Get in touch with nature
Recently, I took a few small **, explaining how domestic orchids are anti-freezing, and there are a small number of messages in the comment area saying: Do orchids still need anti-freezing?
In fact, orchids do need frost protection, according to orchid varieties, the frost resistance of orchids is the strongest, especially natural varieties of orchids.
However, when it continues to be below zero, the Huilan family will also be frozen. Then Lan You has a new question: why was the orchid on the mountain not frozen?If it had frozen, the species would have been extinct long ago.
Indeed, it is common for the lowest temperature in winter to be below minus 5 degrees Celsius in the native area of the orchid. And freezing rain can happen, but why aren't they afraid of freezing?
In order to make a more intuitive comparison, the article does not list greenhouse orchids and other orchid species, but only talks about the differences between domestic orchids and native orchids.
In addition to the difference between the two of them that have been domesticated, there will be differences in resistance, in fact, the difference in resistance is not particularly large. The real factor that affects their resistance to cold winters is the environment.
First of all, we have to know that the part of the orchid that is most afraid of freezing is**. The first is the root system, because this directly determines whether the orchid can survive after wintering. If the root system freezes bad, there is little chance that the orchid will be saved.
1. Soil differences.
Natural orchid grows in a thick humus layer, the humus is very loose, and there are many air layers in the soil structure, which is a natural thermal insulation layer, which can play a role in regulating "warm in winter and cool in summer".
No matter how loose the planting material of domestic orchids is, after a long period of maintenance, with watering and fertilization and the sinking of the planting material itself, it cannot reach the state of natural humus.
Because there are also many microorganisms involved in the natural humus soil, the soil can continue to maintain that loose state. In the middle of summer and in the cold winter, this kind of soil can play a better role in insulating the root system of the orchid.
2. Root environment.
If you are an attentive person, you will definitely find a phenomenon. In winter, under the same conditions, the icing conditions of the dirt road, the cement road section, and the bridge road section are different.
Bridged roads are the most prone to ice, while dirt roads are the least likely to freeze, or melt the fastest after freezing, due to the ground temperature. The root system of the natural orchid usually grows horizontally in humus, and basically every root system can be protected by ground temperature.
This is not the case with domestic orchids, whose roots grow in a confined space, and as soon as the temperature outside the pot drops below freezing, the temperature inside the pot will quickly drop with it. If the low temperature continues, the planting material in the entire pot will wrap around the orchid roots and form a lump of ice.
3. Cover and insulation.
Natural orchids (C. chinensis) mostly grow in broad-leaved forests, and these trees can provide good shade in the summer. After November each year, these trees drop a large number of leaves, which cover the orchids directly and cover the roots and buds with a thick "quilt".
I once went up to minus 7 degrees Celsius and peeled up the soil near the roots of natural orchids, and found that the probability of freezing was less than 10%. And the same orchid species, kept in a pot at home and placed outdoors, but the whole pot is as hard as a stone. Later, all the domestic orchids from the experiments were frozen.
Therefore, after raising orchids, you must pay attention to frost protection, unless your orchids are planted in the same mountains as the natural environment. As long as the orchids are planted in pots, there is a risk of freezing damage under continuous low temperatures.
There are usually 5 ways to protect orchids from freezing:
1. Reasonable fertilization in the peak growing season to promote more robust orchid seedlings.
2. Give orchids more sunlight in the usual maintenance to make orchid seedlings more sophisticated.
3. As long as the temperature in early winter is not lower than minus, Chunlan Huilan will refine more seedlings to enhance frost resistance.
4. The rational use of plant antifreeze has certain effects.
5. In the most extreme temperatures, be sure to enter a freeze-proof shelter, or imitate wild orchids to cover withered leaves or pine needles.