How does society garlic propagate? It is mainly propagated by sowing seeds
Society garlic is a flowering plant with high ornamental value, and it can be seen in many regions of our country. As more and more people grow it in various places, questions about its propagation have also drawn considerable attention. How does society garlic propagate? What are the propagation methods for society garlic
Society garlic is a flowering plant with high ornamental value, and it can be seen in many regions of our country. As more and more people grow it in various places, questions about its propagation have also drawn considerable attention. How does society garlic propagate? What are the propagation methods for society garlic? Below, the editor will walk you through it.
1. How does society garlic propagate: sowing/scales/bulbs/bulbils
When it comes to how society garlic propagates, it is mainly divided into four methods: sowing propagation, scale propagation, bulb propagation and bulbil propagation. As long as we operate properly during propagation, the survival rate of all four methods is quite high. The specific details of the four propagation methods are given below, and interested friends can take a look.
2. Propagation methods for society garlic
First of all, no matter which propagation method we use for society garlic, we first need to choose a substrate. Generally, it is best to choose a relatively loose and fertile sandy soil as the substrate. This kind of soil has good drainage and aeration, allows the plant to absorb nutrients better, and is less prone to waterlogging.
Sowing propagation
Among the propagation methods for society garlic, sowing propagation is a relatively commonly used method. First, we need to harvest its seeds in autumn, and then sow them in spring. Before sowing, we first need to soak its seeds in warm water for one day. When the seeds absorb water and swell, they can be sown directly. After sowing, they generally sprout in about 20-30 days.
Scale propagation
Before carrying out scale propagation on society garlic, we first need to use a bamboo knife to cut off the base of the bulb so that the scales separate, and then use the scales for cuttings from September to October each year. There is one thing to note when carrying out scale propagation: when planting, the concave side of the scale can face downward, otherwise it is not easy for seedlings to emerge.
Bulb propagation
Bulb propagation is also called bulb division propagation, which means separating the small bulbs produced on the old bulb for propagation. Generally, in autumn each year we can separate the small bulbs beside the mother bulb and store them, then plant them around mid-April of the following year. The planting depth is generally 10-15cm, and after that they sprout in 20-25 days.
Bulbil propagation
Among the propagation methods for society garlic, although bulbil propagation is not used by many people, its survival rate is still very high. First, after the flowers of society garlic fade and before the bulbils fall off, we need to collect them, then plant them in potting soil. In this way, after one year they can form small bulbs and grow leaf buds, and after 2-3 years they can bloom.
Balloon flower propagation methods Balloon flower types
Leaves are opposite, whorled or alternate, with a smooth surface and a light dusting of white powder on the underside. Flowers are borne singly or two or three together at the tips of the shoots, like a monk's cap when in bud and bell-shaped after opening. The flowers come in many colors such as purple-blue, emerald blue and pure white, mostly single-petaled, with some double and semi-double forms. The flower posture is tranquil and elegant, and the flower color is delicate but not gaudy. So how should balloon flower be propagated? And what types of balloon flower are there? Next, we will tell you.
Balloon flower propagation methods
Direct sowing is generally used, with winter sowing from November to January of the following year, and spring sowing from March to April. For balloon flower, winter sowing is best. Using the broadcast sowing method, mix the seeds with 0.3kg of seeds per pot of soil, mix evenly, then scatter them on the seedbed surface, lightly sweep once with a broom, and cover the seeds with soil to a thickness of about 2.5 to 3mm, so that the seeds are not visible. For the soil, it is best to choose a sandy loam with deep, fertile soil, good drainage and rich in humus; low-lying and waterlogged land is not suitable for planting. After choosing the land, apply 3000KG of fertilizer per mu, then add 50KG of calcium phosphate and 15KG of diammonium phosphate, scatter evenly in the field, deep-plow the soil 35cm, level it and rake it fine, and make a flat bed one meter wide, with the specific length determined by the terrain.
After balloon flower seedlings emerge, weed management should be carried out. When the seedlings grow 4 leaves, remove the weak seedlings; when they have 6 to 8 leaves, start thinning to a stand at a spacing of 1 to 2 cun per plant. When dry and wet conditions are suitable, carry out shallow loosening of the soil to keep the soil loose and free of weeds in the field.
Fertilizer and water management: June to September is the peak growing season for balloon flower. In late June and July, topdressing should be applied in a timely manner according to plant growth, mainly with human and livestock manure, combined with a small amount of phosphate fertilizer and urea. Whether direct-sown or raised as seedlings and transplanted, watering should be done during drought. In the rainy season, if water accumulates in the field, balloon flower roots rot very easily, so attention should be paid to drainage. Prevent waterlogging and root rot; the flowering period of balloon flower lasts as long as 4 months, and removing flowers is also an important measure to increase yield.
Pest and disease control: Common pest and disease symptoms of balloon flower include root rot, aphids, red spiders, and so on. The affected part of root rot is the root, and it also harms the leaves. When the disease occurs, the diseased leaves are covered with gray powder, and in severe cases the whole plant withers. The control method is to spray with 0.3-degree Baume lime sulfur mixture or 500-fold white powder net solution at the beginning of the disease, or spray with 1800-fold 20% triadimefon powder. Aphids and red spiders harm seedlings and leaves, and can be controlled by spraying with 1500-2000-fold 40% dimethoate emulsion or 1500-fold 80% dichlorvos emulsion once every 10 days.
Balloon flower types
Mermaid series (Mermaid)
Plant height 15-20cm, single-petaled flowers, diameter 6-8cm, flower colors include pink, purple, beige and many other colors, and it takes 120 days from sowing to flowering.
Eeidi series (Eeidi)
Plant height 50-60cm, early-flowering type, flower diameter 8cm, flower colors include dark blue, pink, rose red, yellow, white, blue and bicolor, etc.
Florida series (Florida)
Plant height 20-25cm, tolerant of high temperatures. Even when sown at a high temperature of 31°C, especially when high-temperature weather is encountered in the first one or two months after transplanting seedlings (plug seedlings), it is not prone to rosetting. It is the best choice for cultivation in high-temperature and high-light areas. It is very sensitive to plant growth regulators. Common ones include blue Blue, pink Pink, silver white Silver and sky blue Sky Blue.
Lisa series (Lisa)
Dwarf type, plant height 15-20cm, compact plant habit, early flowering, cool-toned cup-shaped flowers that set each other off with the gray-green leaves, performs excellently under short-day conditions, and its rosetting resistance is slightly inferior to the Florida series. Common ones include blue Blue, light purple Lavender, pink Pink and white White. Among them, Lisa Blue has a plant height of 15-20cm, is an early type, with single-petaled dark blue flowers and strong tillering ability.
Sapphire series (Sapphire)
Plant height 10 to 15cm. Excellent branching makes mature plants bloom more. Its rosetting resistance is the same as the Lisa series. It performs well under low-light conditions and is suitable for cultivation in 7-10cm pots. It can maintain its delicate, neat plant habit without pinching or applying plant growth regulators. Common ones include blue Blue, blue chip BlueChip, double white Double White, mid-blue Mid-Blue, pink rim Pink Rim and white White.
Red Glass
Plant height 30-35cm, good tillering ability, dark red flowers, and it is the best among red-flowered Eustoma.
Echo
Plant height 55cm, double-petaled flowers, flower diameter 8-9cm, flower colors include blue, pink-white, bicolor, etc.
Double Eagle
Plant height 45-60cm, flower diameter 7cm, flower colors varied.
Mariachi
Plant height 50-80cm (varies with the season), flower diameter 7-8cm, flower colors varied.
Orchid Cymbidium orchid illustrated guide: how to grow orchids/how orchids propagate
Orchid profileOrchid Cymbidium
Aliases: Hu Ji Hua, Chinese orchid, Zhi Lan
Classification: Orchidaceae flowering plants
Family and genus: Plantae, Angiosperms, Monocotyledons, Asparagales, Orchidaceae, Cymbidium
Full bloom period: all four seasons
Orchid (scientific name: Orchidaceae), belonging to the orchid family, is a monocotyledonous perennial herbaceous plant, also called Hu Ji Hua. Because most varieties of terrestrial orchids originate in China, orchids are also called Chinese orchids. The roots are long and tubular, and the leaves are clustered from the stem, linear-lanceolate, with 2-3 leaves forming a bundle. The roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of orchids all have certain medicinal value. Orchid is a flower famous for its fragrance, with the characteristics of purity and elegance. Famous people ancient and modern have spoken highly of it, and it is likened to the gentleman among flowers. Among ancient literati, the beauty of poetry and prose was often compared to "orchid writing", true friendship to "orchid friendship", and good friends to "orchid guests". ...
