VOA慢速英语2021--兰花:宅家里人的一个项目

Orchids²: A Project for Those at Home

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Not so long ago, orchids were considered rare and exotic flowers – difficult to find and difficult to grow. But these days, thanks to new growing methods, some kinds of orchids are available in many parts of the world.

Marc Hachadourian is an orchid¹ expert at the New York Botanical Garden. He said orchids are now "the most popular blooming florist³ crop in the world." A florist is a person who sells flowers.

Hachadourian recently told the Associated Press that orchids are not only beautiful, but they are good to grow at home.

The blooms are long-lasting. Orchid flowers can last for weeks. Orchids offer an easy, low-cost way to brighten up a room. The flowers come in many colors.

Once the flowers die, however, many people might want to throw the plant away. But not so fast! You might be able to get that orchid to bloom again.

In fact, helping⁴ an orchid to rebloom is a great project to do while at home because of coronavirus restrictions⁵. Just know that the pandemic might be over by the time you succeed.

Kenya Friend-Daniel is an orchid expert at Trader Joe's, a food store that also sells plants and flowers like orchids.

Once the first flowers are gone, Friend-Daniel suggests cutting the stem off at the base and removing the material the plant is growing in. Then move the plant to a slightly larger pot filled with fresh moss⁶ or tree bark.

Friend-Daniel said that, "new growth should start coming from the middle of the plant within three to four months." It will take 12 months for a fully⁷ bloomed flower to show.

Blanche Wagner is another orchid expert. She says that orchids use a lot of energy to produce blooms. "They need a full year," she added, "to build up enough energy to flower again."

Wagner works at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Their orchid collection is world-famous and dates back to the late 1800s.

She gives a simple suggestion for those wanting to rebloom an orchid: Note when you bought them. This will help you to re-bloom your flower at the best time.

And remember to care for them when they are not in bloom. The most important time to care for your plants is right after the flowers die, said Hachadourian.

At that time, he said, "make sure they get the best available light, water, and fertilizer to make sure they grow their best before flowering again."

How warm?

Wild orchids grow in rainforests. So, they do well in warm, wet environments. Morning sun is best, says Kenya Friend-Daniel. But avoid direct sunlight, she warns, which can burn the leaves and the blooms.

The ideal temperature while waiting for new growth is about 29 degrees Celsius⁹. Once there is new growth, keep the temperature between 21 to 24 degrees Celsius.

How much water?

Watering orchids is also tricky¹⁰. How often you water depends on the material you use to plant the flower and also the temperature.

Friend-Daniel said putting water on the roots every day is best. If the plant is growing in bark you could water it once a week in cooler weather and every four to five days in warmer weather.

However, never let the roots sit in water. This will cause them to rot, and the plant will die.

"Most failures with orchids are because of overwatering," said Hachadourian.

He adds that a small amount of water once or twice a week will keep the plant just wet enough without being over wet.

Fertilizer or not?

You can also fertilize⁸ orchids -- but not too much. Too much fertilizer can also kill the roots.

Surprise of new orchid blooms.

If you do get new flowers, you may be in for a surprise. Some growers inject color chemicals into the orchid. This makes them bloom bright blue, yellow, orange, or green. Those colored orchids rebloom white.

Whatever color your new blooms are, Hachadourian said the "take-home message" is a good one: "People are reblooming their orchids more than once."

So, maybe it is good time to grow your own. But Friend-Daniel reminds us that orchids are complex. "No one said it was easy," she said. "It's work."

But the results may be worth it.

Words in This Story

exotic stem –adj. from another part of the world

bloom -v. to produce a flower

stem –n. the long thin part of a plant that supports leaves and flowers

moss –n. a kind of green plant with very small leaves that grows on the ground or on trees

bark –n. the outer skin of a tree

rot –v. to slowly break down or decay

1 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

2 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 florist   

n.花商；种花者

参考例句：

• The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。
• Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好？

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

9 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

10 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。