How to grow orchids? An orchid farmer shares tips for cultivating seedlings
When it comes to how to grow orchids, beginner flower lovers often ask about it. It just so happens that a flower-loving friend often has the chance to meet some orchid farmers, so they also often shamelessly ask others about orchid-growing experience, and even more shamelessly wheedle a few treasured pots out of them. In short, every time after meeting the amiable old orchid farmer grandpa, they come home fully loaded, whoop whoop... he is really so easygoing, it feels like they bully the poor old man terribly. These experiences were also tried at home, and they really worked well, so here they are, shared with everyone:
1. It is not hard at all to grow orchids without root rot, so do not use so many fancy potting media.
When I was still a rookie at growing orchids, I also had a terrible headache over what potting medium to use when repotting. I flipped through many books, read quite a few forums, and even gathered a whole series of so-called potting media, mixing all kinds and stirring all kinds... but in the end, no matter what ratio or formula, the orchid roots still rotted as they pleased, and in the end, whether to water or not to water was a dilemma. Once I went to visit a friend who was in the orchid business, and he took me to meet an orchid farmer. I seized the chance and pestered him relentlessly to let me into his orchid room, really just to see what these experts actually use as potting medium! As a result, in his orchid room, which was larger than a big warehouse, all the orchids used one and only one potting medium, and I was thrown into confusion——bark, he only used bark.
After going home, I pulled out all those half-dead orchids at home, emptied out the potting medium inside, put a layer of stones at the bottom of the pots, and then planted them using large pieces of bark. A week later, green and tender new roots emerged, and from then on, I had confidence in orchids. Later, I even tried when dividing plants: after disinfecting the divided new plants, I wrapped them with a little sphagnum moss, then tied them to wood, and placed them in a shaded orchid shed, and the roots grew like crazy, roaring along.
The old orchid farmer grandpa explained why not to use so many fancy potting media. Because we rookies are all afraid the orchid does not have enough water, we water aggressively, but in fact, compared with dryness, what orchids fear more is being too wet. Although everyone knows orchids should not be watered when not dry, for beginners, what counts as dry? Presumably, without several years of experience, it is hard to grasp, because it is impossible every time you water to dig open the potting medium to see whether it has dried through, and potting media dry from the outside inward. Many times, when we see the outer layer of potting medium is terribly dry, the potting medium in the center is actually still moist, especially when sphagnum moss is used. Watering at this time, if the roots inside do not rot, that would be strange.
So, honestly follow the old grandpa and just use bark.
2. When orchids do not bloom, it mostly has nothing to do with fertilizer.
Having grown orchids for these few years, the most laborious one is the Phalaenopsis. At first it was a problem, and after overcoming them one by one, there was no challenge left at all, so now among the orchids collected at home there is not a single pot of Phalaenopsis. Many people must be like me: their first contact with orchids started with Phalaenopsis, and they must also have felt to varying degrees that Phalaenopsis is not easy to grow, because it just never blooms and never blooms. One habitual way of thinking is that if a plant does not bloom, it is because there is not enough fertilizer. Then comes all kinds of fertilizing, and after that all kinds of root burn, yellow leaves, and plant death. In fact, orchids are not plants that need heavy fertilizer. Think about their native state, on rocks, on tree branches; few orchids grow on the ground. Where would they get so much fertilizer? In fact, an important factor determining whether orchids send out flower spikes is the temperature difference. The climate in tropical rainforest areas is stuffy, hot, and rainy, and the temperature difference between night and day is large. This is what prompts orchids to send out flower spikes.
Fertilizing orchids is also very particular. To be honest, I have never seen the orchid farmers here apply root fertilizer to orchids. Their fertilizer is all mixed with water, then sprayed regularly in the orchid room, truly weak fertilizer applied frequently. When fertilizing at home, it is best to do the same: mix compound fertilizer for spraying on leaf surfaces with water, dilute it as much as possible, and do not be afraid it is too dilute. Weak fertilizer, after all, must not be concentrated. Then spray it on the leaf surfaces for the orchids to absorb, preferably in the early morning or at dusk, not at noon when the sun is strongest. Before fertilizing, water the plants first, and when the plants are no longer dripping, you can fertilize. Do not pour leftover fertilizer solution into the pots; it should be discarded to avoid burning the roots.
