "a gentleman does not change his integrity because of hardship and poverty."
Goujian Plants Orchids
The place where Goujian planted orchids - Lanzhu Mountain - is a small hill on the south side twenty-five li from the city, bordered on the east by ancient Jian Lake and backed on the west by Kuaiji Mountain; it is truly a fine place for growing orchids. From the pottery unearthed from the Hemudu cultural layer in Yuyao, it can be determined that the awareness and technique of potting plants already existed at that time. In the Yue state 4,000 years later, it can be confidently affirmed that King Goujian of Yue planted orchids on Zhushan. Goujian's orchid planting had not only motivation but also technical support.
There are many historical records about Goujian planting orchids on Zhushan. Besides the Baoqing Continued Kuaiji Gazetteer, there is, for example, the Shaoxing Prefecture Gazetteer from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, which records: On Lanzhu Mountain there is a plant with long leaves and white flowers; its flower has a national fragrance, and its name is orchid; it was planted by Goujian. The Ming scholar Nan Fengji, annotating Wang Shipeng's Kuaiji Customs Rhapsody, also said: Lanting is Lanzhu. The Yue Jue Shu says: Goujian planted orchids on Zhushan. The Ming scholar Xu Wei also mentioned in his Lange Song that Goujian, in planting orchids, always chose the site, and that Lanzhu today is that very place. A Brief Account of Shaoxing Geography records: Lanzhu Mountain is twenty-seven li south of the city, and Goujian planted orchids there. Because Goujian planted orchids on Zhushan, later generations named Zhushan Lanzhu Mountain, named the market below Lanzhu Mountain Flower Street, and named the post station below Lanzhu Mountain Lanting.
Qu Yuan Wears Orchids
Qu Yuan (c. 340 - early 278 BCE) was a great poet of the Warring States period. His given name was Ping, his courtesy name Yuan, his sobriquet Lingjun, and he was also known as Zhengze. He was a man of the state of Chu. The Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Qu Yuan says of him: "He was broadly informed and strong in memory, understood the principles of order and disorder, and was skilled in speech." But his political views met with fierce opposition from the old bureaucratic aristocracy, and King Huai of Chu, on whom he relied, was muddled and incompetent, unable to distinguish the loyal from the treacherous. As a result, he believed slander and turned his anger against Qu Yuan. By the time of King Qingxiang of Chu, Qu Yuan suffered even greater misfortune and was long exiled to the Yuan and Xiang region. Qu Yuan met with hardship, but his will did not change and his conduct became even more upright: "I cannot change my heart and follow the vulgar crowd; I will rather end in sorrow and poverty!" He expressed this resolve to think of his ruler and love his country, and this feeling of setting the times right and aiding the world, through many kinds of fragrant flowers and rare plants, roused to emotion by touching things and lodging his aspirations in sought-out objects; moreover, he developed this technique of comparison and evocation in a new way, thus blending object and self, emotion and scene, into one, greatly expanding the realm and expressive power of poetry. In his selection of fragrant flowers and rare plants, Qu Yuan especially chose the orchid. Therefore, in many poems such as Li Sao, Nine Songs, and Nine Chapters, he writes of how he cultivated orchids, wore orchids, strung orchids, plucked orchids, and cut orchids. He placed boundless hope in the orchid: "I had already cultivated nine mu of orchids, and again planted a hundred mu of thoroughwort... When their branches and leaves are tall and luxuriant, I wish to wait for the time when I shall cut them." He took the orchid as a friend, making it his kindred spirit: "The time grows dark and is about to end; I tie a hidden orchid and linger." He took the orchid as an ornament, expressing his own noble and self-purifying sentiment: "I wear Jiangli and Bibi, and string autumn orchids as my girdle ornament." He also worried that the orchid might wither among the autumn wind and cold dew, follow the vulgar crowd, and change its integrity so as no longer to be fragrant: "The times are tangled and changing; how can I linger long? The orchid and angelica have changed and are no longer fragrant; the calamus and the marsh plant have turned into thatch." These are only a few examples of orchids cited in Li Sao, and from them one can see how deeply Qu Yuan loved orchids, praised orchids, lodged his feelings in orchids, and used orchids to satirize; here the orchid is not a simple metaphor or an emotion roused by an object, but a symbol, a lodging place, a pursuit of spirit and character.
