How to tidy up and retain moisture before cultivating wild-collected orchids

(1) Routine treatment.

After an orchid is collected from the wild, first rinse it clean with clear water, let it dry, carefully cut off rotten roots and withered leaves, then soak it for disinfection for 20 minutes in a medicinal solution such as 800-fold diluted chlorothalonil or thiophanate-methyl, and let it dry again before planting.

(2) Keep enough orchid roots.

Cleaning orchid roots must be done with great care; never cut away roots wholesale. This is because orchid roots are important storage organs for the orchid's organic matter and water, and the number of roots plays a decisive role in sustaining the life activities of a wild-collected orchid. When cleaning, only cut off roots that are rotten, roots that have already disintegrated, and empty roots that no longer serve any purpose; for roots whose cortex has broken but whose central column is still intact, keep them as much as possible. Preserving roots means preserving "grain"; preserving roots means preserving life.

(3) Do not divide the clumps if at all possible.

When planting wild-collected orchids, try as much as possible not to divide the clumps, and even more so not to divide the plants, because wild-collected orchids have severely broken roots. When the "sources of grain and water" are blocked and cut off, the limited reserves must be ensured so that they can play a greater role during the transitional period. In this way, fewer seedlings are lost, sprouting occurs very early, and strong seedlings can be produced, which is very beneficial for generational alternation and for purification and rejuvenation. If they are divided too thinly, then on the one hand, dividing clumps and splitting plants artificially increases wounds and intensifies the intensity of respiration and consumption of substances; on the other hand, it turns a "contingent" into "guerrilla forces," or even "a single soldier or one officer," weak and alone, unable to preserve the mother body, and even less able to raise the "infants" well. Old pseudobulbs decline quickly, new shoots do not grow strong, and there is no telling when they will rejuvenate and bloom.