Why is orchid cultivation and management inseparable from philosophy?

After retiring from my work unit, I opened a small orchid nursery at home, growing traditional orchids such as Cymbidium goeringii (spring orchid), Cymbidium faberi (Faber's cymbidium), Cymbidium ensifolium (sword-leaf cymbidium), Cymbidium kanran (cold orchid) and Cymbidium sinense (Chinese cymbidium). In order to learn orchid craft, I traveled far and wide, taking veteran orchid growers as my teachers, humbly learning their experience in growing orchids, actively fertilizing and watering, diligently cultivating, single-mindedly hoping to grow a batch of fine orchids. But things went contrary to my wishes: of the dozens of pots of orchids I planted, some were densely covered with black spots, some withered and yellowed and died, and I failed at growing orchids again and again. After a period of practice and deep thought, I discovered that in my way of thinking about orchid cultivation and management, I lacked a scientific mind and had no correct viewpoint to guide me. From then on, I tried using the viewpoint of materialist dialectics as my guide in growing orchids, persisted in proceeding from reality, and solved many problems encountered in orchid growing; the orchids I grew at home increasingly flourished with abundant flowers and luxuriant leaves, growing vigorously with delicate fragrance filling the air, which made me delighted.

I. Proceed from reality in everything

The viewpoint of dialectical materialism tells us: existence determines consciousness, the objective determines the subjective. Whether it is a method of thinking or a method of working, one must proceed from reality. Therefore, the skills of planting, growing and managing orchids should also proceed from objectively existing facts.

In learning orchid craft, taking veteran orchid growers as teachers and humbly learning from others and seeking their experience is certainly important, but the most important thing is to integrate with reality and proceed from reality. There are many kinds of orchids, each with its own actual circumstances. Cymbidium faberi has long roots, so it is best to choose a tall, deep pot for planting; Cymbidium goeringii has short, fine roots, so a wide-mouthed tripod-footed pot can be chosen; flowering orchids should be given more nitrogen fertilizer, while variegated-leaf orchids should be given less nitrogen fertilizer. When Cymbidium ensifolium from Guangdong is moved to the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area for propagation, because the year-round temperature is lower, if conditions for raising the temperature are not created, it may not necessarily bloom from May to October. Cymbidium goeringii can bloom normally in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area where temperatures are lower; if seedlings of Jiangsu-Zhejiang Cymbidium goeringii are moved to Guangdong for planting, overwintering requires a lower temperature, and it is best to build a cold space at about 5°C, otherwise the flower buds cannot develop normally, the flower stalks cannot elongate, and it cannot bloom normally in spring. The spring climate in the north is dry, so orchids should be misted to increase humidity; in the south, spring has much rain and high humidity, so misting to increase humidity is not suitable. Growing orchids in the south and the north each has its own actual conditions; one cannot blindly copy and mechanically apply others' experience. In learning and applying others' experience, one must integrate it with reality and adapt to local conditions, so that one will not make the mistakes of dogmatism and empiricism in growing orchids. Therefore, in choosing the methods and skills for growing orchids, one must persist in proceeding from reality and oppose subjectivism that ignores the actual circumstances of the orchids themselves.

II. Analyze specific problems concretely

All things in the world contain contradictions, and contradiction has both universality and its particularity. The particularity of contradiction requires us: in analyzing, studying and resolving contradictions, we must persist in the viewpoint of concretely analyzing specific problems. For example, the fertilization management of orchids. Zhang San says to apply it, Li Si says to apply it sparingly, while Wang Wu says orchids "eat vegetarian" and need no fertilizer at all, with everyone talking at once and opinions varying widely. What kind of fertilizer does orchid growth need? Exactly when should fertilizer be applied? How much should be applied each time? This requires concrete analysis of specific problems.