Zheng Sixiao's Paintings
Zheng Sixiao (1241-1318) was a poet and painter of the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, a native of Lianjiang (present-day Fujian). His original name is unknown; after the fall of the Song he changed his name to Sixiao, because the character "Xiao" is a component of Zhao, the imperial surname of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Yiweng, meaning that he did not forget his former country; his sobriquet was Suonan. In the Yuan dynasty, Zheng Suonan (that is, Zheng Sixiao) was most famous for painting orchids, and his implied meaning was also the clearest. After the fall of the Zhao Song regime, it is said that whether sitting or lying he always faced south, to show that he cherished the memory of the former dynasty and was ashamed to serve as a second minister of the Yuan dynasty; the orchids he painted never included soil or roots, as if they were floating in the air. When people asked him about it, he said: "The land has been seized by the foreigners; do you not know?" Or he would answer: "The territory has already been seized by the foreigners; how could I be willing to let them touch the ground?"
After the fall of the Song, Zheng Suonan vowed never to have dealings with northerners. People knew he was eccentric and did not find it strange. He lived in seclusion in Wuxia, and had several tens of mu of land, which he deposited with the Baoguo Temple south of the city, using the annual income from the land for the temple to make offerings to his ancestors. Whenever he encountered a taboo day he would wail bitterly below the temple, and the gentleman also lodged and boarded at the temple. His room was bare and desolate, and when he sat he always faced south. When the powerful and eminent asked for his orchids, he was especially reluctant to give them. But ordinary people or children who somewhat matched his meaning, he would instead give to them. When the county magistrate sought them and could not get them, knowing that he had land, he threatened him with taxes and corvee to obtain them. The gentleman angrily said: "My head may be cut off, but the orchids cannot be painted!" Whenever the seasonal sacrifices came, he would weep toward the southern wilds and bow twice. He delighted in the teachings of Buddhism and Daoism, was skilled at painting orchids, with sparse flowers and simple leaves, not seeking great refinement. Once a painting was finished he would destroy it, and he did not rashly give them to others; therefore very few of his orchid paintings survive, and only one, the Ink Orchid, remains, housed in the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art in Japan.
Zheng Banqiao's Paintings
Zheng Banqiao was an outstanding representative of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou," and in particular a master of a generation in painting orchids, bamboo, and flowers.
Historically it is said that "Banqiao had three excellences: painting, poetry, and calligraphy; among the three excellences there were also three truths: true spirit, true meaning, and true delight." His calligraphy formed its own style, half clerical and half regular, called "six-and-a-half-part script," with a charm of crisscrossing irregularity and lean, hard, striking ruggedness. His poetry reflected life, had substance, and was also marked by vividness and popular accessibility. Matching such poetry and calligraphy with his orchid works made his paintings even more full of interest and true spirit. His "three truths" were the expression of his inner heart, concentratedly showing his sympathy for the sufferings of the people. He said: Among all people between heaven and earth, the first class consists only of farmers... they all suffer in their bodies and labor with their strength, plowing, sowing, and harvesting, in order to nourish the people of the world. If there were no farmers in the world, everyone in the world would starve to death. Therefore his painting of orchids was meant to express this sincere and intense feeling of "treating all people as one's brothers and all things as companions." He said: "Whenever I paint orchids and paint stones, it is to comfort the laboring people of the world, not to provide enjoyment for those who sit at ease." With such a breadth of mind, his paintings possessed the "three truths."