Orchid cultivation methods and precautions Orchid introduction
Orchid (scientific name: Orchidaceae), belonging to the orchid family, is a monocotyledonous perennial herbaceous plant, also called Hu Ji Hua. Because most varieties of terrestrial orchids originate in China, orchids are also called Chinese orchids. The roots are long and tubular, and the leaves are clustered from the stem, linear-lanceolate, with 2-3 leaves forming a bundle. The roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of orchids all have certain medicinal value. Orchid is a flower famous for its fragrance, with the characteristics of purity and elegance. Famous people ancient and modern have spoken highly of it, and it is likened to the gentleman among flowers. Among ancient literati, the beauty of poetry and prose was often compared to "orchid writing", true friendship to "orchid friendship", and good friends to "orchid guests".
Orchid is one of China's top ten famous flowers and is loved by everyone. It has a pleasant fragrance: "Beside the road, orchids grow among the grass, not showing their heroic posture or splendor; only when the subtle fragrance perfumes the heart and lungs does one realize that a rare flower is hidden in the garden." This kind of orchid that gives off a subtle fragrance has always been favored by people.
The alluring and mysterious subtle fragrance of orchids cannot be matched by the fragrance of any other flower in the world. Whether it is the delicate fragrance of Cymbidium faberi, the strong fragrance of Cymbidium goeringii, the osmanthus-like fragrance of certain Cymbidium ensifolium, or the sandalwood-like scent of certain Cymbidium sinense, they all share one common characteristic: clear and subtle.
Orchids are often used for tea. Orchid tea has a emerald green color, visible silver hairs, a clear liquor color and a mellow taste. It smells pleasantly of orchid fragrance and has a sweet aftertaste when drunk, and can stand alongside 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, and mix them into tea leaves for later use. Take a small amount, pour in boiling water, steep briefly, and it is ready to drink. The floral fragrance of orchids comes from the volatile oils secreted by the aromatic oil glands in the column of the orchid flower. Due to the physiological action of the plant, the secretion of these volatile oils may be intermittent, so people feel the fragrance sometimes present and sometimes absent, faintly visible, or light or heavy. The main chemical components of these volatile oils are mixtures of esters or lactones of organic compounds and enol, enal and ketone compounds of terpenes, etc.
Morphological characteristics of orchids
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. Leaves are linear or sword-shaped, leathery, upright or drooping. Flowers are solitary or in racemes, with many bracts on the pedicel. Flowers are bisexual and fragrant. The corolla is composed of 3 sepals, 3 petals and the column. The middle sepal is called the main petal. The lower 2 are secondary petals, and the extension of the secondary petals is called the door. The upper 2 petals are upright, relatively thick and fleshy, with the tips curling inward, commonly called the clasp. Left-right symmetry, the lip, pollinia and the gynostemium are the basic characteristics of orchid plants: the characteristic of pollen forming masses is somewhat exceptional. Except for the Apostasioideae and Cypripedioideae, most other orchid plants also have a caudicle. The ancients regarded "one stem with one flower as lan", and one stem with many flowers as hui.
According to differences and changes in the shape and texture of the main petal, secondary petals, clasp and lip, Cymbidium goeringii and Cymbidium faberi are divided into plum petal, narcissus petal, lotus petal, butterfly petal, rare type and plain heart, etc. Plum petal means the sepals are short and round, relatively thick and fleshy, slightly curved inward, with a narrow base; the lip is short and hard, and the clasp petals are thick and fleshy with the tips curved inward to form a pouch. When the flower first opens, it is slightly upward. Famous varieties include Song Mei, Xi Shen Mei and others. Narcissus petal means the sepals are slightly longer than those of plum petal, with gradually pointed tips; the clasp petals are thick in texture and also form a pouch at the tip; the lip hangs slightly or curls back. Famous varieties include Wang Zi, Cui Yi Pin and others. Tea petal means the sepals are broad and large, thick in texture, narrow at the base, wide and sharply pointed at the tip; the clasp petals do not form a pouch; the lip is relatively moist and slightly curled back. Famous varieties include Da Fu Gui, Cui Gai Hua and others.
Butterfly petal means that on the inner side of the two downward sepals, the texture becomes thicker, forming wavy wrinkles, and there are red patches. Sometimes the number of entire sepals or petals suddenly increases (such as Lü Yun, whose corolla often has about 8 parts), or the flower shape has special changes. Plain heart means the perianth, flower stem and bracts are the same color, pure green, yellow-green, etc., without variegated markings of mixed colors, such as green or yellow-green without mixed markings. Precious varieties include Zhang He Su, Lao Wen Tuan Su and others.
Ecological habits of orchids
Orchids like shade and fear direct sunlight, like moisture and avoid dryness, and like fertile environments rich in large amounts of humus with good air circulation. Therefore, the cultivation substrate requires: aeration, looseness, good drainage and slight acidity. The most commonly used outdoor cultivation medium is mud flower soil. The climate and environment of different places can all affect the growth of orchids, so the choice of planting material differs. For example, in southern Fujian, the weather is warmer in all four seasons and does not get too cold, so orchids grow quickly and are suitable for planting with small pebbles. First, it saves resources. Second, pebbles facilitate ventilation and do not retain 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 pseudobulbs and fleshy roots of orchids can store a certain amount of nutrients and water, so they are relatively drought-tolerant. Apart from the root-developing and sprouting stages and the rapid growth period, when more water is needed, they consume less water at other times. 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 become water-filled, opening the leaf stomata, resulting in dilute nutrients and then weak tissues, poor growth and disease. Orchids like rain but fear flooding, like moisture but fear wetness. Because air humidity differs in spring, summer, autumn and winter, orchid growth rates differ, and 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 light feeding, and fertilization should be lighter rather than stronger. Like other plants, nitrogen can promote lush stem and leaf growth. Phosphorus can promote well-developed orchid roots, promote robust development of reproductive organs, and spread out stems and leaves. Magnesium, sulfur, iron and other trace elements can make leaves green and flowers strong. During the peak growth period of orchids, more fertilizer should be applied; during dormancy or weak growth periods, fertilizer may not be applied. If fertilizer is applied excessively, it will burn roots and leaves, causing irreparable losses.
In addition, Zhi Lan is also used as a metaphor for fragrant grass.
Orchid cultivation techniques
We Chinese have appreciated and cultivated orchids much earlier than the Western cultivation of exotic orchids. As early as the Spring and Autumn period, 2,400 years ago, Confucius, the founding teacher of Chinese culture, once said: "Zhi Lan grows in a secluded valley, and does 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."
Lan, fragrant grass. -- Shuowen
Heng Lan Zhi Ruo. -- Book of Han, Biography of Sima Xiangru
The root of Lan Huai is Zhi. -- Xunzi, Encouraging Learning
The root of Chinese orchid is white angelica, and white angelica symbolizes the common people. Hui Zhi has been the essence of the traditional virtues of benevolence, righteousness and civil governance since ancient times. The great Tang dynasty poet Li Bai wrote, "The secluded orchid's fragrant wind travels far, the hui grass spreads its fragrant roots." Hui orchid roots are in the people.
When cultivating, the divided orchid clumps should not be separated 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 with bricks, tiles or shells, filling the large gaps with mud granules or bean stones, generally about 1/2 to 1/3 of the pot's inner height. The remaining clear height above is about 10-15cm, reserved as the cultivation soil layer. Its specific height should be determined according to the orchid species, the length of the orchid roots and the height of the pot. The lining material should not be filled too densely; 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 with 2-3cm of cultivation soil, press lightly with the hand, then place the orchid upright on it. According to the size of the plant and pot, several single plants, 2 clumps, 3 clumps or more clumps can be planted in one pot. 3 clumps are suitable for planting in a tripod arrangement. 4 clumps can be planted in a square. 5 clumps are suitable for arranging in a plum blossom shape. The orchid roots should spread naturally, and the leaves should spread in all directions. Slowly place the orchid roots into the pot so that the orchid roots spread naturally and as far 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. For one clump per pot, the old pseudobulbs should be placed to one side so that new shoots have room to develop. For several clumps per pot, the old pseudobulbs of each clump should be relatively gathered in the middle of the pot so that new roots and new shoots each have enough space to develop outward.
