It is relatively difficult to raise orchids on the balcony. After all, orchids prefer the natural environment. But now more and more friends like to grow orchids, and the only environment for growing orchids is on the balcony of their own home. Due to environmental limitations, we can only continue to explore the most suitable method of growing orchids in this environment.
Watering has always been a topic that orchid friends cannot avoid. Some orchid friends even say: The most fearful thing about growing orchids is watering, and problems will arise no matter how you water them. Regarding watering orchids, I have actually explained it in detail many times in previous articles and videos. As long as there are no problems with your maintenance environment and planting materials, there is nothing to worry about watering your orchids.
In summer, the temperature on the balcony is usually relatively high, and growing orchids requires a certain humidity. In environments with high temperatures and high humidity, germs are more likely to breed. Once the ventilation conditions are not guaranteed, the probability of problems with balcony orchids in summer is very high.
Recently, many orchid friends sent me private messages asking me: After admiring the fragrance of spring flowers, new seedlings grow in early summer, but after entering midsummer, orchid seedlings wither and orchid roots rot. After further understanding, I found that their problems were the same. The cause of orchid root rot and withered seedlings turns out to be water quality.
In fact, orchids are also very tolerant of water. Whether it is rainwater, river water, stream water, fish pond water, or our commonly used tap water or even drinking water, and even well water in most areas, it can be used to water orchids directly. . Generally speaking, just use the water that is most convenient for you. As long as the water quality is clean, it can be used for orchid planting.
The orchids I raise myself rarely water them outdoors, and when I do, I water them from the stream. The orchids on the balcony are all connected directly from the tap water (water provided by the county water company). There has never been an example of orchids dying due to water quality issues.
So, what kind of water do these orchid lovers use to cause big problems for their orchids? This kind of water is available in every household. It is the leftover rice rinse when cooking - rice rinse water .
Is rice water nutritious? The answer is yes. Most of the ingredients in rice water are starch and some vitamin groups, which are definitely nutritious for humans and animals. Nowadays, many people on the Internet advocate growing orchids with rice water, but over exaggerating the efficacy of rice water can easily lead novice orchid lovers into misunderstandings.
After all, animals and plants have different nutritional needs. Even though rice water has some nutrients, there are two questions for orchids:
1. Can its nutrients be effectively absorbed by orchids? Like farmyard livestock fertilizer, plants love it, but does it replenish energy for animals?
2. What is the effective nutrient content? Is it worth using compared to the possible harm? If you use rice water all the time, the result will not be as effective as a small spoonful of fertilizer, so why bother to sacrifice simplicity for complexity?
Facts have proved that the harm of using rice water in summer is far greater than its so-called efficacy. Rice water is particularly prone to spoilage in the summer, whether you put it in a bottle or pour it freshly into an orchid pot. At high temperatures, it will go bad in less than two days.
Practice has proven that when rice water is poured into orchid planting materials, a layer of film will be formed to seal the air. This provides a good environment for anaerobic bacteria to breed. Orchid diseases in summer are very rapid compared with other seasons. In such an environment, orchids will generally wither and root rot within seven days.
The scariest thing is yet to come. If you find that there is a problem with the orchid leaves, you may think that there is a lack of nutrients or water. So I kept pouring rice water, so the raspberries were not far away.
In fact, every year some orchid friends cause their orchids to become raspberry due to this operation. But many people still don’t discover the real cause of the problem in the end.Perhaps they are too fond of this "nutritional water". If you water like this, you need to be especially careful in summer.