Banqiao liked to paint potted orchids, and also often painted orchids on cliff walls and orchids among thorny thickets. Among Banqiao's orchid paintings, the most numerous and most worth savoring are the pictures of orchid, bamboo, and stone. This is certainly the tradition of ancient orchid painting and a characteristic of the "Eight Eccentrics" flower paintings, but it is also his creation and his outstanding achievement. In his orchid-and-bamboo paintings he often added stones, believing that "one bamboo, one orchid, one stone, have integrity, fragrance, and bone," and that "orchid, bamboo, and stone come forth in succession; the great gentleman cannot be without them."
Banqiao's paintings of orchid, bamboo, and stone reached the highest peak, and his inscription poems played the role of adding the finishing touch, such as: "Half green mountain and half bamboo, half green shade and half jade. Please, when your tea is brewed and you wake from sleep, face this as if you were in a stone house." "A stretch of green mountain and a stretch of orchid, orchid fragrance and bamboo green are pleasing to view. Dongting and Yunmeng for three thousand li, filled with spring wind without feeling cold." "On the stone spreads the orchid and further spreads the bamboo, a beauty accompanies them in the secluded valley. May I ask from where the east wind blows? It blows into the Xiang waves, a river of green."
Lu Xun Gathers Orchids
Several generations of Lu Xun's family loved orchids. On November 14, 1933, in his letter "To Yamamoto Hatsukoto," Lu Xun mentioned that "my great-grandfather once cultivated many orchids, and specially built three rooms for this purpose." On March 18, 1911, Lu Xun, together with Zhou Jianren and Wang Hezhao, went to visit the Great Yu Mausoleum below Kuaiji Mountain. Before setting out, Lu Xun had prepared two painted tin buckets and one brass item in advance for everyone to bring. After arriving at the Great Yu Mausoleum and touring the Yu Temple and the Bian Stone Pavilion, they went up Kuaiji Mountain to gather orchids. Later, Lu Xun wrote up the experience of this mountain trip as "A Record of an Excursion in the Xinhai Year," published in the first issue of the Yueshe Miscellany in February 1912, under the signature "Qiaofeng, Zhou Jianren of Kuaiji."
Regarding that orchid gathering on Kuaiji Mountain, Zhou Jianren often brought it up in his later years: "After the eldest (Lu Xun) gathered the 'one-leaf orchid,' he was extremely excited and said to me: 'Third brother, our trip was truly not in vain!' Back home, we carefully potted the orchids. Later, the eldest, at the invitation of Mr. Cai Yuanpei, went to Beijing to take up a post. At first he wanted to take the orchids with him, but in the end, because the journey was so far, he did not take them. Before leaving, he especially instructed me to plant these few pots of orchids well. Soon after, I too was invited to teach at a school, and usually seldom returned home; later, the 'one-leaf orchid' finally died. To keep the eldest from being heartbroken, I never told him this news."
In the late 1920s, Lu Xun moved to Shanghai. Whenever around the time of Awakening of Insects, people passing by Lu Xun's residence would be met by the hidden fragrance of orchids. In Shanghai he also became acquainted with the Japanese orchid enthusiast Obara Eijiro. Obara ran a Chinese curios shop in Tokyo called "Keikado," and also dealt in orchids. Before the War of Resistance, Obara Eijiro made many trips to Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, and other places to collect Chinese cymbidiums. He was on old terms with Zhu Zhangfu, Wang Shuping, and others, and once wanted to invite Zhu Zhangfu to Japan to grow orchids. He wrote the Lanhua Pu. In 1931, when the Kuomintang suppressed the writers of the Left League, Lu Xun took refuge in the Hanazono-so inn opened by a Japanese, and it happened that Obara was about to return home while trafficking in orchids. Moved by the scene, he used the matter of a friend carrying orchids back east to express his feelings through orchids:
Pepper is burned and cassia broken, the fair one has grown old; alone it leans on the hidden cliff and unfolds its pure heart.
Why begrudge sending its fragrance to the distant one? In the old hometown, as if drunk, there are brambles and thorns.
Zhu De's Love of Orchids
Throughout his life Zhu De had a special affection for orchids; whether in wartime or in peacetime, his love for orchids remained unchanged. Orchids not only brought Zhu De great pleasure in life, but also let people see his side full of life's delights and delicate feeling.
