What is the sticky substance on the orchid leaves?

Orchids are traditional famous flowers in my country. Many people like to keep one at home to admire its flowing leaves and elegant flowers.

During the flowering period, you can smell the faint orchid fragrance, which has a high ornamental value. With the increase in artificial breeding of orchids, more and more people are now raising orchids.

A few days ago, I received a message from a flower lover: He said that his orchid at home, for some reason, suddenly had strings of small water droplets on the petals and leaves, and they were a little sticky when touched. At first, the flower lover thought it was the water he sprayed, but then he thought, water is not sticky, and the water sprayed at night should have evaporated in the morning, so what on earth is this ?

What are these sticky little water droplets?

In fact, it is precious orchid dew. If these sticky little water droplets grow on the orchids in your home, you can dip your hand in it and taste it. It will have a sweet taste.

So what is Lanlu?

In the spring of each year, most orchids enter their flowering period, such as the common Mo Lan, Jian Lan, Large-flowered Hui Lan, Oncidium Lan, Douban Lan, etc.

They are all very easy-to-grow orchids and are easy to produce orchid dew, especially the black orchid. Most careful flower lovers can see it.

When the black orchid blooms, small water droplets will easily appear on its calyx, flower arrow and leaves. These small water droplets are the precious orchid dew.

In fact, orchid dew occurs when orchids grow stronger and their roots absorb too many nutrients during their growth process.

Part of the nutrients are provided for the orchid to bloom and grow, and part of the nutrients accumulate in the body and cannot be absorbed. They become excess nutrients and will seep out from the stems and leaves and become orchid dew.

If orchid dew appears on your orchid, then congratulations, it means that you have grown the orchid very well and have created a high-quality orchid.

So what's the use of Lanlu?

This is because the orchid is growing healthily and secreting excess nutrients. So if the orchid secretes orchid dew, it means that your orchid is growing particularly strong and well. When it blooms, it will bloom more. If it is a fragrant orchid, the fragrance will be stronger.

How to raise Lanlu?

Of course, you need to keep orchids strong and do basic maintenance for them. In fact, although there are many varieties of orchids, their maintenance is similar. Let's briefly talk about the key points of orchid cultivation.

Key points for orchid cultivation

1. Use a "good pot"

The "good pots" mentioned here do not refer to expensive pots, but pots that are suitable for orchids. The selection of orchid pots generally needs to consider the following factors: first, it must be conducive to the growth of orchid roots, which is the most important; second, it must be beautiful; and third, it must be economical and durable.

Common flower pots on the market generally include plastic pots, clay pots, porcelain pots, ceramic pots, glazed pots and purple clay pots. The roots of orchids are fleshy and require pots with good air permeability, so it is best to use ceramic pots, clay pots and purple clay pots. Considering the aesthetics, many people choose purple clay pots.

2. Use the right "planting material"

The roots of orchids are thick and fleshy. Such a root system determines that the orchids require planting materials that have smooth drainage, good air permeability, rich oxygen content, and good moisture retention.

At present, the orchid cultivation in the orchid world is to use planting stone, decomposed pine bark, fairy soil, decomposed peanut shells, perlite, fire soil particles, small pond foundation stones... to prepare. The plants need to be soaked for about 30 minutes before use, then drained and used.

The general configuration method is to mix several plants together, for example, 25% leaf mold + 25% perlite + 25% decomposed pine bark + 25% small pond foundation stone, etc.

3. Suitable environment

(1) The best growth temperature for orchids is 15-25 degrees for spring orchids, 20-30 degrees for black orchids, and 25-30 degrees for Jian orchids. Temperatures that are too high or too low will affect the growth of orchids.

(2) Orchids generally prefer moist air humidity and dislike dryness, so the best air humidity for growing orchids is between 70% and 85%. Jianlan and Hanlan can be slightly drier, while Molan can be slightly wetter.

(3) Orchids need sunlight to grow, but they are extremely afraid of overexposure to the sun. Most orchids can grow in full sunlight in winter, early spring, and late autumn, but need about 70% shade in summer. When the temperature is higher in spring and autumn, they need semi-shade.

4. Fertilizer and water should be reasonable

Orchids like a humid growing environment, but are afraid of waterlogging. Generally, you should check the planting material before watering. Water it only when one-third of the planting material on the surface of the potting soil is dry. Water it slowly with small amounts of water and water it thoroughly. In order to increase the air humidity, you can spray more water.

When applying fertilizer, apply it in small amounts and frequently. It is best to use special fertilizer for orchids and use it according to the instructions. Do not increase or decrease the amount at will. Apply some phosphorus and potassium fertilizers during the flowering period, or use special fertilizer for orchids to promote flowering.