SEMI-HYDROPONIC culture

[NancyG]

Has anyone tried this method? It sounds interresting. Just read an article in the latest Orchid magazine. The author was killing his orchids before trying this method. He's had alot of success. Their website is firstrays.com
Are there any pitfalls to this?
NancyG

[jerrymeola]

I grow most of my orchids commercially in hydroponic stones but most without the water tray that makes it true hydroponics.

This is because of the very heavy rainfalls I have in SW Florida.

I love the loose nature of the stones and the fact that they never deteriorate.

I do raise Phalaenopsis in hydro with a water saucer and love the results.

The advantage of hydroponics is even watering by the absorption of the stones. That makes it good for plants like Phals that like to be evenly moist.

A second advantage is that when using a clay pot and saucer you can see the degree of water in the pot by the color of the pot. Clay darkens when wet and lightens as it dries.

I do not especially like Oncidium types in hydro as the thin roots do not touch enough stones when first placed in the pot. If you want to try it use the smaller size stones.

Cattleya need to dry completely when grown this way but it is easy to do by waiting a few days after the pot looks totally dry. The roots easily push through the stones and grow very easy.

The biggest disadvantage of hydro is that newly planted orchids have a difficult time staying in the pot. I highly recommend pot clips.

I have used plastic pots and hydro with a saucer but did not like the results as well as when using clay.

[Dave]

I moved alot of my phals which were growing in bark to semi-hydroponic. and they seemed really happy. You do have to watch out for mineral and salt build ups when you fertilize.

[donkeymom]

I started growing a couple catts in semi-hydro using the clay balls. I think I tend to overwater my catts in bark. The catts in the clay balls do much better for me. I have a couple orchid pots with opennings on the side. I plugged the hole in the bottom of the pots, then filled with clay balls making sure place them carefully around the roots. When I water them, the water stays in the bottom inch below the holes in the side of the pots. That serves as a water reservoir for the balls above.

Then I saw a photo, I think Jerry's, of an orchid in a clear glass pot with clay balls. It occured to me that the clear glass would be good for keeping an eye on the roots. I found a couple square glass potpouri containers that were 4 inches wide at the top. I planted 2 catts in the clay balls. One of them was happy and growing new roots. The other had been attacked by my cat (the four legged, furry kind) and the roots were chewed off. Then, I put water in so I could see it in the bottom of the glass container. It's easy to see when they're dry when the pot is clear. So, I let them dry out, then put in more water until I see some pooling in the bottom of the pot. There are no holes in the side of the glass pots, but the clay balls allow in enough air. And more importantly for me, I can see when the water is gone and the balls have dried out. Both catts in the clear glass pots are doing well. The catt that suffered the cat attack is starting to grow new roots!

I water the orchids in the glass containers about half as often as the orchids in the pots with holes in the sides. I found the glass potpouri containers at WalMart for less than $2 each. They have tapered walls, so I should be able to easily remove the plants and clay balls when they need to be repotted.

[LLW]

I have moved all of my orchids to semi hydro and they all love it! The best part is I am less likely to overwater, which is something I am very guilty of. Lashelle

[linda_shel]

I am fairly new to semi hydro(only about 6 months), and have a couple of Cattleyas, and a lot of Dendrobiums in it. So far the biggest problem is the issue of them coming out of the pots when they are knocked around, as some of them have very short roots initially - not a big issue. Love the watering. Love how they are growing. They are heavier to move on the shelves(they are in trays of 6-8 pots). I plan on moving a lot more of my Cattleyas into semi hydro as soon as they start to grow....as I understand that they do best when they are potted when in growth.

[jay]

Linda - that is absolutely correct. The best time to move an orchid into semi-hydro is when they are in active growth.

The reason for this is that they are producing new roots that will be able to adapt to the new environment. Plants that are not in active growth will have the hardest time adapting and some will be lost. I currently have all of my orchids in S/H except for two Neo's that are waiting to show some active growth before moving into S/H.

Jay