This invention relates to a method of cultivating epiphytically growing plants, also called "epiphytes", which live on the surface of trees, bushes, rocks, stones or similar substrates and which do not participate in the nutrition circuit of the plants or take nutrients from the matter of the inorganic substrates on which they grow. The invention also relates to epiphytically living semi-epiphytes; these are plants which, dependent upon the given environmental conditions, may live either on the ground with roots extending thereinto or may live as epiphytes on one of the above-listed substrates. The transition between epiphytes and semi-epiphytes is gradual. In both types of plants the roots serve principally as supporting organs.
At the present time, epiphytically living plants, particularly orchids, are in most cases cultivated as follows:
1. The ripe seed is sowed under sterile conditions on special growing media where it germinates for days or even weeks. PA1 2. After approximately 6 months it is often necessary to transplant the developed seedling, again under sterile conditions, into other growing media to provide more living space and fresh nutrients. PA1 3. After about 8-12 months the seedlings have grown recognizable roots and leaves and are then removed from the sterile growing media and transplanted into "flats". The growing media used in the flats have widely varying compositions and in most cases comprise peat, sand and charcoal. PA1 4. In the 12 months that follow, multiple transplants in ever increasing plant-to-plant distances are necessary. The total period elapsed from sowing to the end of this stage is 24-30 months. PA1 5. In the months which follow, the plants may be individually transplanted into small pots of a diameter of approximately 3-5 cm. PA1 6. In the course of their development the plants are, in every two to three years, transplanted into larger pots. They bloom for the first time only in approximately 5 to 7 years.
For the potting of the plants, various growing media are used such as Osmunda fern roots, peat moss, dry leaves, peat in various forms, bark pieces, polystyrene foam flakes, tree fern fibers and chunks. These materials may be used either alone or in mixture. Each orchid grower has, more or less, his own "recipe".
The above-outlined process requires a very substantial work input, high costs of growing medium and expensive, experienced personnel. The growing media are expensive even in their acquisition and become even more so because of the necessity of a complex cleaning and mixing. The potting work is very time-consuming because many growing media tend to be unyielding and have to be thoroughly tamped. All of the above-listed potting material, with the exception of the polystyrene flakes, decompose in time and lose their desired loose structure which ensures in the pot a sufficient air admission to the roots of the potted plants. The more the potting material is decomposed the more sensitive the roots become to excessive amounts of wetness. For this reason, the plants have to be watered with the utmost care by experienced personnel who are in a position to judge to what extent the pot has dried. As soon as the potting material has decomposed to an excessive extent, the plant has to be transplanted into a pot having fresh growing medium.
According to the known cultivating processes, the potted plants are watered during daytime and the plants should again be dry by nightfall. Certain small-size plant varieties are individually tied to plates made of bark or tree fern, with the addition of moss or fern roots in the root zone which is generally designated as "block culture". The treatment is the same as in the case of potted plants.