3. If you want orchids to grow well, do not favor them too much.
I understand many orchid lovers' affection for their beloved orchids. I also love them tremendously, so much so that at the beginning I could not put them down, touching the leaves for a while, looking at the flowers for a while, wishing I could carry them with me. As a result, that Phalaenopsis I once loved most was scared by me into not blooming for three years. Finally, it fell out of favor, was placed in a corner of the orchid room, and was almost forgotten. Then one day, suddenly walking into the orchid room, a flower spike was drawing out from the heart of the orchid. Judging by how thick and strong it looked, it was sure to be a string of stunning large flowers, and as expected, it was. So here I advise orchid fans who love orchids as if they were their lives: do not keep moving orchids around. Although orchids do not demand much from the environment, they are extremely sensitive to environmental changes. Even a tiny change can make them nervous. As long as an orchid is frightened, it is very likely to refuse to bloom. Think about it: even if you made a person rush all over the world every day, they could not stand it either.
4. In the end, should it be an orchid room or an orchid shed?
When I first started growing orchids, I did not know how to create a good environment for them. I often hung them under trees in the garden, but as the sun moved west, it always sunburned some orchids to death. Finally I spent a large sum of money and made an orchid room. At first it was good, and the flowers grew happily, but before long the nightmare began. The orchids started getting sick, with all kinds of pathogens and pests. During that period, I applied medicine almost every day, but still could not turn things around. Later I went to bother the old grandpa again. As soon as he heard about my orchid room situation, he started scolding. It turned out that poor ventilation was the cause.
In fact, knowing how to provide orchids with a good environment is right, but too good an environment only backfires. Although an orchid room is a costly and professional setup for tropical orchids, for people just growing orchids for fun, it is really unnecessary. But without shading it also would not do. In the end, I simply removed the plastic from the orchid shed and replaced it with black shade cloth. Unexpectedly, the effect was excellent. The orchids grew happily and there were very few diseases.
5. What orchids need is not lots of water, but moisture.
Here I want to talk about the issue of watering orchids. Many people understand the basic principle of watering orchids——do not water when not dry. But there is no absolute standard for the degree of dryness. Most people, when buying flowers, ask the seller one question: "How many days between waterings?" Here I want to say, do not completely believe what the seller says. Sellers are just sellers; most of them are not the people growing the flowers, and the answer they give is only a reference. Even if they are the people growing the flowers, because the environment at home is certainly not as good as the greenhouse environment, the watering frequency will certainly also differ.
For newly purchased orchids, if the potting medium still looks wet, do not water for now. When a new orchid enters the home, place it in a cool corner for two or three days, let it calm down, and then water it. When watering, do not pour from a high place and soak the whole plant thoroughly. From a relatively low height, use a relatively gentle stream of water and water the orchid thoroughly. So-called thorough watering does not mean watering until water leaks from the bottom of the pot. As long as the orchid's potting medium is not soil, water will quickly leak from the bottom of the pot, but this is not thorough watering. Let the orchid plant stay under the water stream for two to three minutes. After stopping the water, let the water in the orchid pot drain dry, and when it is no longer dripping, it can be put back in place. By no means, just to save trouble, should you sit the orchid, pot and all, in a water tray; the roots will certainly rot.
When you have nothing to do, you can spray water on the orchid plant several times a day. Just do not spray water in the strong sun, and try not to leave water droplets on the leaves and flowers, so as to avoid burns, especially on white flowers, which are very prone to it.
Spraying water is to increase air humidity. In fact, compared with frequent watering, frequent humidifying is more reliable. The orchids will be very grateful for your effort.
6. If an orchid unfortunately becomes infected with pathogens, do not be reluctant; kill it.
It is a very sad thing when a beloved orchid is infected by pathogens, because the chance of saving it is generally not great, and even if it is saved, the orchid plant will be badly weakened. What is more frightening is that pathogen infection is contagious, especially among orchids of the same genus, which are the easiest to infect.
Well, if you want to treat it, it really takes a lot of trouble, so at this time you must wield the sword of wisdom and painfully part with what you love. Gather the diseased plants together——burn them!
7. Do not wait until the flowers fade and bloom again.
With great difficulty, the orchid has bloomed, beautifully, truly pleasing to the eyes. Well, under normal circumstances, an orchid's flowering period can last more than two weeks, but do you know that because of these few weeks of flowering, the orchid will be badly weakened, and in serious cases it may not bloom the next year. To keep orchid plants strong, flower farmers actually cut off the flowers at the beginning of blooming, but it is really unreasonable for us to do that. However, we do not have to wait until the flowers fade to cut off the withered pistil. When the flowers are at the middle stage of blooming, they can be cut off as cut flowers, placed in a bottle, and they will be just as beautiful. Just do not cut all the way down in one cut; leave a section of flower spike for the orchid plant to slowly take back nutrients, so as not to stimulate the orchid plant.