down side of semi hydroponic?
 

Hi guys, I am really comfortable with moss and have never had anything nasty happen with fungus or rot. I am becoming intrigued by s/h culture for my phals (& few paphs)

My question? Whats the down side? is it expensive to switch over to s/h? what changes do you have to make to your growing area?

thanks for your opinions ;-)

mary

If you have been successful with moss, why do you want to switch over? I have nothing to contibute, but thought I had to ask because I am happy with my techniques and don't feel like switching. I did get a starter kit and moved one Phal over at proper time and was not happy with response compared to my traditional technique so I switched it back to bark and MSU mix in RO water.

moss vs S/h
 

its not that I am unhappy with moss, but I thought that if there was something better out there, then it would be worth a look.

my ro system is being put in this friday so with that, the only other thing that really needs to be addressed is my lighting issue. i will be really happy when i can get down to the serious business of buying orchids (woohoo!)
m

Hi Mary! I have switched about 4 of my orchids to s/h and so far I love it. I purchased all my supplies from Ray's site and I didn't find it very expensive at all. The clear pots are super cheap (or you can make your own) and compared to regular bags of medium I find the prime agra very inexpensive as well. Plus you can keep reusing it and you don't have to dump it if you need to repot. The only downside I can think of is that you have to time the placement into s/h a little more than regular repotting into bark or moss. You should definately wait for new root growth before trying it. You should do that anytime you repot but I think it's more so with s/h. Maybe just start with a few and see how they react. Thats what I did. My onc. Sharry Baby LOVES it and I didn't even wait for new root growth. I also have 2 phals in it and they are doing really well so far. At first one of my phals pouted and got really droopy but I started misting the surface of the prima agra every morning and it has perked right up. Hope that has helped you a little. Sorry so long! :blushing:

Hi,
I have my Phrags in it and they seem to love it. I also have a couple of Phals, and a Cattleya they are doing well. I am trying some seedlings, they are all doing well. I do have some orchids in chc, and they are doing good to. I think it is what works for you.

Barb

Mary did you get your RO system from Costco? Ordered on-line? I am curious, because I am considering the Zero Waste Unit also featured on the website.

Hi Dave, no, I decided against costco, it was something someone said on the board about warrantees, monitoring the filters and so on. Frankly, although I really like setting things up like aquariums and terriums (kind of arty!). The technical side of orchid growing like fiddling with lights & watering isn't my idea of a good time (at least right now). I am more "into" the actual plants. (aren't we all, i mean really!). I think I am put off by the lights for example because there is so much info, its hard to filter through it for the best results so in this case, I just threw money at it. I decided to rent a unit because they do all the work. I had to agree to rent it for 2 years, after which I can either buy a new unit, keep things the way they are or give it back. It was a little pricey for my liking. But Culligan has a good product line. (sorry for the long answer to a simple question.)

m

First, I have to echo Ross - why mess with success?

Keep in mind that "semi-hydroponics" describes part of your cultural regime, but not all of it.

Chances are, for example, that you'll want to grow your collection a little warmer than you might otherwise, as you can expect a greater evaporative cooling rate at the roots. Ross' example with the phal that didn't thrive may very well have been related to something like that. Maybe not temperature necessarily, but some other "twist" in the overall culture formula. (I focused on temperature, as that has been my experience with phals.)

I agree, why mess with success?!
BUT .... this doesn't meen you can try atlease 1 orchid.
Don't make the mistake in tossing ALL your orchids into something you have never grown in before. Many have done this, or did not give enough time to get the results that was needed and found they couldn't grow in this method well.

If your interest, then I would encourage you. But, move slowly.
Phals love heat, the hotter then better in my experince.

:D

Maybe try one as mentioned above. That way you can expand your orchid knowledge at the same time! :)

I'd weigh your thoughts too on why else you might want to switch. For me, I'm not wrapped up in the actual method, but more wanted to reduce the bark repotting waste I was creating by repotting everyone once a year. Since I kept my orchids in saucers full of water all the time anyhow, their bark mixes broke down so quickly. I was spending a small fortune on bark every 6months to a year to repot everyone.

Plus, LECA is nice since we are helping to save trees. :)

read up, read more, and then try it on one if you'd like to experiment. Maybe you have a plant that wouldn't upset you too badly if it "pouted and sulked" for awhile?

G'luck!