Filling soil
When planting, hold the leaves with one hand and add nutrient soil with the other, hold the base of the orchid plant and lift 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 2-3cm above the pot rim, slightly forming a steamed bun shape. The cultivation soil should cover all orchid roots, up to the base of the pseudobulbs. As for the depth of soil filling, tradition holds that Cymbidium goeringii should be planted shallow and Cymbidium faberi deep, but generally the leaf bases on the pseudobulbs should not be buried. When newly collected orchids grow in the wild, the plants retain 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 be neither 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 the pot will just be full after 2-3 years. The size of the plant should match the height of the pot. This is both beneficial to growth and meets ornamental requirements.
Topdressing the surface
After planting is completed, a layer of small stone grains or moss can be spread on the surface of the potting soil, preferably high-quality moss from under the forest. It is both attractive and can regulate moisture. It can also protect the leaf surface from being polluted by muddy water, and prevent new shoots from being infected by pathogens in the soil and rotting at the heart; in addition, it can slow the washing effect of rainwater on the potting soil and keep the potting soil loose.
Watering
After planting is completed, water for the first time. The potting soil must be thoroughly wet, and the water droplets should be small, with the impact force not too great. If placing in a water basin to soak, never soak for too long. Once the potting soil is soaked, immediately take the orchid pot out, then move it to a shaded place for care.
Watering orchid plants should be based on various natural factors that affect orchid transpiration, such as humidity, temperature, light, wind, season and weather, so as to make different water management measures.
First, look at humidity. If the air humidity is low and transpiration is strong, water more; conversely, if the air humidity is high or even saturated and transpiration almost stops, water less or even do not water.
Second, look at temperature. When the temperature is high, transpiration accelerates, water demand is large, and the watering frequency should 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. Strong light accelerates transpiration and the diffusion of water molecules, so more water is needed; conversely, less water is needed. Therefore, with different light and different shading levels, water management also differs: water more for those exposed to the sun, and water less for those in shade.
Fourth, look at wind. Strong wind evaporates water quickly; weak wind evaporates water slowly; dry southwest wind will enhance evaporation, while humid southeast wind will relatively weaken transpiration; orchid pots placed in a wind opening 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 temperature, 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 not at all; in the low-temperature, cloudy and cold winter, do not water; in early spring with lower temperatures, water less; in mild late spring, which is the sprouting period, water more; in the dry autumn, water more.
Sixth, look at the weather. Natural weather is ever-changing, and different weather has different light, temperature and humidity, and orchid transpiration also varies greatly. The basic approach is: water more on sunny 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 receiving increasing attention. The main reason this phenomenon attracts the attention of breeders is that artificially hybridized new varieties that originally required many years of conventional cultivation to flower can, in test tubes, be artificially induced to flower through 1-2 culture cycles. In this way, individuals with excellent traits can be selected purposefully according to flowering conditions, and relatively poor 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 so on.
According to observation results, the flowering patterns of orchids 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 method is the same as the flowering method of orchids in conventional cultivation, except that in conventional cultivation it is a clump of seedlings that flowers, while in test tubes it is a single seedling that 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 an arrow in the grass (arrow in the heart of the grass), 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 flower buds differentiate directly from the apex of the protocorm. This type is completely controlled by the hormone levels 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 excellent new varieties. For example, in the hybridization of plain-heart varieties and plum-petal varieties, the first filial generation is usually plum-petal but certainly not plain-heart, so it is necessary to backcross the first filial generation once with the plain-heart parent, or self the first filial generation once, and then select plain-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 test tubes, and carry out self-pollination in test tubes 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 seedlings to flowering.
Orchid propagation methods
Orchids are commonly propagated by division, sowing and tissue culture.
Division propagation: It can be carried out in both spring and autumn, generally once every three years. Any plant with robust growth and dense pseudobulbs can be divided. After division, each clump should retain at least 5 pseudobulbs connected together. Before division, reduce watering to make the potting soil relatively dry. After division, when potting, first cover the bottom hole of the pot with broken tiles, then spread coarse gravel, occupying 1/5 to 1/4 of the pot depth, then place coarse-grained soil and a small amount of fine soil, and then plant with humus-rich sandy loam. The planting depth should be such that the pseudobulbs are just buried in the soil, leave a 2cm rim at the edge of the pot, spread Selaginella uncinata or fine gravel 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 there is only one incompletely developed embryo inside the seed, so the germination capacity is very low. In addition, the seed coat does not easily absorb water, so sowing by conventional methods cannot germinate. Therefore, orchid fungi or artificial culture media are needed to supply nutrients before germination can occur. For sowing, it is best to choose fruit that has 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 3 times with sterile water, then sow them in culture bottles containing medium, then place them in a dark culture room and keep the temperature at about 25°C. After germination begins, 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 area around should be open, with good ventilation, close to water surfaces, with humid 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 standing for several days before use. Watering should depend on the temperature conditions. In spring, the amount of watering should be small, and in summer it should be greater; during the plum rain season, which is when orchids send out leaf buds, the potting soil should be slightly dry; after autumn when the weather turns cool, the amount of watering should be reduced moderately, and keeping it moist is enough. In winter indoors, it should be dry, reducing the frequency of watering, and it is best to water at noon. Orchids can tolerate light rain, but continuous rain or heavy rain can easily cause heart rot and leaf rot, so attention must be paid to rain protection.
Fertilization: For planting orchids, cake fertilizer is suitable. Mix 4 parts plant ash, 10 parts bean cake and 10 parts bone meal evenly, place in a vat, add water several times until the bean cake is soaked through, then cover and seal, ferment for one year, and then make into dry granules. When using, place on the pot surface. If using whole manure, it should also be fermented for one year, diluted with water, and the residue filtered out before use. Generally, fertilization starts in May and stops at the beginning of autumn, with the principle of applying thin fertilizer frequently. Fertilization 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, they should all be placed under an open-air shed. The shade shed requires good ventilation. When orchids 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 in spring and before they enter the room in autumn, attention should be paid to frost protection.
Precautions
Wounds must be protected against bacteria - when repotting or dividing, if the roots have wounds, first apply fungicide to the wounds to prevent pathogen invasion.
Do not use too large a pot - planting a small plant in a large pot uses a lot of planting material, easily leads to poor aeration, and makes watering 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 moisture 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 must 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 shoots and new roots.
Avoid strong light - newly planted orchids must 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 resume normal growth.
Leaves turning yellow
Generally it is root rot or hollowed-out roots. It is necessary to improve watering and change 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, so 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, decisive treatment is needed, 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. During collection, it is necessary to consider selecting the flowering period, improving the survival rate, the local climate and the local orchid soil dryness and wetness. Factors such as different local growing environments should also be taken into account, while also doing well in ensuring safety, preventing fire, not mistakenly entering restricted areas, and keeping collection records.
In the process of orchid cultivation and business operations, due to the crazy speculation by orchid merchants on some novel orchid varieties, the prices of orchids once rose abnormally, and "sky-high-price 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 protection measures such as establishing no-collection protected areas, establishing variety protection levels, improving legislation on wild resources, and strictly punishing illegal collectors.
From the perspective of long-term and 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, provincial flower of Zhejiang. During the period of the Republic of China, the Nanjing Special Municipal Government issued an order making the orchid 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 meet the requirements of their biological characteristics, so that they can grow and flower well. Specifically, the following tasks should be done well.
1. Choose good pots and cultivation soil
For ordinary household orchid growing, it is better to choose clay pots. If a decorative effect is desired to increase beauty, a colored-glaze porcelain pot can be placed outside the clay pot. The size of the pot should be such that the orchid roots can fully spread out inside the pot. For potting soil, orchid mud is best. It can also be mixed by oneself. 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 for purchasing orchids and cultivation techniques.
