Talking about the planting skills of succulents: the闷养 method
About these do you know? Some knowledge about succulents, talking about the planting skills of succulents: the闷养 method, here is a detailed introduction.
What is meant by闷养 is a popular term, which essentially means creating a greenhouse effect. Compared to the soil, watering, and sunlight discussed in the past,闷养 is more comprehensive, and it also has its uniqueness, mainly manifested in creating a small greenhouse-like environment.
Why闷养? If everyone visits a greenhouse, they will know that the plants grown in the greenhouse are so fresh and plump. What's the secret? In fact, it's just闷ed out. The reason why闷养 can make plants grow fresh and full is simple: it's about creating a large temperature difference.
Some friends, especially新手 in growing flowers, may not understand the importance of temperature difference to plant growth, but I can make it clear with an example. We all know that (X-J) melons, grapes, and tomatoes are famous for being very sweet, which is the effect of temperature difference. However, the large temperature difference in (X-J) is a gift from nature, and for us in the Jiangnan area, there is no such good luck in family planting. But you can also find that plants grow faster in spring and autumn, especially in spring. In fact, temperature difference plays a key role in this. Due to the increase in temperature and temperature difference, plants grow rapidly.
So why does a large temperature difference promote plant growth?
The reason is not complicated when explained. Life development relies on metabolism, which is reflected in two aspects: assimilation and dissimilation, which are interconnected and mutually restrictive. When assimilation is greater than dissimilation, the organism shows signs of vigorous growth, otherwise, it indicates that the growth of the organism is slowing down, and even death. For plants, it is manifested in two aspects: photosynthesis and respiration. Photosynthesis is assimilation, and respiration is dissimilation.
In the daytime, with bright sunshine, green plants carry out photosynthesis to produce nutrients. Although respiration still exists at this time, the consumption is far less than the accumulation of photosynthesis. At night, photosynthesis stops, but respiration continues. However, due to the drop in temperature, respiration does not maintain high operation, and overall consumption should be lower than the accumulation of photosynthesis during the day.
By now, I think everyone understands why a large temperature difference is beneficial to plant growth: it increases the accumulation of photosynthesis and reduces the consumption of respiration. This is also the reason why (X-J) melons are especially sweet, as the temperature drops significantly at night, preserving a large amount of the day's photosynthesis.
Of course, the role of greenhouses is far more than this, but large temperature differences are the most important. Therefore, for family planting of flowers, those with conditions can consider building small greenhouses. For those without conditions, they can create simple "greenhouses" by covering a space with plastic film on a flower shelf, or even using a sunshine board. For those with no conditions, for small flowers like cacti, a cola can cover can be added. However, it should be noted that the smaller the greenhouse space, the higher the local temperature may rise, potentially damaging the plants, as if they were steamed. The solution is to retain ventilation holes and to give the plants a chance to exercise, progressing gradually.
With these facilities, growing flowers can be more effective with less effort. By covering the film in the morning to increase temperature and opening it at night to lower temperature, maintaining a temperature difference of over 20 degrees, plants will grow happily. Of course, everything has pros and cons. Greenhouse flowers, due to rapid growth, often have less sturdy tissue structure and are easily affected by diseases and pests, which is not as good as plants grown by natural methods.
In the end, there is one thing to remind everyone: for local flowers and flowers that grow relatively fast, there is no need to use the闷养 method, as they already like the existing environment and there is no need to add unnecessary efforts.
Additional note:
“The smaller the greenhouse space, the higher the local temperature will rise and potentially damage the plants” is actually a serious issue that should be highly valued in family闷养. I had a very painful lesson about this in early spring of 2004!
It was a warm and sunny day in early February, and the so-called warm winter made early February very warm. As a新手 who had just started growing succulents, I bought a lot of seeds of species like fish, peony, crown, and flower笼 together with other friends in 2003. I sowed them in a small rectangular shallow pot and covered them with plastic wrap.
Things started well, with a good germination rate and the seedlings growing nicely, which was quite exciting for a新手. When winter came, due to limited conditions at home and the common problem of 新手 hoping for seedlings to grow quickly, I was very excited when I encountered a rare sunny day. So, on that weekend in early February with a warm and sunny weather, I placed all the seedlings under the direct sunlight, covered with plastic wrap.
When I went to visit these little guys around 2 PM, I felt an ominous sensation when I picked up the small pot —- the pot was hot. As soon as I lifted the film, a cloud of hot air fogged up my glasses, and then when I focused, the seedlings had turned white. I quickly took the other pots into the balcony for a closer look and found that some of the peony seedlings were oozing red liquid, like blood, and the condition was too惨 to describe.
Due to the oblique sunlight in winter, some ball seedlings that were shaded by shadows still survived, but nearly two-thirds of the seedlings died, which was a huge blow to a新手.
After reflecting and summarizing, why won't the plants in the greenhouse be damaged by direct sunlight (of course, relatively)? Why were there a few seedlings placed in the阳台 with glass in between, and although the pot temperature was also high, they all survived? Why did the ones in the shade not get sunburned?
I personally analyze that there were two factors: one is ultraviolet radiation; the other is local high temperature.
Glass can block ultraviolet radiation, so even though it is a small space for闷, it is preserved. Of course, the temperature under glass is also lower than direct exposure; a small space without enough ventilation will result in a local high temperature much higher than that in a greenhouse. Both acting at the same time, a tragedy is inevitable.
Therefore, for a simple family greenhouse (specifically referring to using something transparent to cover), when the temperature is higher than 10 degrees and the weather is warm and sunny (wind can help cool down), do not expose it directly to the sun, safety first, and do not rush to achieve results.
The detailed introduction of the planting skills of succulents: the闷养 method, have you understood it?