Nine Node Orchid
Today, the editor introduces the knowledge of the orchid plant Nine Node Orchid, the breeding methods of Nine Node Orchid (Nine Head Orchid, Nine Flower Orchid). If there are any mistakes, please correct them!
The scientific name of Nine Node Orchid is Cypripedium Faberi Rolfe, commonly known as Nine Node Orchid, Nine Head Orchid, Nine Flower Orchid. The roots are thick and long, the pseudobulbs are not distinct, the leaves are 5-7, 25-80 cm long, 1.0 cm wide, upright, with coarse sawtooth edges, the flowers are solitary, the midrib is prominent, with a transparent feeling, the scape is erect, 30-80 cm tall, with 5-12 flowers, the bracts are small, the flower diameter is 5-6 cm, light yellow-green, fragrant, slightly inferior to春兰 (Spring Orchid), the petals are slightly smaller than the sepals, the lip is not明显 ly divided into 3 lobes, the middle lobe is elliptical, with many transparent small papillae, the tip is reflexed, the margin has short marginal hairs, the lip is white with purple-red spots, the flowering period is February to March. Introduced mature Cypripedium with flowers, it takes several years of patience to rebloom after flowering once, and some even become thinner and thinner until failure. The same is true for wild grass. Why is that? The answer is not simple. It took me many years of exploration to master a few points.
Most Nine Node Orchids grow on the top of mountains or upper parts with more sunlight. Experts tell me that in the mountains of Zhejiang such as Kuaiji, Siming, Tianmu, and Tiantai, it is common to see 2-4 robust plants flowering at higher altitudes. Some grow in the lower part of the mountain slopes in sunny stone crevices and are easy to flower, but the leaf texture is rougher. A few grow in bamboo forests or dense shrubs and sub-tropical trees, and are less likely to form buds due to less sunlight. Some have more than 10 clusters of Nine Node Orchids, each with 4-5 or 10 plants, with many leaves but no flower buds, experts tell me that the main reason is insufficient sunlight. I think this is the main reason why our Nine Node Orchids do not bloom in management. Summarize what they said into 5 points, I don't know if it's too much or not. It would be better if you could summarize it into 2 or 3 points.
1. Fertilization. Every year when the new plants grow and the leaves separate, fertilize every half month with a thin fertilizer, the first application should be lighter, 0.5-1/1000, and then it can be gradually increased (twice as concentrated as 春兰's fertilizer, about 2-3/1000). Do not fertilize in midsummer (above 35 degrees Celsius) or winter (below 10 degrees Celsius). If it's a warm winter with daytime temperatures often between 15-20 degrees and night temperatures above 5 degrees, Nine Node Orchids are in a semi-dormant state and will consume a lot of energy. To ensure that the orchids can grow sharply in spring and have strong pseudobulbs, some thin fertilizer should also be applied (0.5-1/1000 foliar spray, pay attention to spray on the back of the leaves to increase fertilizer efficiency and save costs!). When fertilizing, be careful not to let the liquid fertilizer pour into the leaf heart, especially for new seedlings, and after fertilizing, use a fan to blow for half an hour or use toilet paper to absorb the water droplets from the leaf heart. If fertilizing, I only recommend one method, which is to water the pot with clean water half an hour before fertilizing, and then fertilize. Fertilizing is generally done 2-3 times a year, 10 days after flowering or when new leaves start to separate and new roots are 2-3 cm long, fertilize once (nutrient consumption is particularly high after flowering, usually 2-3 leaves may fall off, or even a whole plant may collapse, be careful to replenish fertilizer); before the start of the summer heat and after the Great Heat, when the temperature is continuously below 30 degrees, fertilize once; before winter (when the night temperature enters the 8-10 degree period). Or use the observation method to fertilize, often observe the leaf quality, if the leaf quality has a loss of green and is thinner than before, it means a lack of fertilizer, then fertilize once; when new leaves sprout and new roots grow, fertilize once, in September-October, after the buds appear and when it's very dry (70-80% dry), fertilize once. Other times use foliar spray to fertilize.
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2. Potting. The pot must have at least 3 connected plants, and each year there should be 2 new plants, as most of the buds of Nine Node Orchids come from new plants. More is better.
3. Water. The moisture level should be controlled to be slightly dry, drier than 春兰, control your hands, don't feel itchy when you see it dry and want to water it a little every day, done! Because Nine Node Orchids that flower in the mountains are usually in higher altitude and sunny places, i.e., the native place is dry, relying on a few秋雨 (autumn rains) to form buds. Therefore, for pot-grown Nine Node Orchids, it is advisable to have a big dry period (90% dry to the bottom of the pot, no soil culture or coarse material dry for a week, usually spray) after the beginning of autumn, wet once after the big dry, and apply the same method twice with an interval of about 10 days. These two times can be added with "Plant All" 1/1000 full elements to activate bud formation (activating the bud embryos hidden in the bulbs).
4. Strong roots. It is important to grow strong orchid roots, especially for wild orchids, which suffer severe root damage, have a long storage and transportation time after being collected from the wild, and consume a lot of nutrients, causing a lot of damage to their vitality. It takes a considerable period of care to recover vitality, so patience is required. What is meant by recovering vitality is to let it grow more roots. For newly planted wild Nine Node Orchids, use coarse planting materials for the bottom 1/3, use a mineral water bottle cut open at the top 10 cm, with several small holes around it, cover the bottom of the pot to allow air circulation in the center of the pot. After planting the orchid, use coarse planting materials to cover the roots (just enough to hold them in place), for those without roots or with few roots, you can use a coarse iron wire to make a "U" shape and insert it into the pot to hold the orchid seedlings in place, the same method can also be used for 春兰. Then add fine planting materials (30%) and a mixture of peat and coconut bran (half peat and half coconut bran) 70%, covering up to the bulbs, gently pressing down, cover with moisture-retaining materials (water grass, pygmy bamboo, fine stone), water once after 3 days of potting, expose to sunlight after 10 days, place on a shelf for normal care. Coconut bran contains sugars (simple sugars) that are suitable for orchids to absorb, the neck of the Nine Node Orchid flowers often has nectar, which tastes sweet. Never lick it. Marshal Zhu De liked to lick the nectar, without it, the flower buds will be finished in 2 days, try it if you don't believe me!
5. Using "glucose" for Nine Node Orchids. My experience: usually use a 2/1000 glucose solution as water spray on the leaves, especially on the back, very effective! Medicinal glucose is sold in large pharmacies, powder 500g for no more than 15 yuan a bag, it's a good deal, you can also use injections, but they are expensive, 500g for 50 yuan. Nine Node Orchids like to "eat" a little glucose often! After spraying glucose, the leaves will start to shine, thicken and widen in 10 days. Use it diligently, if you see the leaves wrinkling, switch to water spray, and there won't be any problems. Everything has two sides, you should emphasize the positive and avoid the negative! I won't explain the principle of using glucose, you can study plant physiology!
Also, remember to keep the environment ventilated and humid, and don't always move the orchid pots around.
The detailed explanation of the breeding methods of Nine Node Orchid (Nine Head Orchid, Nine Flower Orchid) introduced above, I hope this article can bring you some help in green plant management!