II. Fertilize lightly and skillfully
When fertilizing orchids, apply light fertilizer and never apply concentrated fertilizer; there is a saying, "Clear orchids, murky jasmine." Newly planted orchid plants should not be fertilized in the first year; begin fertilizing after Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day) of the second year and continue until Liqiu (the Beginning of Autumn). Apply thoroughly decomposed dilute cake fertilizer water 1 to 2 times a month. Because orchids have fleshy roots, never apply undecomposed fertilizer, lest the roots rot. Before each fertilization, withhold water for 1 to 2 days, and apply only after the potting soil is slightly dry. On the morning of the second day after application, water once to prevent unclean matter in the fertilizer solution from contaminating the root system and harming the orchid roots. When applying liquid fertilizer, be careful to avoid splashing the leaves. For orchid plants that have been cultivated for several years and have reached flowering age, in the early stage mainly apply nitrogen fertilizer to promote new shoot sprouting and rapid growth; in the later stage mainly apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, which helps the pseudobulbs enlarge, the leaves become broad and thick, and provides sufficient nutrients for flower bud differentiation. Specifically, before flower bud differentiation each autumn, it is advisable to apply two consecutive liquid fertilizer applications mainly of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer; during the bud gestation period, on a clear evening first wash the leaves with clean water, and after they dry, use a small sprayer to spray a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution on the front and back of the leaves, or apply wood ash water to the roots. Foliar fertilization at this time is beneficial for promoting the development of orchid roots, stems, and flowers. Do not fertilize on rainy days, and stop fertilizing during the winter dormant period as well. About 20 days after the flowers fade, apply two more liquid fertilizer applications mainly of nitrogen fertilizer or a compound chemical fertilizer, which can promote plant growth. [6]
III. Light should be suitable
Orchids by nature prefer shaded, cool environments and dislike direct sunlight. Therefore, in the north from April to early May, they may properly receive more sunlight before 9 a.m., and after mid-May they need shading; at this time they should be placed in a cool, 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 the winter-blooming Cymbidium sinense (ink orchid) and Cymbidium kanran (cold orchid), they should be placed indoors in a sunny spot in winter; without light they will not bloom well. [6] In short, when growing orchids one should achieve "no going out in spring, no sun in summer, no dryness in autumn, no dampness in winter," meaning in spring avoid cold wind invasion, do not move them outdoors; in summer they fear direct sunlight and should be placed in a cool, ventilated place; in autumn avoid the potting soil drying out, as this is exactly the orchid's bud gestation period, so 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 moist.
Orchid disease prevention and control The main pests and diseases of orchids include：
Southern blight: mostly occurs during the plum rain season. Attention should be paid to ventilation and light transmission, and good potting soil drainage for prevention; after onset, the infected potting soil can be removed and pentachloronitrobenzene powder or lime sprinkled on.
Anthracnose: present all year round, and more rampant in hot, rainy seasons. In addition to improving environmental conditions, during the onset period first use a 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder 800-1500 times solution for spraying, once every 7-10 days, then supplement with a 1% equal-amount Bordeaux mixture, once every half month.
Scale insects: 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 plant wilting. Nematode damage creates many wounds and also causes infection by other soil-borne pathogens, leading to plant disease and accelerated plant death. The growing medium should be disinfected; 100-degree steam sterilization can be used to kill eggs. For severe infestations, immediately repot, soak the diseased plant in the medicinal solution for 20-30 minutes, remove and air-dry, and replant with new medium.
In summary, to grow orchids well, one must master their natural growing environment conditions, adopt reasonable measures, and strengthen maintenance and management. According to the "Orchid Growing Formula": "No going out in spring, no sun in summer, no dryness in autumn, no dampness in winter" - this is a summary of China's orchid-growing experience.
Pollution-free pest and disease control methods：
Below are some folkloric small pollution-free remedies for controlling orchid pests and diseases. "Small" remedies can often perhaps solve "big" problems, so orchid friends may wish to give them a try.
I. 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 saponin 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 1:5 ratio for a day and night, use it to drench orchid pots, and at the same time drench the place where the orchid pots are placed and other orchid pots; it has a 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 over 90%.
Tea seed cake water can also kill earthworms. Drench the potting soil thoroughly with tea seed cake water, and after a short while the earthworms will burrow out of the soil surface; pick them out and remove them. Regarding the merits and faults of earthworms for orchids, opinions in orchid circles differ. One view holds that earthworms in the pot, when active, destroy some orchid mycelium and damage 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 the rotten roots of orchids; the activity of earthworms can play a role in loosening the soil, and their droppings can also serve as fertilizer for orchids, so the merits outweigh the faults and they need not be killed. Which is right and which is wrong remains for orchid friends to weigh the pros and cons based on their own practical observation and make a judgment.
II. Strong-smelling vegetables (scallions, garlic, chives, ginger, onions, etc.)
Strong-smelling vegetables each 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 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; after a few days earthworms and ants will disappear.
Soak chopped scallions and water at a 1:30 ratio for a day and night, then filter, and use the liquid to spray orchid plants several times a day for several consecutive days; it has good effects on controlling aphids and soft-bodied pests and on preventing and treating powdery mildew, etc.
Use 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 1:60 ratio, use it to spray orchid plants, spray twice a day, repeating for several days; it can cure black spot disease.
Take 15 g of chopped onion bulbs, place them in 2 jin of water, seal and soak for 7 hours, then filter, and use the filtrate to spray orchid plants; it can treat red spiders and aphids.
III. Cigarette butts
Tobacco leaves contain about 3% nicotine. Nicotine has a strong contact-killing and stomach-poison effect on pests. Take about 20 leftover cigarette butts and one part quicklime, add water, stir, soak, and filter, then add 30 parts water, and use it to spray orchid plants, potting soil, and the bottom of pots; it can eliminate ants and other pests without a waxy coating on their bodies.
IV. Laundry powder and detergent
Laundry powder can dissolve the waxy covering of scale insects, while forming a layer of foam that wraps around the insect body, causing the scale insects to suffocate to death. Laundry powder solution can control some pests and diseases.
Control methods:
Dissolve a small amount of laundry powder in warm water, then dilute with water to a 1000 times solution, and spray orchid plants; it can kill aphids, whiteflies, and red spiders. Dilute to a 600 times solution, spray once every three days, for three consecutive sprays, and all scale insects will die.
Mix pig bile and clean water at a 1:100 ratio, add a small amount of laundry powder, and use it to spray orchid plants; it can control anthracnose and soft rot. After spraying orchid plants with laundry powder solution, once the pests die, the leaves must be rinsed several times with clean water so that the orchid plants grow normally.
V. White liquor
Mix white liquor and water at a 1:2 ratio, spray orchid plants, once a week, for three consecutive sprays; it can kill scale insects.
VI. Citrus peel
Place citrus peel at the bottom of the pot; it can prevent ants and other pests from entering the potting soil to harm orchids. Citrus peel can also be cut into small pieces and scattered on the surface of the potting soil, with no watering for a few days; it can treat aphids, scale insects, and so on.
VII. Brown sugar
Mix powdered brown sugar and boiling water at a 1:100 ratio, and after it cools use the brown sugar liquid to spray orchid plants, once every 3 days, for three consecutive times; it has a relatively good effect on preventing and treating downy mildew, powdery mildew, black spot disease, and leaf blight.
VIII. Diesel oil
Mix diesel oil and water at a 1:60 ratio into an emulsion, then dilute it 100 times with water and spray orchid plants; it can treat scale insects and so on.
IX. Wood ash
Soak wood ash and water at a 1:50 ratio for two days and nights, then filter, and use the filtrate to spray orchid plants; it can both treat aphids and increase potassium fertilizer.
X. Vinegar
Mix vinegar and clean water at a 1:8 ratio, and use it to evenly spray the front and back of orchid leaves; it can 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, for three consecutive sprays, and it will be able to kill the adult scale insects. Spraying vinegar liquid on the leaf surface can also eliminate black spot disease, powdery mildew, leaf spot disease, chlorosis, and so on. Do not use industrial acid vinegar.
Orchid cultivation methods Spring maintenance
In spring there is more cloudy and rainy weather, temperatures change relatively greatly, and cold waves easily appear; if orchids are not well maintained and managed, roots and shoots may rot, seriously affecting their normal growth.
Household balcony-type orchid-growing sites should have cold-proof and rain-proof facilities. Cymbidium sinense (report-the-year orchid) and Cymbidium goeringii (spring orchid) must be placed indoors for protection and management, while Cymbidium ensifolium (four-season orchid) and Cymbidium kanran (cold orchid) can be placed outdoors, but attention must be paid to drainage and moisture prevention in the orchid pots; it is best to set up plastic film above the orchid pots to shield from rain, pulling it open when clear 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. General simple warm sheds and low ground-planted sheds covered with plastic film for freeze protection and rain shielding should also often 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 a 0.1% omethoate or dichlorvos solution to lightly wipe the front and back of orchid leaves, and use sterilizing drugs and insecticidal drugs to spray the balcony, the surroundings of the site, and the potted orchids once every 7 days and 10 days respectively. Two hours after using insecticidal drugs, spray clean water once on the leaf surface of the potted orchids to remove residual medicine.
Before dividing orchid pots, stop supplying water for 3-5 days; when the medium in the pot is 70-80% dry, carefully pour out the orchid plant and medium, trying as much as possible not to break the orchid roots. Wash clean with disinfectant water or clean water and air-dry; wait until the orchid roots become soft and whitish before potting. For potting, use sterile new medium, with 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 morning and evening, water thoroughly to settle the roots after 24 hours, and after 15 days shift to normal management.