As early as his years in military service in Yunnan, Zhu De had already begun to like orchids. In the intervals between marching and fighting, he often gathered orchids everywhere and transplanted them to admire, thereby accumulating some knowledge about orchid varieties and cultivation.
In 1928, the troops of the Nanchang Uprising led by Zhu De and the troops of the Autumn Harvest Uprising led by Mao Zedong successfully joined forces at Jinggangshan. The mountains southeast of Ciping in Jinggangshan abound in all kinds of orchids, especially the Jinggang orchid, and the place is known as "Orchid Flat." Seeing wild orchids again many years later, Zhu De was extraordinarily excited; he often went into the mountains in his spare time to seek out and admire flowers, and when he came upon rare specimens he would gather them and cultivate them with care. The story of Zhu De's love of orchids spread widely among the people of Jinggangshan, leaving the much-told tale that "back then Commander Zhu introduced orchids, and their fragrance drifted eight hundred li along the Hunan-Jiangxi border," which was even woven into a red ballad and sung: "Commander Zhu carried water from the Xiang River, and watered the Jinggang orchids into bloom."
Far removed from the years of raging war, Zhu De had the conditions to study orchids seriously. Whenever he went out on inspection, as long as the place produced orchids and he had leisure, he would always go with great interest to parks or the mountains and fields to seek orchids, and when he came upon good varieties he would bring them back to Beijing and cultivate them carefully. If he encountered a flower exhibition, he certainly would not miss it. His footprints covered almost all the main orchid-producing regions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou, and Hainan Island. It is said that in February 1961, when he visited Gushan in Fuzhou, he passed an old tree, looked up, and said there were orchids on the tree; everyone was half doubtful. So someone climbed the tree to look, and indeed gathered a bunch of orchids from the tree.
Under Zhu De's both scientific and careful care, the several thousand pots of rare orchids kept at Zhu De's home grew well. Yet he was not satisfied with this; he often gave away the orchids he had carefully cultivated to others or to landscaping departments, sharing the fragrance and beauty of orchids with everyone. Beginning in 1961, he sent people specially to give more than 160 pots of orchids suited to cultivation in subtropical regions to the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu, in three batches. Many of the orchids in Beijing's Zhongshan Park were given by Zhu De. According to the recollection of an old gardener at the park: "Marshal Zhu often gave us orchids, such as 'Haiyan Qifei' from Hainan Island, Guangdong's ink orchid, 'Yuchen Dagong,' 'Yinbian Dagong,' and 'Jinsi Mawei,' Sichuan's multi-flowered orchid, summer cymbidium, 'Longchang Su,' and 'Heqi Lvyi,' Zhejiang and Jiangsu's 'Quzhou Su,' Yunnan's 'Dahong She,' and autumn orchids, and so on." In addition, Zhu De also gave the orchid books he had collected to landscaping departments, encouraging them to study diligently and raise their cultivation techniques.
Orchids added much delight to Zhu De's life. Whenever he saw orchids vying in strange beauty and blooming in competition, or discovered a new orchid variety, Zhu De would often be stirred to poetic inspiration. On March 3, 1961, when Zhu De visited the orchid garden in Guangzhou's Yuexiu Park, he improvised the poem "Visiting Yuexiu Park": "In Yuexiu Park's woods of flowers and trees, a hundred flowers bloom together, each vying in spring. Only the orchid's fragrance is just right, and for a time it was prized in the city of Guangzhou." In the same year, in late autumn, Zhu De once wrote a seven-character quatrain to describe the pleasure he gained from his diligent labor: "The hidden orchid, graceful and bright, waits for winter to bloom; green leaves and verdant growth reflect the painted terrace. Just opening, red blossoms with beads of dew falling; fragrance fills ten paces and comes out from the courtyard."
