Orchid Growth Report, Please Give Me Your Guidance, Teachers

Reporting to all the teachers about my orchids - environment + plant condition + tips

http://www.dfac.cc/showtopic-17-311124-0-0-1.htm

After dividing the pots last November, I only just found time to take a few photos the other day, to share with everyone.

1200-1300 pots, single shoots or 2-3 shoots, and now the first batch of buds are basically 80% mature shoots, with a sprouting rate of around 1.5; Cymbidium tortisepalum still sprouts the most, with a sprouting rate close to 2, and they are starting to sprout on the new shoots; Cymbidium ensifolium is around 1.5, basically mature shoots; Cymbidium goeringii and Cymbidium faberi are around 1 and sprout late, only 50% mature shoots.

I thought that by dividing them into smaller clumps, I would not need to repot at the end of the year, but it looks like half of them will need dividing and repotting.

Repotting is really tiring. Last year I spent almost 1 month preparing the soil, and repotting took me nearly 2 months, all done by myself while still going to work. After finishing, my fingers had even gotten thicker.

All the plants get the same potting mix, the same watering, and the same fertilizing.

Potting mix: ordinary peat soil (10 yuan for 1 large bag) 35%, bark and leaves 30%, expanded clay pellets 25%, Xiantu 10%, plus a small amount of sheep dung pellets and cow dung

Experience: single shoots, weak shoots, and old shoots can also grow strong buds, but they must be planted well.

(A reply based on an orchid friend's question about growing single shoots

Single shoots must have good roots, be strong, and already be adapted to the growing environment, or be old rhizomes and old shoots that were removed and one could not bear to throw away.

If they are old shoots and old rhizomes grown in one's own collection, the new buds they send out are also very strong.

If they are re-exported or have been grown in a greenhouse, they can basically be thrown away; even if they send out new buds, they will be either diseased or weak, with no value at all, and they will just ruin your mood.

Watering:

Use a showerhead for bathing connected to the tap and spray directly; there is no fixed schedule (based on the local climate). Generally, water thoroughly once a week (takes 1-2 hours), and lightly spray a little every 2-3 days (takes more than half an hour). When away on business in summer, sometimes I have not watered for 10 days. So orchids are not that delicate; just let nature take its course.

Environmental requirements (rooftop terrace): recommendations

Ventilation and air movement come first; it is best to have some greenery around the sides and on the shed roof to increase humidity; keep the environment a bit clean; keep more than 40 cm above the floor slab, and keep the pot surface about 20 cm from a non-ventilated wall top (too much and there is no airflow, too little and orchid leaves are easily blown and broken)

It is best to have a roof covering, otherwise black spots easily develop in summer, and autumn rain and winter rain (rain after a long drought) can easily cause acid rain damage.

Fertilizing and sterilization: (for hobby orchid growing and relatively busy people)

Make the potting mix a bit richer; you can bury chemical fertilizer on the pot surface or 1-2 cm below the soil; when you have time, spray some foliar fertilizer.

During the peak growing season, spray fungicide and insecticide once every 2 weeks, lightly, and absolutely do not wait until there is disease to deal with it; this must be remembered.

Management:

Observe more, handle less!

——Personal experience for reference only!

Growing environment, still without shade; some new shoots have relatively yellow leaves because the sunlight is too strong.