For orchids planted with new medium, apply a light, dilute fertilizer once every half month to one month. During the large-seedling and strong-seedling stage, apply nitrogen fertilizer frequently, once every three to five days. Rejuvenated orchids can go from fertilizing once every half month to once a week, depending on whether the orchids can absorb it. But weak plants, rootless plants, and leafless pseudobulbs absolutely must be left unfertilized and must not be top-dressed, otherwise haste makes waste and they will instead suffer harm.
Orchid distribution regions
Orchids are world-famous flowers. Chinese orchids have more than 15,000 varieties. In Asia, Chinese orchid is 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--Cymbidium; Zimbabwe--Gloriosa; South American countries have designated national orchids: Brazil's Cattleya, Costa Rica's Cattleya. Ecuador and Guatemala both have Cattleya, Colombia's Cattleya, Ecuador's white orchid.
Because most varieties of terrestrial orchids originate in China, orchids are also called Chinese orchids and are listed first among China's ten famous flowers. In China, apart from 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 (spring orchid), Cymbidium faberi (Faber's orchid), Cymbidium ensifolium (four-season orchid), Cymbidium kanran (cold orchid), Cymbidium sinense (ink orchid), Cymbidium goeringii var. longibracteatum (spring sword), and Cymbidium tortisepalum (lotus-petal orchid), with thousands of horticultural varieties.
Cymbidium goeringii, also called grass orchid or mountain orchid. Cymbidium goeringii is widely distributed and rich in resources. The flowering period is February to March of the year, and can last about 1 month. The flowers have a rich, 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 a prominent midrib. The flowering period is March to May, and the flowers have a strong fragrance that spreads far and lasts, with flower colors including yellow, white, green, light red, and mixed colors, mostly variegated flowers, and also plain flowers and butterfly flowers.
Cymbidium ensifolium is also called four-season orchid, including summer orchid and autumn orchid that bloom in summer. The four-season orchid is robust and upright, with green leaves and abundant flowers, strong fragrance and beautiful flowers, fearing neither heat nor 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 called report-the-year orchid, greeting-the-year orchid, abundant-year orchid, etc., is native to China's Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan, Taiwan, China, Hainan, and so on. Orchid growers throughout southern China, especially in 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 mixed colors, gorgeous and dazzling, with graceful bearing, elegant charm, strong fragrance and pure taste, often highly praised and the first choice of 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 thinner and longer than those of the four-season orchid, especially finer at the leaf base; the leaf posture is elegant and unrestrained, jade-green and delicate, with large-, medium-, and fine-leaf varieties and edged varieties. Flower colors are rich, including yellow, green, purple-red, deep purple, and so on, generally with variegated vein patterns and spots, and also clean, flawless plain flowers. The sepals and petals are both relatively narrow and fine, with a distinctive style, delicate and lovely, with an assailing fragrance.
Orchid variety classification
Variety identification is an appraisal of the overall qualities of orchids and is a discipline that best demonstrates orchid-growing skill. Therefore, orchid masters of past generations have been especially cautious about this, never drawing 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, plant form, and so on. 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 requires 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 leaf-shape characteristics, but their flower buds are also full of distinctive features.
Therefore, when identifying, people must 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 arrangement. These valuable experiences are of great benefit to us in identifying varieties and are worth our good digestion and absorption.
Things all develop and change. In orchid-growing practice, people have found that even for the same pot of orchids, sometimes the color of the flower buds differs in different years, or even in the same year. I have experience with this. After many years of observation, the flower buds of famous orchid and Cymbidium faberi varieties I cultivate, such as Dafugui and Yuanzi, sometimes differ in different years; in some years the flower bud color is deeper, and in some years lighter.
Flower opening
The most direct and effective way to identify orchid and Cymbidium faberi varieties is to look at their flower opening, which is also the main reason why introduced varieties should be introduced only when flowers can be seen. Generally speaking, as long as the flower opening is up to standard, the variety can be identified once the flower is seen. But everything has its particularity; the same variety of orchid and Cymbidium faberi often produces different flower qualities depending on different cultivation methods.
Special varieties
[Shaoxing Orchid]
Shaoxing is one of the earliest places in China to plant orchids and has long been called the "hometown of orchids." The Southern Song Baoqing "Kuaiji Xu Zhi" records: "Lan, the Yuejue Shu says: Goujian planted orchids on Lanzhu Mountain. The old classic says: Lanzhu Mountain is the place where Goujian planted orchids." Lanzhu Mountain is in today's Lizhu Lanting and is still famous at home and abroad for abundantly producing Cymbidium goeringii. Shaoxing orchids have many varieties, and their flower shapes, colors, and fragrances are all unique. With one branch in a room, a clear fragrance fills the air and refreshes the heart.
The Ming dynasty painter and calligrapher Xu Wei wrote in a 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 does not make the world's brain-musk wind." 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 national-level protected rare resource. 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 country's first orchid association, the Shaoxing Orchid Association.
[Chinese orchid Cymbidium faberi]
Chinese orchid Cymbidium faberi usually refers to a portion of terrestrial species among Cymbidium plants. The pseudobulbs are relatively small, the leaves are linear, and the roots are fleshy; the flower stems are 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 ten traditional famous flowers. Since ancient times people have regarded orchids as a symbol of nobility, elegance, patriotism, and unyielding integrity.
It has 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 aeration and drainage; it likes semi-shade and a 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 (1045-1105) of the Northern Song dynasty described orchids in "Youfang Ting": "One stem with one flower and with surplus fragrance is orchid; one stem with five or seven flowers and with insufficient fragrance is Hui."
[Chinese orchid]
Confucius, "Kongzi Jiayu: Zai E": Angelica and orchids grow in the forest, 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 poverty. The Song dynasty was the heyday of China's orchid-growing history, with numerous books and descriptions related to orchid cultivation. For example, Luo Yuan of the Song dynasty wrote in "Erya Yi" that "the leaves of orchid are like thatch, and it sprouts in early spring.
The flowers are very fragrant, mostly growing in forests; when a gentle breeze passes, their fragrance spreads abundantly outward, hence it is called Angelica orchid. Jiangnan orchids bloom only in spring, while those in Jingchu and Minzhong 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 extant work in China studying 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 discussing the grade of orchids. After "Jinzhang Lanpu," Wang Guixue wrote "Wangshi Lanpu" in 1247, with detailed descriptions of more than 30 orchid varieties.
In addition, the Song dynasty also had "Lanpu Aofa," which mainly described cultivation methods and was divided into seven parts: division planting method, flower planting method, placement and watering method, watering method, flower-planting fertilizer-soil method, ant and louse removal method, and miscellaneous methods. As for Wu Zan's "Zhongyi Biyong," it also introduced orchid cultivation. In 1256, Chen Jingyi's "Quanfang Beizu" gave a relatively detailed account of orchids; the complete block-printed edition of this book was collected in the Japanese Imperial Palace Library, and in 1979 Japan returned a photocopy to China. In the Song dynasty, works entering Chinese painting with orchids as the theme included "Spring Orchid Picture" painted by Zhao Mengjian, considered the earliest extant famous orchid painting, now treasured in the Beijing Palace Museum.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, orchid growing entered a flourishing period. As orchid varieties continuously increased and cultivation experience became increasingly rich, orchid cultivation had become an object of popular appreciation. At this time there were relatively many books, albums, poems, 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 "Zunsheng Bajian."
The Ming dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen's "Bencao Gangmu" gave a relatively complete discussion of orchid naming, categories, and uses. The Qing dynasty also produced many monographs on orchid growing, such as the 1805 "Lan Hui Tongxin Lu," written by a Mr. Xu of Jiaxing, Zhejiang, who was addicted to orchids, was also good at painting orchids, and had rich experience in orchid growing. The book is divided into two volumes; volume one discusses orchid cultivation knowledge, and volume two describes methods for identifying and classifying orchid varieties. The whole book records 57 varieties and includes his line drawings. Others such as Yuan Shijun's "Lanyan Shulüe," Du Wenlan's "Yilan Si Shuo," Mao Xiang's "Lanyan," Zhu Kerou's "Diyi Xiang Biji," Tu Yongning's "Lan Hui Jing," Zhang Guangzhao's "Xinglan Pu Lue," Yue Liang's "Yanglan Shuo," Wang Hao's "Guang Qunfang Pu," Wu Qijun's "Zhiwu Ming Shi Tu Kao," and the late Qing Ou Jince's "Linghai Lanyan," among others, still have certain reference value today.
Orchid's 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 problem should be consulted with professional medical personnel, and treatment of any disease should follow a doctor's advice.
