Water, Water everywhere! - Orchid Board

princesjess13 · #1 09-05-2017, 12:22 PM

Hello everyone,

I have decided over the weekend that I am switching to SH instead of bark. I am not having any luck with bark everything is rotting in my pots and I am just running into a brick wall.

I have also purchased a pH pen and TDC pen, I have found that my tap is running 8.1 and 350 ppm. I tested my Brita filter, that is running 6.5 and 250 ppm. I feel that this is also a big reason on why I am having so many issues.

So my question is, if I start buy distilled water, do I need to start adding Cal Mag to the water? Or should I just mix in a low dosage of MSU fertilizer around maybe 50 ppm?

Either way I have another question, should I also do a monthly flush with just pure distilled water?

I am very grateful for all the help that they board has given me so far. Thank you everyone, especially Ray for helping me with all my issues!

Ray · #2 09-05-2017, 01:41 PM

If you are using distilled or RO water, you will have to supply ALL of the nutrients, including the calcium and magnesium.

If the MSU formula is the RO one, adding a small amount with each watering is just fine (I've been using 25 ppm N for about 5 years). You are better off controlling with ppm N, not ppm TDS.

DO NOT trust your TDS meter to tell you the true dissolved solids content, unless you've actually calibrated it with solutions of known concentration.

princesjess13 · #3 09-05-2017, 01:44 PM

Thanks again, Ray. I should use the fertilizer calculator on your website to measure that out correct?

AnonYMouse · #4 09-05-2017, 05:12 PM

If your plants are currently rotting, S/H isn't a panacea. As a general rule, you should have new roots starting. Some plants don't care and take the switch easily, others not so much.

princesjess13 · #5 09-05-2017, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

If your plants are currently rotting, S/H isn't a panacea. As a general rule, you should have new roots starting. Some plants don't care and take the switch easily, others not so much.

I know it's not. Thankfully the ones I have switched had new roots at the base of the plant with new growth.

estación seca · #6 09-05-2017, 09:08 PM

Reverse osmosis water is often less expensive to buy at aquarium shops. Bring your own jugs or buckets. I might suggest trying that for a while. If you like it, you can get a reverse osmosis unit to pipe under a sink. This generally produces RO water that is still less expensive.

And you might consider collecting rain (or snow.) I know you don't get a lot, but we don't either, and I collect enough for all my orchids all year.

epiphyte78 · #7 09-06-2017, 03:46 AM

If you have trouble growing orchids in bark, then your problem might not be the bark. For example, imagine a nice guy in the UK named Chris trying to grow Epidendrum cinnabarinum outdoors year around in bark. The orchid doesn't grow, because it's in bark? There are other possibilities. For example, Epi cinanabarinum is a warm grower, while the UK isn't the warmest place. It's not going to grow very much outdoors in the UK no matter what medium it's in or how much it's watered. If it's in bark, watering it more frequently will simply facilitate the degradation of the bark. The bark rotting, in this case, really doesn't mean that the bark is the problem.

Chris says from personal experience that the best Echeveria for growing outdoors in the UK is rosea. So if Samantha struggles to grow Echeveria rosea outdoors in the same neighborhood as Chris, then this could lead us to believe that we can probably rule out temps as the problem. Which leaves other possibilities such as light, medium, humidity, nutrients, water quantity/quality or other.

If I had super amazing drawing skills, I'd exaggerate my point by drawing a bundled up Eskimo named Jessica in an igloo looking at her depressed Cattleya and saying, "Maybe the problem is the bark..." Or maybe she just needs to talk to/with her orchid more? What can she possibly tell her Cattleya to perk it up? "You've won an all-expense paid permanent vacation to Florida!" *PERK*

The beauty of orchids is that, with 30,000 species, and so many more hybrids, even if you do live in an igloo, there are suitable orchids.

katrina · #8 09-06-2017, 08:01 AM

I will also add that orchids do nothing fast. Based on the timeline of your other posts...you might not be giving your orchids the time the need to acclimate into their new medium/pots/home.

You won't see a dramatic turn-around in only a few weeks...and that is true in any medium chosen.

flowerpower · #9 09-10-2017, 06:01 AM

Semi hydro is just another option. It works for some where bark works for others. Try converting some orchids - a few different genera. Don't convert them all just in case you're not happy. Then assess what are the pros and cons for you and your situation.

For me, as an indoor home grower, S/H is among my favourite methods. Bark would be my last choice for a new orchid but for a lot of people it is their first choice. It's just another option and the orchids will usually be fine in either. Just go with your favourite method. I now avoid switching to S/H in winter but I think repotting in winter is not usually a good idea in any media (unless your orchid is out of season and becoming active at that time).