On January 1, 1962, Zhu De visited the orchid exhibition at Beijing's Zhongshan Park and wrote the poem "Ode to the Orchid Exhibition": "Spring comes and purple vapor rises in the east; all things grow and together shine. Hidden orchids newly displayed in the new city; everyone praises the national fragrance. Hidden orchids put forth their beauty beneath tall trees, yet still coil their roots beside the common grasses. Even if no one sees and admires them, they still obtain their place and naturally hold their fragrance." Its last four lines were later printed on the souvenir sheet of the special stamps "Chinese Orchids," issued on December 25, 1988.
In 1963, during a visit to the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu, Zhu De wrote more than 10 poems under the title "Spring Inspirations at the Thatched Cottage," among which one praises the orchid: "The hidden orchid comes out of the valley, weak and slender; moved to the thatched cottage, it is willing to bow. The thoroughfare's fragrant bearing does not understand one's meaning, yet accompanying the Ministry of Works it sends forth new shoots."
On April 20, 1963, while inspecting Sichuan, Zhu De once went to Shisun Peak on Mount Emei to seek orchids. With his own hands he planted the orchids he had gathered into pots, and said to the accompanying staff: "The ancients said that bamboo has nodes but no flowers, plum has flowers but no leaves, pine has leaves but no fragrance, and only the orchid has leaves, flowers, and fragrance. Please take good care of these few pots of orchids for me; in the future I will come to Emei again, and I will come to see these orchids again." And he improvised a lyric, "Parrot Song: Gathering Orchids at Shisun Peak": "On Mount Emei I dwell as fate allows; in the hidden valley of Shisun I play the immortal father. Pine and bamboo, friends and companions, always shine upon one another, together enduring mist, clouds, wind, and rain. A person of understanding comes to visit and seek; my vow follows you as you go forward. If I may be offered up as a national fragrance, an imperishable fragrant name will remain everywhere."
In his lifetime Zhu De composed about 40 poems in praise of orchids. These poems truly reflect what Zhu De felt and realized in the course of seeking, cultivating, and admiring orchids, and are full of his praise and love for orchids. In Zhu De's view, growing orchids had many uses. On February 6, 1961, when Zhu De visited Fuzhou's West Lake Park, as he walked to the orchid nursery he said to Chen Shizhang of the Fuzhou Municipal Landscape Management Office: "The Liuxiang Ravine in the Wuyi Mountains produces many orchids; they should be widely collected and propagated in large numbers, and used as export goods, which can both take part in international cultural exchange and enrich the contents of orchid catalogs." On January 1, 1963, while inspecting the South China Botanical Garden, he again said to the person in charge: "Do not look down on orchids; orchids can be exported. We should plant orchids widely and earn more foreign exchange." At a time when China's industrial level was backward and its export capacity limited, developing the cultivation of flowers such as orchids could indeed serve as a way to increase exports and earn foreign exchange.
The orchid is a traditional famous flower of our country. It is dignified and quietly elegant, plain and noble, tough and resolute, and is highly esteemed by people; together with plum, bamboo, and chrysanthemum it is called one of the "Four Gentlemen." The noble character of the orchid is precisely what Zhu De greatly valued, esteemed, and required of himself. Throughout his life he strove with unwavering purpose in the pursuit and practice of truth; he was modest and prudent, amiable and approachable; he was indifferent to fame and gain and open-hearted, just like that plain and noble, long-lasting and fragrant orchid!
The Flower Language of the Orchid
The flower language, symbolism, and representative meaning of the orchid are: indifference to fame and fortune, elegance. There are many varieties of orchids; according to incomplete statistics, there are more than 20,000 orchid varieties in the world, among which the better known include the Phalaenopsis, the orchid, and the cymbidium. In fact, they each have their own flower language, but the general flower language of the orchid is indifference to fame and fortune, and elegance. [8]
Violet: enduring beauty
Freesia: purity, innocence
Cattleya: noble lady
Phalaenopsis: happiness gradually arriving
Oncidium: hidden love
Gladiolus: elegance, longevity, peace and health
The flower language of the orchid: indifference to fame and fortune, elegance, beauty, nobility, and virtue
Orchid Pictures