Ultimate flower-care mission: love yourself, proceed from reality, and strictly follow a doctor's advice. For 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 protect 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; decocting Cymbidium ensifolium roots and taking the soup is said to be an excellent labor-inducing medicine. The leaves treat whooping cough, the fruit can stop vomiting, and the seeds treat eye film. The whole plant of Cymbidium faberi can treat women's diseases, and the whole plant of Cymbidium goeringii treats neurasthenia, roundworms, hemorrhoids, and other diseases. Cymbidium ensifolium leaves can treat deficiency in a weak person's lung qi (also written as liver qi). Orchid flower stalks can treat malignant ringworm. Plain-heart orchid petals can induce labor. The dried plain-heart petals of Cymbidium faberi 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 encounters difficult labor, quickly bring 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). But physicians of past dynasties summarized their medicinal value very little. 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 fluid, promote body fluid and moisten dryness, and treat the sequelae of dry mouth and excessive thirst caused by radiotherapy for malignant tumors.
[Ming] Li Shizhen, "Bencao Gangmu": "Orchid, odor pungent, neutral, sweet, non-toxic." "Its qi is clear and fragrant, promotes body fluid and quenches thirst, moistens muscles, and treats diabetes and gallbladder heat." "...To treat diabetes and promote body fluid, 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, achieving certain therapeutic effects, but causing a certain degree of damage to and functional impact on tissues and organs near the tumor. For example, radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, salivary gland malignant tumors (mucoepidermoid carcinoma), and upper and middle esophageal cancer damages the various glands of the oral cavity, especially the three pairs of major salivary glands - the parotid, submandibular, and sublingual glands - and 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 throat and burning, 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, radiotherapy patients with malignant tumors in different parts and organs, combined with some Chinese herbal medicines, have good results. For example, for radiotherapy patients with laryngeal cancer, always use it together with Shan Dou Gen, Bai Mao Gen, and Pu Gong Ying; for radiotherapy patients with esophageal cancer, it should be used together with Ban Zhi Lian, Bai Hua She She Cao, Xia Ku Cao, and Ling Xian, etc.
2. Clear heat and cool blood, nourish yin and moisten the lungs, and treat dry cough and prolonged cough, 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 clinically often used for pulmonary tuberculosis hemoptysis and for regulating prolonged dry cough.
To treat patients with mild to moderate hemoptysis from pulmonary tuberculosis, use 50-100 g 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.
To treat patients with unceasing dry cough, use 30-50 orchid stamens, decoct in water, add rock sugar, twice a day, and take for 3-5 days for remarkable effects. This conforms to the statement in "Bencao Gangmu" that "orchid mainly treats blood generation, regulates qi, nourishes the nutrients, and removes phlegm and masses in the chest."
3. Regulate qi and harmonize blood, drain dampness and reduce swelling, and treat urinary tract infections and women's leukorrhea.
According to "Bencao Gangmu Shiyi": "The yellow orchid is called honey orchid and can stop diarrhea and leukorrhea, promote the water passage, kill gu poison, reduce carbuncles and swelling, regulate menstruation; taken for a long time it benefits qi, lightens the body, prevents aging, and communicates with the spirits." Modern Chinese medicine believes that orchid roots have effects such as regulating qi and harmonizing blood, draining dampness, and reducing swelling. They treat urinary tract infections and excessive leukorrhea in women.
Use 50 g of orchid roots, 30 g of cogongrass rhizome, and 30 g 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 g of orchid roots, 30 g of asparagus, 30 g of lily, and 1 free-range farm chicken, stew together, take the soup and eat the meat, once every 2-3 days, for 2-3 consecutive times.
4. Soothe the liver and relieve depression, harmonize qi and blood, and treat dizziness and vertigo 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 boredom, and refreshes the mind.
For treating dizziness and vertigo (Meniere's syndrome), it is effective. Prescription: 30 g of orchid stamens, 15 g of chrysanthemum, 15 g of dwarf lilyturf, and 20 g of agrimony, decoct in water and take, 1 dose a day. Take continuously for 4-6 days. This is based on the records in "Bencao Gangmu Shiyi" that "plain-heart Cymbidium ensifolium removes stale qi and relieves depression." "Honey-preserved green orchid steeped as tea regulates qi and blood, soothes the middle, and dispels alcohol."
Use 50 g of orchid roots, 20 g of canna rhizome, and 20 g of Cynanchum paniculatum, decoct in water and take, 1 dose a 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 and yet seem to have fire; people know the value of their floral fragrance but do not know that their leaves have medicinal formulas; their leaves can disperse long-accumulated stale and depressed qi with great power, namely what is now placed 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 offensive bad breath, use 20-30 autumn orchid flowers and 50 g of orchid leaves, decoct in water, and when slightly warm, mix in 30 g of honey and take, for 2-3 consecutive times. This conforms to the theory that the lungs and large intestine are interior-exterior paired.
Use 50-100 g 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) The floral fragrance can scent tea
Orchid fragrance is clear and mellow, and when used to scent tea, the quality is the highest. In orchid-producing areas or large-scale orchid nurseries, orchid tea has development prospects.
According to records: "Flowers can enhance tea, and paste can replace drink." In Fujian Province, villagers preserve Cymbidium ensifolium flowers in honey and then drink it. There is also the record: "Use salted plum dried and drunk to obtain juice called plum oil, use it to soak fresh flowers, to make fragrance." In Japan's ancient capital - to the east of Kyoto there is an old small shop that for decades has sold the ancestral "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, put them in a teacup, and pour boiling water over them to drink. After soaking in water, the orchids recover their original shape, both beautiful and with a special fragrance, and the flavor when drinking is extraordinary. The flowers can also be eaten at the same time.
(2) Flowers can be eaten
Flowers can be made into soup. According to records, flowers can be added to soup; when about to add them to soup, first scald them with hot water; the flower color will be fresh and the soup taste delicious. Orchids can be used as dishes and are a famous Sichuan dish at banquets, with a clear fragrance filling the air and lingering around the table, unforgettable for a lifetime after eating. Famous dishes in Sichuan cuisine include "orchid tripe shreds," "orchid shredded pork," and "orchid buns" are also endlessly delicious.
Orchid's 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 embodies the characteristics of traditional Chinese aesthetics. Literati and poets of past dynasties chanted and praised orchids everywhere, referring not only to the orchid's elegant form but even more to its clear, secluded fragrance.
The orchid's appearance is simple and elegant, with slender, soft leaf shapes, beautiful flower posture, plainness and secluded fragrance, possessing the temperament of "clear color, clear qi, clear spirit, clear charm," and is also called junzi lan (gentleman's orchid), indicating 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 lonely orchid grows in a secluded garden, choked and hidden among the common weeds.
Though it is lit by the warm spring sun, it grieves again under the high autumn moon.
The flying frost falls early with a rustling sound; its green splendor may soon fade away.
If no clear breeze blows, for whom will its fragrance be released?
Guang Qun Fang Pu
(Qing) Liu Hao
The orchid grows in a secluded valley where no one knows it; a traveler planted it by the eastern window and left its fragrance to me.
I know its pure fragrance can dispel foulness, and I love even more its delicate leaves that skillfully defy the frost.
Its roots settle among dense rocks, blooming early in autumn; the clump leans against tall bamboo, cool in the midday shade.
I would leave it with the wild thistle beneath the hall; before my eyes I always see the verses of Chu.
Guang Qun Fang Pu
(Qing) Liu Hao
Weeping dew scatters the light in disarray; caught in the wind, its shadow leans of itself.
How can vulgar people understand this? They prize the leaves above the flowers.
Ode to the Orchid (Yuan) Yu Tonglu
With my own hands I planted two or three orchid shoots; as the days warm and the breeze softens, they bloom one after another.
Sitting long, I do not notice the fragrance in the room; when I push open the window, a butterfly sometimes flies in.
Huan Xi Sha - Orchid
As if in a bronze vase one sees dew-covered shoots; sparse flowers, cold and quiet, faintly hold their charm.
Clear tears of the Xiang River drip into the spring tide; how could heart match heart in such tender beauty?
No leaf lends grace to its bearing; one heartbroken collection is the Li Sao.
Ode to the Orchid (Modern) Zhu De
In Yuexiu Park's groves of flowers and trees, a hundred blooms all vie in spring.
Only the orchid's fragrance is just right, briefly prized throughout the city of Guangzhou.
Secluded Orchid (Tang) Cui Tu
Planted in seclusion, who among the crowd knows it? Its fragrance it holds only in secret.
It has never been worn by a gentleman, yet it is not that its national fragrance has faded.
