What are the cultivation methods for orchids?
The editor explains the cultivation methods for orchids and the knowledge of orchid cultivation, including the key points. Let's follow the editor and take a look!
Survival Rate of Planting Orchids
How difficult is it to plant orchids? Every orchid enthusiast may have a different answer. In the environment of orchid-producing areas, the survival rate of planting orchids is very high. For example, some farmers here can even grow orchids in broken flowerpots at home. These practices seem incredible to urban orchid enthusiasts.
So, when planting orchids in non-orchid-producing areas, it is necessary to know some common sense, otherwise the survival rate of orchids is really not high. This is determined by the growth characteristics of orchids. The environment and climate in non-orchid-producing areas are often not suitable for orchid survival, so special attention must be paid to details during planting.
What are the wrong operations in planting orchids? In the course of communicating with orchid enthusiasts for many years, the Good Photographer Farmer has learned that the following behaviors are the most common causes of orchid failure. Now, they are summarized in this article to help orchid enthusiasts (especially新手 orchid enthusiasts) avoid them in future orchid planting.
One, Planting Orchids Outdoors in the Rain
Planting orchids outdoors in the rain has two disadvantages. First, when it rains, the orchid roots come into contact with rainwater. Because orchid roots absorb water well, the roots may absorb enough water to become fragile and more likely to break. Especially strong roots absorb water more easily and are more likely to break, affecting survival.
Secondly, the planting material becomes very wet after being soaked in rainwater. If the material contains a lot of soil, it may become a sticky mud. After planting orchids in such material, the roots cannot breathe freely for a long time, and as aerial roots, orchids will become stagnant without enough air, affecting their survival.
Two, Mixing Fungicides with Planting Material
Orchid roots are different from other green plants. They must rely on the assistance of symbiotic bacteria to absorb water and nutrients from the planting material (soil). Under normal conditions, orchid planting material should be a coexistence of many types of bacteria, not just probiotics without harmful bacteria and miscellaneous bacteria, which is unrealistic and not beneficial. Only under the stimulation of many bacteria, can orchid seedlings have more resistance.
What are the cultivation methods for orchids?
Some orchid enthusiasts, when planting orchids, mix high-concentration fungicides with the planting material because they are worried about the presence of miscellaneous bacteria, thinking that after disinfection, orchids will not get diseases. However, this is exactly the opposite. Such planting has already destroyed the bacterial relationship of the planting material, killing both probiotics and miscellaneous bacteria, which makes it harder for orchids to adapt and naturally reduces the survival rate.
Three, Planting a Single Seedling in Summer
Planting orchids is usually better in spring and autumn. If anti-freezing measures are taken, it is also fine to transplant orchids in winter. However, I do not recommend planting orchids in summer. Although it is possible to plant orchids in summer in environments with good conditions, it is not suitable for most places. The consumption of orchid plants in summer is very high, and during the slow seedling stage and the adaptation stage, the energy consumption of orchid plants is much higher than the absorption of nutrients, making the survival rate of orchids planted in summer half of that in the other three seasons.
Planting a single seedling is inherently challenging. Even in the climate and environment of orchid-producing areas, a single seedling may not survive 100%, let alone the environment of most orchid enthusiasts, which is far inferior to that of orchid-producing areas.
Four, Using Force to Press the Material
I never use my hands to press the planting material when planting orchids, because the material I use has a high soil content (some materials have more than 45% humus content). If I am afraid that the orchid roots are not close enough and press them tightly with my hands, it will make the material compact, greatly reducing the oxygen content in the material. Orchid roots are fleshy aerial roots that need fresh air and breathing at all times. Pressing the material will cause the roots not to adapt, and similarly, if the roots do not adapt, the seedlings will also find it difficult to survive.