Scientific Orchid Cultivation Methods and Daily Management Techniques

Promote Chinese orchid culture, spread orchid knowledge

According to the optimal growth needs of the organism, simulate the optimal growth environment, provide the optimal management measures, and produce the highest quality products. This has always been the goal of modern agriculture, including the earliest chemical agriculture for high yield, convenience and speed; including the later Japanese pollution-free, low-input, sustainable natural farming method. Including modern physical agriculture, biological agriculture, green agriculture, modern greenhouses, and so on.

When we grow and cultivate Chinese orchids, it can be said that ninety percent of the time we rely on tradition and hearsay, but we have never considered what their optimal growth needs are, because we do not even have a basic understanding of botany and the most basic physiological characteristics of Chinese orchids.

The Chinese orchid is just a plant. Why is it that today, with science so advanced, some people still say it is difficult to grow? I think this is because we do not understand its plant physiological characteristics. If we understood its botanical and physiological characteristics, and then analyzed its optimal growth and needs, then I think the Chinese orchid would be very easy to grow.

Dissecting the Chinese orchid, we can see several major characteristics: first, fleshy roots; second, apart from the lignified root core, they are entirely living cells; third, no root hairs; fourth, a small short stem; fifth, a shade-loving plant

1. Fleshy roots, entirely living cells. Where there is life there is respiration. Cells also need to breathe. In ordinary plants, only the root tip consists of living cells, while most of the rest is lignified.

From this we can see that the living cells of orchid roots far exceed those of ordinary plants, so correspondingly the amount of oxygen required for their respiration also far exceeds that of ordinary plants. We know there are two types of respiration: one is aerobic respiration, and the other is anaerobic respiration. If there is not enough air, it is anaerobic respiration, which produces alcohol and lactic acid. In excess, this causes poisoning, death, and necrotic rot, which produces harmful substances that continue to spread.

At the same time, the cell walls of living cells are thin, and we can also see that this makes them more easily injured and infected. Because they are living cells, they are also more easily infected. If even a little becomes diseased, all of it becomes infected.

No root hairs. We know that root hairs are also living cells. Root hairs act like straws. With root hairs, water far from the root can be absorbed. Without root hairs, water can only be absorbed by osmosis through the cells on the root surface. We know that water can block air, so under normal circumstances, orchid roots in traditional growing methods have water but no air, or air but no water. In order to absorb water through the surface, aeration is needed.

Finally, it is not difficult to see that in daily management there is no lack of water, because we can water every day, but if the growing medium is not aerated, we cannot blow air through it every day.

This is the root reason why orchids are difficult to grow. Therefore, if we want to solve the difficulty of growing the roots, first we must address the air permeability of the material. The best choice is that the material should be permeable and full of capillaries. In order to reduce damage, the material should be loose.

Finally, we see that the orchid is a shade-loving plant. It needs shade and coolness, warmth, and moisture. But we know that the optimal growth environment for pathogens is darkness, dampness, and warmth. These two environments are similar, and can be said to be the same for much of the time, which is why they are prone to disease. This is why, from the perspective of physiological anatomy, orchids are difficult to grow.

Orchid Bar, your good teacher on the road of orchid cultivation

If the orchid knowledge we publish has been helpful to you, we hope you can give it a like or click the top right corner to share it with your friends! After following this official account "Orchid Bar", you can have your orchid questions answered online. Send the number "8" to buy orchids, send "6" to sell orchids, and send "1" for online zero-inventory consignment sales of orchids!