White dew moistens it early and long; the spring wind always arrives late.
It is no match for the roadside grass; what is its rich fragrance for?
Orchid (Song) Yang Wanli
By a snowy path it secretly opens pale blue flowers; from icy roots it freely sends up small red buds.
It has no peach-or-plum face of spring wind; its fame lies in the mountain forest, in the recluse's home.
If its national fragrance truly reaches court and market, it will not let its frosty integrity grow old among clouds and mist.
River angelica and garden hui are not its match; leave it to the poets to settle the ranks.
Inscription on a Painting of an Orchid (Qing) Zheng Xie (xie) Zheng Banqiao
Its body is atop a thousand mountain peaks; in jutting cliffs and deep crevices its wondrous fragrance is thick.
It is not that there are no floating clouds clamoring below its feet; they come without knowing it and leave without staying.
Contemporary Poems on the Orchid
Old-Style Verse [Huzhou] Yao Danping
I do not vie for favor with jade herbs, but seek only to meet the clear breeze often;
I wish to spread fragrance everywhere, fulfilling a heart full of fervor.
Orchid Yu Yafei
Among the clumps of grass by the roadside there is an orchid, showing no heroic bearing and no splendor;
Only when its secluded fragrance perfumes the heart does one realize a rare flower hides in the garden.
Famous Figures and the Orchid
Confucius Praises the Orchid
Confucius was extremely fond of orchids. Because he placed special importance on cultivating personal moral character, he invested deep feelings in the orchid. In the book Kongzi Jiayu (The School Sayings of Confucius), compiled and edited by Wang Su of the Wei of the Three Kingdoms, a celebrated passage recording Confucius praising the orchid is preserved.
"Confucius said: 'After my death, Shang will improve day by day, while Ci will decline day by day.' Zengzi said: 'What does that mean?' The Master said: 'Shang likes to associate with those who are better than himself, while Ci likes to associate with those who are not as good as himself. If you do not know a son, look at his father; hence the conclusion "a gentleman must be careful about where he places himself."' From this, "the room of zhi and lan" (the room of irises and orchids) became a byword for a good environment and an idiom praising and beautifying the orchid.
The Kongzi Jiayu also excerpts another passage from Confucius: "The zhi and lan 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 poverty and hardship." This was a passage in which Confucius answered Zilu. At that time King Zhao of Chu invited Confucius, and Confucius, accepting the invitation, set out from Chen and Cai. "The great officers of Chen and Cai plotted together, saying: Confucius is a sage; whatever he criticizes always hits the real maladies 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. "Confucius could not proceed, and went without food for seven days; there was no communication with the outside, and even wild-vegetable soup was not enough; his followers all fell ill, yet Confucius lectured all the more ardently, and his singing to the strings did not cease." At this time Zilu said: "I have heard that Heaven rewards those who do good with blessings and punishes those who do evil with calamities. 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 poverty?" Thereupon Confucius listed sages and virtuous men in history such as Boyi and Shuqi, Prince Bigan, and Wu Zixu, who in the end met with misfortune, explaining that "to meet or not to meet with opportunity is a matter of time; to be worthy or unworthy is a matter of ability; there are many gentlemen of broad learning and deep planning who do not meet with the right time, so why should I alone be an exception?" He also brought up the zhi and lan, which "do not cease 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 poverty and hardship."
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, facing the ancient Jian Lake to the east and backed by Kuaiji Mountain to the west, 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 potted plants already existed at that time; in the Yue state 4000 years later, it can be confidently affirmed that King Goujian of Yue planted orchids on Zhushan. Goujian's orchid planting had not only motive but also technical guarantee.
Regarding Goujian planting orchids on Zhushan, there are many historical records. Besides the Baoqing Xu Kuaiji Zhi, for example the Shaoxing Fu Zhi from the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty records: Lanzhu Mountain, there is a plant there, with long leaves and white flowers, the flower has a national fragrance, its name is lan (orchid), planted by Goujian. The Ming scholar Nan Fengji, annotating Wang Shipeng's Kuaiji Fengsu Fu, also said: Lanting is Lanzhu. The Yue Jue Shu says: Goujian planted orchids on Zhushan. The Ming scholar Xu Wei also mentioned in his Langu Ge that when Goujian planted orchids he must have chosen the site, and that Lanzhu today is that very place. The Shaoxing Dizhi Shulue records: Lanzhu Mountain is twenty-seven li south of the city; 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 the Orchid
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 - Biography of Qu Yuan says of him: "Of broad learning and strong memory, clear about the principles of order and disorder, and skilled in speech." But his political views met with fierce opposition from the old bureaucratic aristocracy, and the King Huai of Chu, on whom he relied, was muddled and incompetent, unable to distinguish the loyal from the treacherous. As a result, the king believed slander and turned his anger against him. 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 poverty and hardship, but his resolve did not change, and his conduct became even more upright: "I cannot change my heart and follow the vulgar crowd; I would rather end in sorrow and poverty!" He expressed this loyalty to his lord and love for his country, and this desire to set the age right and aid the world, through many fragrant flowers and rare herbs, rousing emotion through things and entrusting his aspirations to objects, and he made new developments in this technique of comparison and evocation, thus blending object and self, feeling and scene, fusing them in one furnace, greatly expanding the realm and expressive power of poetry. Among the fragrant flowers and rare herbs he chose, Qu Yuan especially chose the orchid; thus in many poems such as Li Sao, Jiu Ge, and Jiu Zhang, he writes of how he cultivated orchids, wore orchids, threaded orchids, plucked orchids, and cut orchids. He placed boundless hope in the orchid: "I had already cultivated nine wan of orchids, and again planted a hundred mu of hui... when their branches and leaves are tall and lush, I wish to wait for the time and then I will cut them." He took the orchid as a friend and made it his confidant: "The time grows dim and is about to end; I tie a secluded orchid and linger." He took the orchid as an ornament to express his own pure and self-restrained character: "I wear jiangli and bozhi, and thread autumn orchids to wear as a girdle." He also worried that the orchid might wither in the autumn wind and cold dew and follow the vulgar crowd, changing its integrity and losing its fragrance: "The times are tangled and changing, how can one stay long? The orchid and zhi have changed and lost their fragrance; the quan and pu have turned into thatch." The above are only a few of the orchid examples cited in Li Sao, from which one can see how deeply Qu Yuan loved the orchid, praised it, placed his feelings in it, and used it to satirize; here the orchid is not a simple metaphor or a thing that rouses feeling, but a symbol, an entrustment, 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, a man 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, expressing that he did not forget his old 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 most explicit. After the fall of the Zhao Song regime, it is said that whether sitting or lying he always faced south, to show that he remembered 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 answered: "The territory has already been seized by the foreigners; how could I be willing to let it touch the ground?"
After the fall of the Song, Zheng Suonan vowed never to associate 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 fields, which he deposited with the Baoguo Temple south of the city, using the annual income from the fields to the temple to make offerings to his ancestors. Whenever he encountered a taboo day he would wail greatly below the temple, and the gentleman also lodged and boarded at the temple. His room was bare and quiet, and when he sat he always faced south. When the powerful and noble sought his orchids, he was especially reluctant to give them. But ordinary people and children who somewhat matched his intentions, he would instead give them to. When the county magistrate sought them and could not get them, knowing that he had fields, he used taxes and corvee to seize them. The gentleman angrily said: "My head may be cut off, but the orchid cannot be painted!" On seasonal and sacrificial days, he would weep toward the southern fields and bow twice. He delighted in Buddhist and Daoist teachings, and was skilled at painting orchids, with sparse flowers and simple leaves, not seeking great refinement. Once finished he would destroy them, not rashly giving them to others, and so the orchids he painted that survive in the world are extremely few; today only one, the Ink Orchid Picture, remains, kept 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 again three truths: true spirit, true meaning, and true delight." His calligraphy formed a style of its own, half clerical and half regular, called "six-and-a-half-tenths script," with the interest of crisscrossing strokes and a lean, hard, strikingly steep quality. His poetry reflected life, had substance, and was vivid and accessible. Matching such poetry and calligraphy with his orchid paintings made his paintings even more interesting and full of true spirit. His "three truths" were an 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 are only the farmers... they all suffer in their bodies and labor with their strength, plowing, sowing, and harvesting, in order to feed 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 precisely to express this sincere and intense feeling of "treating all people as my brothers and all things as my kind." He said: "Whenever I paint orchids and rocks, it is to comfort the laboring people of the world, not to serve those who sit in comfort and ease." With such a breadth of mind, his paintings possessed the "three truths."