Each type of orchid has its own particularity, and each plant of the same type of orchid has different characteristics as well, including old seedlings and new shoots, strong plants and weak plants, healthy orchids and diseased orchids, and so on. Therefore, the cultivation and management of orchids must be directed at their characteristics, achieving "one key for one lock." Strong orchids and healthy orchids have good organ functions and strong absorption capacity, so they should be fertilized and given relatively concentrated fertilizer; diseased orchids and weak orchids have suffered internal injury and have weak resistance to the stimulation of fertilizer, so they should not be fertilized or should not be given excessive concentrated fertilizer. One should act according to different targets and "cut the garment to fit the figure." If fertilization ignores the target and is uniform and one-size-fits-all, it will inevitably damage the roots, causing poor orchid growth and even withering, yellowing and death.

In addition, the same orchid plant has different requirements for various fertilizers at different growth stages: during the seedling development stage, orchids should be given more nitrogen fertilizer; during the budding stage, bud-promoting fertilizer should be applied; during the flower-bud differentiation stage, more phosphorus fertilizer should be applied.

For another example, because orchid diseases differ in pathogens and symptoms, the prevention and control methods and medicines should also differ: for soft rot, that is, "sitting shoots," Topsin can be used for disinfection; for black spot disease, Miebingwei can be used; black poison disease is a disease transmitted by aphids, and the diseased leaf parts should be cut off and burned. Different symptoms are prevented and controlled with different medicines and different methods; this is called "suiting the medicine to the illness."

Concretely analyzing specific problems is the foundation for understanding orchids and also the key to correctly solving orchid-growing problems. Therefore, in cultivating and managing orchids, one must persist in the viewpoint of concretely analyzing specific problems.

III. Act according to objective laws

Laws exist objectively and do not change according to people's will. Therefore, growing orchids must be done according to objective laws. However, some orchid fanatics place high hopes on orchids, treat orchids as pampered darlings and spoil them excessively: watering every day, fertilizing every week, dividing plants frequently, changing pots quickly, hoping for fast growth, applying heavy fertilizer, wishing they would grow three cun at night and one chi by day, pulling up seedlings to help them grow, and being too clever by half, violating the objective laws of orchid growth, so that the more they grow, the worse it becomes.

Growing orchids must be done according to objective laws, yet understanding and utilizing the growth laws of orchids must also depend on time, conditions and place. For example: water is the source of orchid life, and orchids like to grow in cool humidity; orchid survival cannot lack water, but watering should not be set to a timetable and carried out according to rigidly fixed times and fixed amounts. Orchid watering should achieve the "three looks":

① Look at timing. As for the timing of orchid watering, veteran orchid growers summarized it as "not dry in autumn, not wet in winter," which means it should be determined according to different seasons. Generally, one should grasp that winter and spring are moist, summer and autumn are relatively moist, do not water on cloudy days, water more on clear days, and do not water during rain or snow.

② Look at growing conditions. That is, determine it according to differences in pot size, the number of plants in the pot, and the dryness or moisture of the growing medium, achieving differentiated treatment according to circumstances.

③ Look at the orchid-growing site. Different locations have different watering times. For orchids grown on the ground, the pot soil evaporates less water, so one should water less. For orchids grown on a balcony, the light is strong and the wind blows for a long time, so the pot soil evaporates water quickly, and one should mist or water more. Specifically as to the position on the balcony, a west-facing balcony has intense sunlight, so water more; a southeast-facing balcony has a shorter period of sunlight, so water less.

Orchid watering depending on time, conditions and place is acting according to objective laws. We must oppose subjectivism that ignores specific circumstances and blindly waters without regard to time, conditions and place. Of course, respecting objective laws does not mean being a slave to laws. If the place and conditions for growing orchids are not ideal, one can give play to people's subjective initiative, actively create conditions, change the environment, and establish a good environment suitable for orchid growth.

From the lessons of growing orchids, I have personally experienced the truth of "revitalizing orchids through science." Growing orchids is by no means rough work, but a scientific project. To grow orchids, one must first "cultivate" one's own mind, arm oneself with scientific thought, and guide orchid growing with the viewpoint of materialist dialectics; only then can orchid cultivation and growing step onto a scientific track, and only then will orchid growth flourish.