How do you grow orchids so their roots become thick and strong? Two great orchid potting media

If you want to grow orchids well, you first have to know how to grow the roots. Every orchid grower knows this, because orchid roots are the organs that absorb and store water and nutrients. Only when the orchid roots are strong can they absorb and store more water and nutrients to supply the orchid leaves. With rich nutrients, the orchid can produce more shoots, strong seedlings and abundant flowers.

So here comes the question: how can you make orchid roots strong? Experienced orchid growers say: if you want orchid roots to grow strong, the potting medium is the foundation, and watering management is the key. Below are 2 excellent media that orchid growers have repeatedly tested and verified to have remarkable root-strengthening effects.

1. Spent mushroom substrate

Spent mushroom substrate left after cultivating shiitake, button mushrooms, wood ear and other edible fungi is a good medium for growing orchids. This is because it is made by composting rice straw and cow dung, and the spent substrate is loose, breathable and rich in nutrients.

Using spent mushroom substrate to grow orchids has the following advantages:

It is easy to obtain, soft and light, not prone to compaction, highly permeable to water and air, and good at holding water and retaining nutrients. Orchids planted in it develop extensive roots that are thick and snow-white.

The orchid seedlings are sturdy, the leaves are broad and thick, and the leaf color is deep green and glossy. The flowering and sprouting rate is high, the flowers are large, the flowering period is long, there are few weeds on the pot surface, and the disease rate is low.

2. Brick granules

Brick granules are divided into blue brick granules and red brick granules. Blue bricks are made from better clay and fired with firewood and mountain grass. Few people fire this kind of blue brick now, but old blue bricks discarded from ancient buildings can be used. Crush them into granules to use as potting medium. This old blue brick has been weathered over the years, so its water absorption is moderate.

Red brick granules contain a lot of coarse sand and are fired with coal powder mixed in during preparation, so their fire energy has not dissipated and their sulfur content is extremely heavy. Modern buildings mostly use red bricks. New red bricks have strong fire energy; old red bricks have less fire energy but a heavy content of alkaline substances. You can soak the brick granules in water for several days, changing the water once a day, and drip some edible vinegar into the water to neutralize the alkalinity, removing the alkaline substances and fire energy from the brick granules.

Brick granules themselves have many pores, so they are highly absorbent and breathable, and they drain quickly too. Using them to grow orchids keeps orchid roots from turning black, and variegated-leaf orchids will not lose their variegation. The proportion of brick granules in a mixed potting medium should be 20%-30%.

Although the root-strengthening potting media shared by orchid growers are hard to find, the effects are still quite good. As long as you truly love orchids, even hard-to-find things are no problem. If you have better methods, you are welcome to share them in the comments so more people can benefit.