Banqiao liked to paint potted orchids, and also often painted cliff orchids and thorn-bush orchids. Among Banqiao's orchid paintings, the most numerous and most savor-worthy are the orchid, bamboo, and rock pictures; this is certainly the ancient tradition of painting orchids, and a distinctive feature of the "Eight Eccentrics'" flower painting, but it is also his creation and his outstanding achievement. In his orchid and bamboo paintings he often added rocks, believing that "one bamboo, one orchid, one rock, have integrity, fragrance, and bone," and that "orchid, bamboo, and rock come forth in succession; the great gentleman cannot do without them."
Banqiao's orchid, bamboo, and rock paintings reached the peak of perfection, and his inscribed poems played the role of 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 see. Dongting and Yunmeng for three thousand li, filled with spring wind without feeling cold." "On the rock grows orchid and further grows bamboo, a beauty accompanied 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, Lu Xun wrote in a letter to Yamamoto Hatsukichi, "My great-grandfather once cultivated many orchids, and even specially built three rooms for this." On March 18, 1911, Lu Xun, together with Zhou Jianren and Wang Hezhao, went to visit the Mausoleum of Yu the Great at the foot of Kuaiji Mountain. Before setting out, Lu Xun had everyone bring two painted tin buckets and a copper item that he had prepared in advance. When they reached the Mausoleum of Yu the Great, they toured the Yu Temple and the Bianstone Pavilion, then went up Kuaiji Mountain to gather orchids. Later, Lu Xun wrote up this mountain trip as Xinhai You Lu (Record of an Excursion in the Xinhai Year), published in the first issue of the Yue She Congkan in February 1912, under the signature "Qiaofeng of Kuaiji, Zhou Jianren."
Regarding that orchid-gathering trip on Kuaiji Mountain, Zhou Jianren often brought it up in his later years: "After the eldest brother (Lu Xun) gathered the 'one-leaf orchid,' he was extremely excited, and said to me: 'Third brother, this trip was truly worthwhile!' Back home, we carefully potted the orchids. Later, when the eldest brother accepted Mr. Cai Yuanpei's invitation to take up a post in Beijing, 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 specially instructed me to take good care of these several pots of orchids. Soon afterward, I too was invited to teach at a school, and usually rarely went home; in the end, the 'one-leaf orchid' withered and died. To keep the eldest brother from being heartbroken, I never told him this news."
In the late 1920s, Lu Xun moved to Shanghai. Around the time of Jingzhe, whenever people passed by Lu Xun's residence, the secluded fragrance of orchids would greet them. In Shanghai he also came to know the Japanese orchid enthusiast Obara Eijiro. Obara ran a shop in Tokyo called "Keikado" dealing in Chinese curios, and also engaged in the orchid trade. Before the War of Resistance, Obara Eijiro had many times gone to Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, and other places to collect Chinese spring orchids. 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 Lan Hua Pu (Treatise on Orchids). In 1931, when the Kuomintang suppressed the writers of the Left-wing League, Lu Xun was forced to take refuge in the Japanese-run Huayuanzhuang inn. It happened that Obara, who dealt in orchids, was about to return to his country; moved by the scene, and using the matter of a friend carrying orchids back east, he expressed his feelings through the orchid:
Pepper is burned and cassia broken, the beauty has grown old; alone it leans on the secluded cliff and displays its pure heart.
Would it begrudge its fragrance to one far away? In the old hometown, as if drunk, there are thorns and brambles.
Zhu De's Love of Orchids
Throughout his life Zhu De had a special fondness for orchids; whether in wartime or in peacetime, his love for orchids was constant. Orchids not only brought Zhu De great joy in life, but also let people see his side full of life's pleasures and delicate feelings.
In his early years, while serving in the army 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, Zhu De led the troops of the Nanchang Uprising and the troops of the Autumn Harvest Uprising led by Mao Zedong in a victorious joining of forces at Jinggangshan. The mountains southeast of Ciping in Jinggangshan abound in all kinds of orchids, especially the Jinggang orchid, known as "Orchid Flat." Seeing wild orchids again after many years, Zhu De was extraordinarily excited; he often went into the mountains in his leisure to seek 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 fine saying that "in those years Commander Zhu introduced and planted orchids, and their fragrance drifted eight hundred li along the Hunan-Jiangxi border," and it was even compiled into a red ballad to be sung: "Commander Zhu carried water from the Xiang River and watered the Jinggang orchids into bloom."
Far from the era of war's flames, Zhu De had the conditions to study orchids earnestly. Whenever he went out on inspection, if the local area produced orchids and he had leisure, he would always go with keen interest to parks or the hills to seek orchids, and when he encountered good varieties, he would bring them back to Beijing and cultivate them carefully. If he came upon a flower exhibition, he would certainly not miss it. His footprints covered almost all the main orchid-producing regions, including Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou, and Hainan Island. It is said that in February 1961, when he went sightseeing at 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 alone; he often gave away the orchids he had carefully cultivated to others or to garden 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, in three batches, to the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu. 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: "Commander Zhu often gave us orchids, such as Hainan Island's 'Haiyan Qifei,' Guangdong's ink orchid, 'Yuchen Dagong,' 'Yinbian Dagong,' 'Jinsi Mawei,' Sichuan's multi-flowered orchid, summer hui, 'Longchang Su,' 'Heqi Lüyi,' Jiangsu and Zhejiang's 'Quzhou Su,' Yunnan's 'Dahong She,' and autumn orchids, and so on." In addition, Zhu De also gave the orchid-related books he had collected to garden departments, encouraging them to study earnestly and improve 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 poetry. 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 groves of flowers and trees, a hundred blooms all vie in spring. Only the orchid's fragrance is just right, briefly prized throughout the city of Guangzhou." In the deep autumn of the same year, Zhu De once wrote a seven-character quatrain to describe the pleasure he gained from his diligent labor: "The secluded orchid, graceful, waits for winter to bloom; green leaves, lush, reflect on the painting table. Just opening red blossoms, pearl dew falls; 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, purple vapor rises in the east; all things grow and all shine forth together. The secluded orchid newly displayed in the new city, everyone praises the national fragrance. The secluded orchid puts forth its beauty beneath the tall forest, still coiling its roots beside the common grass. Even if no one comes to admire it, it still gains its place and holds its own 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 Thoughts at the Thatched Cottage," among which one is an orchid poem: "The secluded orchid comes out of the valley, weak and slender; moved to the thatched cottage, it is willing to bow. The path says its fragrant bearing does not understand feeling, yet accompanying the Ministry of Works it puts forth new shoots."
On April 20, 1963, during an inspection in 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 bamboo has integrity but no flowers, plum has flowers but no leaves, pine has leaves but no fragrance; only the orchid has leaves, flowers, and fragrance. Please take good care of these several pots of orchids for me. In the future I will come to Emei again, and I will come to see these orchids." And he improvised a lyric, "Parrot Song - Gathering Orchids at Shisun Peak": "On Mount Emei I dwell as fate allows; in the secluded valley of Shisun I serve as immortal father. Friends pine and bamboo always shine upon me; together we bear mist, cloud, wind, and rain. A man of understanding comes to visit and seek; my wish follows you as you go. If I may be offered as a national fragrance, an imperishable fragrant name will remain everywhere."
Over his lifetime Zhu De composed about 40 poems on orchids. These poems truly reflect what Zhu De felt and realized in the process of seeking, cultivating, and admiring orchids, and are filled with Zhu De's 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 Garden Management Office: "The Liuxiang Stream in the Wuyi Mountains produces many orchids; they should be widely collected and propagated in large numbers. As export goods, they can both take part in international cultural exchange and enrich the contents of orchid catalogues." On January 1, 1963, while inspecting the South China Botanical Garden, he again said to the person in charge of the garden: "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. Dignified and quietly elegant, simple and noble, tough and resolute, it is greatly admired by people, and 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 firm resolve in pursuit of and practice of truth; he was modest and prudent, approachable, indifferent to fame and fortune, and broad-minded, just like that simple, noble, and long-fragrant orchid!
The Language of Orchids
The flower language, symbolism, and representative meaning of the orchid are: indifferent to fame and fortune, elegant. 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 moth orchid, the orchid, and the cymbidium. In fact, each has its own flower language, but the general flower language of the orchid is indifference to fame and fortune, and elegance. [8]
Stock: everlasting beauty
Freesia: purity, innocence
Cattleya: noble lady
Moth orchid: happiness gradually arriving
Oncidium: hidden love
Gladiolus: elegance, longevity, peace and health
Orchid flower language: indifference to fame and fortune, elegance, beauty, nobility, virtuousness
Orchid pictures