Opinions on S/H candidacy
 

Hello! I am a novice orchid grower who does my best with phals I have been given or found locally (your typical grocery store variety). Here in Idaho we have VERY low humidity and short seasons. My phals have been with me some 7+ years and have, for the most part, done exceptionally given the torture they live through.

I moved in with my boyfriend recently who had several orchids (3 yrs old or so). His orchids have never rebloomed, but have limped along. The pic I've included is of his phal (still in its original pot!) that I wanted to try on S/H. It seems like it's already living on that sort of system on its own anyway. Does anyone have any opinions or tips? It isn't thriving as is (obviously) and I feel like a change might be ideal. It may inspire me (if it's a success) to experiment on my own orchids.


Thanks for the advice!

Definitely ready for repotting but it looks healthy.
I've not had great luck with semi-hydro with phals and I think there are 2 reasons. One was the hard water I had and an accumulation of mineral salts. The other was evaporative cooling. Phals like it warm. I had them on a seedling mat for awhile but they just did better in plain old bark mix. Some people have good luck with phals in sphag, but I get root rot.
The American Orchid society has a good video on how to repot phals. There are a lot of roots in the picture that need to be trimmed.
First Rays has great information especially on S/H.
But I have seen spectacular results with S/H for other people.
And welcome to OB! You will find a wealth of information here.

Opinions on S/H candidacy
 

I'm with Connie on this. Growing Phals in S/H is great if you live in a humid warm part of the country. Not so much if your area is cool & dry. As Connie said the evaporative cooling in the root zone doesn't make Phals very happy. Something in the Oncidium alliance would be perfectly happy with a cool root zone.

Bummer! I was so very excited about trying s/h. Our lows in the house at night are probably in the high 50s to mid 60s and they orchids are in a bright, but cool corner near windows.

It's so very stressful trying to figure out what is wrong with your orchids or how to best take care of them! It seems like there's not a lot of room for experimentation. It often seems like you only get one chance… And I hate to kill any of my orchids. Some are of sentimental value and can't be replaced (should have picked rocks to attach sentiment to!).

I am in dry Colorado and I have many phals in s/h. I did put many of them on a heat mat until they started to grow their own new roots in the media, but after that its been easy peasy. Easy to water and most of them are in bloom. I made the switch about Aug or Sept last year.

I am in frigid, dry Montana and have a half dozen Phals that thrive in S/H without heating mats. Night temps in winter 55-60. I also have Paph, Oncs, Catts, Dens, Max, Pot, Zygo and various hybrids in S/H. The container is important in S/H as well - my Paph would not like it in the same type of container the "dry between watering" orchids are in. Whenever I repot, the roots are in great condition unlike when I used bark based medium. Good luck!

We are in Mexico City, which is just starting to get a little humid; our autumns and winters are very dry, and it does get cool at night.
Personally, at home, we love S/H and our orchids do to!! We have Phals, Vanda, Dens, Cyms and Catts all doing great! They all survived the winter and have a lot of new growths just now... any time, we'll see them blossom!!

Try it on your Phal, preferably if it has new roots growing that will adapt easier. As someone mentioned, once their settled, is very easy to take care of them and avoid overwatering!! Try it!!

Here's a link to a new Facebook page we are starting with care tips in English, and we have a video in English about repotting in S/H. https://www.facebook.com/basicorchidcare
Please follow us!! :)

If I may make some comments about the video:

1. It is not the best timing to repot a blooming plant. One that is well past that stage, and starting to put out brand new root growth, is a much better candidate.
2. It is not absolutely necessary to remove every last bit of bark. The more the better, but I wouldn't bother with the tooth brush.
3. Broken and rotting roots do not need to be removed completely. Cutting just above the damaged area is often sufficient, and can lead to branching and more rapid acclimation.
4. Disinfecting and "cauterizing" the roots is also unnecessary. let the root system air dry for a few hours, and they will be fine.
5. It is better not to add fertilizer to the medium presoak; water with root-stimulating hormones, or just plain water, is much better. same is true immediately after potting.
6. A solid container with no drainage (i.e., two 0.25" holes in a sidewall) does not allow adequate flushing, and tends to favor just "topping up" the reservoir, which is a sure way to accelerate mineral buildup.

Completely agree with you!! The medium was broken down. It was a rescue Phal, was pretty bit up and had been neglected. :)