I did it !!!

[articuno75]

I finally gathered enough courage and put one of my orchids in S/H! Wow! Now all I have to do is sit and wait and see if I did it right. Jay,,,,,,,I'm going to probably bug you a lot on this one.

I stuck my Neofinetia Shu Ten Nou in the S/H. I'm having LOTS of trouble keeping moisture in the house now and don't know why. Can't figure it out, it's worse now than it was in the dead of winter. The traditional spagh mound that it was in just kept drying out WAY TOO FAST. I think that because of this it put it into shock or something, cause it dropped a leaf. (The spagh kept getting bone dry before I could get back to it and water again. There suppose to be slightly damp now, maybe and little crunchy on the surface. Not crunchy all over and inside!) I was watering every two days. I'm hoping that maybe this will resolve the problem. We'll see. I'll post pics later to show you my handywork.

If this doesn't work out and I see any changes for the worse, I'll probably go back to the spagh and scratch my head some more.....

[PhalPal]

Jenny I am having the same problem with my spraghum. I have some species Phals in little 2.5 inch pots and they are bone dry in 24 hours. I will soak them in the morning and my mounts need more watering by evening or they will be crispy in the morning.

I'm going back to my coir/dynarock mix with them today when I re-pot my Oak Hill treasures. Under lights they stay moist three or four days, at least the larger pots will.

[FLaCo]

That is great news Jenny...what are you using as medium. Did i miss it on your original post?

[articuno75]

I'm using Hydroton. I bought it while back, then chickened out on using it. Now I'm using it.

[PhalPal]

I think I am going to try dynarock as S/H medium with an Oncidium. I read that it can be used and since I have it....you've given me courage Jenny. 1-2-3- JUMP!

[kazjak]

Way to go Jenny! You'll be happy you finally made the jump. I just moved a Stlma, Oncidium, and 2 more Phals to S/H last night. I'm considering moving recently purchased Maxillaria T. and Howeara Lava Burst 'Puanani" as well but I wanted to see some new root growth before attempting. I think you'll soon be dumping all your orchid pots for Deli containers soon!

[brookn]

I can't wait to see how it works out for you. I just bought some from Jerry, and I can't decide what to put in it. I think I am going to put the ambionensis in it, cause I read that they like to be well-watered. I'm excited for you.

[articuno75]

I was going to send you a PM about your Neos and the whole spagh fiasco to check up and see how they're doing. Here, I just can't keep up with the watering schedule on them. Going bananas over it. If it works out I'll put the other Neo that I have in it too.

I also have Oncidiums that are showing the effects of a desert dry house. (We've had a ton of rain here lately too. You'd think moisture and humidity would go up, not the opposite. ) Psbulbs are all wrinkly and prune-like. I know I'm not over watering....The Skewer said so. I water twice a week average, and well looks like I'm going to have to increase this. I'm just scared too because of the fear of OVERWATERING!

[articuno75]

Here is the pic of my dirty deed. I used a screw to punch the holes in the sides. I punched four, cause three just didn't seem to drain fast enough.

[brookn]

It looks good, the roots look healthy. Hopefully this will do the trick for you. I was gonna post a pic, but I have some finals and an essay tonight that I am currently avoiding finishing up. I also finally got that cold going around, I dodged it for months. Awful, this customer comes in the other day, and she is just coughing and coughing almost right in my face, my boss says after she leaves, go wash your hands, I did but I still got it. Started coughing the next day, and now I am miserable. I'll get a pic tonight of the Neos, and my kingie. I give up on the attachment thing though, from now on they will just have to be big, I sat and resized those Oak Hill ones today forever, just when I thought they were small enough, still too big. Argh.

[psyc1210]

Yay!!! I really love how hydroton looks. It just looks neat and clean. I have all my orchids in just Aliflor, not in s/h...but apparently everyone, except my sulking Dend are loving it, growing new roots like crazy

[FLaCo]

Hmm that looks interesting...I will try this on one of my Catt or maybe a Max T.

[jay]

Jenny - From what I see it looks pretty good. Just a couple of questions.

When you repotted it, did it have new or actively growing roots?
if not then it may take a little longer to adjust to S/H, but should still be fine.

Did you prepare the hydroton by soaking it overnight and rinsing thoroughly?
if not, then you will need to water more frequently for a week or so so that the hydroton can "fill up" with water. When you do water, pour quickly so the water reaches the top of the pot and then drains down to the reservoir. This will help flush out salt buildup.

Let me know if you have any questions. And congrats on taking the leap with S/H.

[articuno75]

Jay~ I soaked it for two days, is that too much? Reason is this stuff is DUSTY!!! The more I washed, the more residue I seen. I just soaked it forever and a day then rinsed it REALLY good.

Not in active growth that I can tell. Root growth anyway. It's spitting a new leaf at me, as with all my other orchids. Will keep the watering method in mind and follow it to the T.

Thanks for the encouragement

[jay]

Jenny - The soaking is for at least 24 hours, 2 days is great. That dust is what you want to get rid of.

As for the active growth, any new growths/leaves/roots will help it adjust to the new culture. One of my Neo's has started a new growth and both are putting out new leaves.

When do Neo's bloom and what is "Blooming Size"? These are my first two and am really looking forward to seeing and smelling them bloom.

[articuno75]

Depending on what you have, they can bloom in the spring or fall. Usually fall. Which one's do you have and how many growths?

[jay]

I have Shoutennou which has 1 growth with 7 leaves and 4 more growths varying from 2 leaves to 5 leaves.

I also have Suikaden, a bean leaf type, that has one large growth with 10 leaves and a growth starting its third leaf and a new growth developing its first leaf.

I bought them in the fall around Thanksgiving from Japan Town in San Francisco. I got them for $30 and $20 respectively.

[articuno75]

My ShuTenNou bloomed back in November. They're suppose to bloom in the Spring. Yours sounds like a blooming size to me. As for the Suikaden it too should bloom in the spring. It also sounds blooming size. I can say you got a good deal on both of them. I have found out that these can be tempormental and do whatever they want though

[patlee]

Give me a bit of time. I'm just curious about S/H right now. I actually never even heard of it until I joined the forum. I will be very interested to see what sort of progress your Neos make.

Please keep us posted with pics and all

[Miki]

Hi Jenny,
I am a big fan of Hydrotons too!
Just a word of warning: make sure your roots aren't touching the water reservoir. It is ok for the roots to go there themselves, I am just a bit concerned about your wicking distance, the container looks a bit short to me.
My rule of thumb- 1(diameter) : 1.25 (height of container approx.)

My other tip, to leave the reservoir empty after every watering (pour excess water out) for the first month or until new growth appear.

That is what works for me and my army of phals!

Happy growing & keep us posted!

[articuno75]

Miki~ Not to worry The roots aren't touching the water. I was really careful about that. The Neofinetia's roots are more towards the top. I don't know how to explain it. I laid the roots kind of sideways. Only one of them gave me fits