Three major pitfalls to avoid when buying Phalaenopsis seedlings

It is once again the @#@136@#@ season for Phalaenopsis seedlings, and according to consumption habits in China, the peak sales period for finished Phalaenopsis plants is concentrated just before the Spring Festival. Therefore, the Phalaenopsis seedlings that producers buy at this time are basically 2.5-inch intermediate seedlings; that is, calculated according to the normal growth cycle of Phalaenopsis, seedlings of this size are exactly able to bloom and go on the market before next year's Spring Festival.

However, quite a few producers have experienced this awkward situation: they clearly bought 2.5-inch seedlings, yet the plants failed to bloom on schedule. They suspect something went wrong with the seedlings, but the seedling supplier says it was the producer who ran into problems during production. Who is right and who is wrong is hard to tell for a while. For this reason, industry experts remind producers to pay attention to the following three aspects when buying seedlings.

Low prices are tempting, but the lower the price, the greater the risk. Some production enterprises covet bargains and, when buying seedlings, look only at price and not at quality, believing that cheaper seedlings can reduce production costs, unaware that enormous risks are hidden in this. For the same 2.5-inch Phalaenopsis seedling (seedling grown from seed), some are priced at 8 yuan, while others sell for only 4 yuan. Such a huge price gap is indeed puzzling. But according to industry experts, Phalaenopsis seedling prices are currently fairly transparent. If the price difference is too large, buyers should be on their guard and calmly analyze whether this tempting price is a "pie" or a "trap."

Confusing the concept of container size. At present, Phalaenopsis seedlings sold on the market are usually divided by the industry into three specifications: 1.5-inch, 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch, and the "inch" here does not refer to the Chinese cun but to the inch. According to the internationally standardized conversion formula, 1 inch = 2.54 cm, so the diameter of the seedling container for a 2.5-inch Phalaenopsis seedling should reach 6.35 cm. But industry experts remind seedling buyers that when judging seedling specifications, they should not look only at the size of the container, but also carefully observe the seedling's leaves and root system. Sometimes, even though the container diameter reaches the corresponding specification, the seedling does not have enough leaves or a sufficiently developed root system, which also fails to meet the standard. In order to shorten the seedling growth cycle, some seedling suppliers often plant substandard seedlings into large containers to deceive buyers. Experts point out that if the container and the seedling do not match, it will likewise affect the normal growth of the seedling.

The maturity trap. When buying Phalaenopsis seedlings, producers must not only look at the specification size, but also learn to judge maturity. If a producer buys seedlings of the 2.5-inch specification and can immediately move them into 3.5-inch seedling containers for cultivation after returning, this shows that the seedlings purchased are 2.5-inch mature plants. Industry experts point out that so-called mature plants are also divided into different stages. For Phalaenopsis, from deflasking to planting, it takes no less than 4 months to possibly cultivate a 1.5-inch mature plant; from 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches, it takes at least 3 months to possibly cultivate a 2.5-inch mature plant. Generally speaking, a standard 2.5-inch mature plant should have grown 1 large leaf; while a 3.5-inch mature plant not only has 4 half-grown leaves, but 3 of those large leaves must have grown in a 3.5-inch container. Only then is it a seedling that meets normal growth standards.

Experts suggest that when buying seedlings, in addition to carefully identifying the number of leaves and the fullness of the root system, producers should also verify with the seedling supplier whether they are buying mature plants. At the same time, they should shop around and accumulate more experience so as to avoid being cheated as much as possible.