Anyone tried a ‘growing vase’

[ArronOB]

I was watching a YouTube video today on a Dutch phalaenopsis grower (worlds largest, apparently) and they showed a potting innovation that they use that got me very interested. The narrator called it a ‘growing vase’ or something similar. It’s here at the 4:40 mark SO natural bedrijf.wmv - YouTube .

The purpose of this is to keep the plant compact and stop them spreading out all over the place - important for a commercial grower with limited space - and useful for me too for the same reason - and maybe to keep the plant looking a bit tidier.

Essentially they are tall clear plastic pots/vases, about twice the height of the actual growing pot, with the majority of the lower sidewalls and base cut away. The actual growing pot fits snuggly inside, but airflow to the pot is not impeded because it fits within the cutaway portion. The upper portion of the vase has the only function of supporting the leaves in a neat shape.

Obviously they are using them for Phil’s which have to fall within fairly narrow shape parameters to be fit for mass markets, but I’m wondering whether they could be used to tame some of my unruly cattleyas which just want to lay down, take up too much space, and look scrappy.

Maybe they are quite common on the commercial side - I guess most Phal growers have to deal with the same problem.

So has anyone tried these, seen them for sale, know what they are called, have any thoughts on how well they work outside a mass production environment?

Cheers
Arron

I attach a sketch in case it’s easier then going to YouTube.

[SillyCookies]

If it's mostly to stop your plants from laying down and make them stand neatly together, wouldn't a ring support also do the trick? One like this: https://images.ffx.co.uk/tools/Tools...960&scale=both

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by SillyCookies

If it's mostly to stop your plants from laying down and make them stand neatly together, wouldn't a ring support also do the trick? One like this: https://images.ffx.co.uk/tools/Tools...960&scale=both

Yeah, maybe. I’ve tried them a few times and not liked them much as I use mesh pots with long vertical slots up the side. It’s hard to stop the metal uprights from finding their way out of the slots. It’s a bit of a balancing act to get all three legs aligned with the positive rather then the negative space of the pot wall.

So I thought I’d try something with a bit less fiddling but it doesn’t seem they are available for purchase anyway.

[SillyCookies]

Maybe this is a little finicky, but if you have some laying around to try it with anyway... What if you place an elastic band around the pot near the bottom, to make a horzontal slat to stop the legs of the support from falling out?

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by SillyCookies

Maybe this is a little finicky, but if you have some laying around to try it with anyway... What if you place an elastic band around the pot near the bottom, to make a horzontal slat to stop the legs of the support from falling out?

Yep, that is finicky, especially in my environment of overcrowded outdoor culture.

I’ll have to work something out though - at least for the 6 or so worst offenders which basically take up 3 times the space they need to.

Maybe I could buy something similar to the grow vases and cut the bits out myself.

[Subrosa]

You're talking about a flexible sheet of plastic, cut to shape, rolled into a cylinder and secured. The hard part is getting plastic flexible enough to roll into a suitably sized cylinder without it cracking. The thinnest acrylic sheets, readily available at home centers, with a bit of heat applied while rolling will definitely work for making cylinders. Whether you can roll them tight enough for your particular set-up without cracking is something you can only learn by trying. The hard but still flexible clear plastic often used as a backing material in adhesive applications would be perfect if you could find it in sheet form, as it would be flexible enough to roll into quite small cylinders.