I took the plunge into s/h

[hera]

I made the switch to s/h for a Phrag Grouville, Phal Taisuco Yukidian and a Phal noid. I've been wanting to try this for some time and have read the entries on this forum for advise. I found Hydroton at a Hydroponic store nearby and I used Rubbermaid containers for food storage. The other noid phal is still in bark to use as a comparison. I'm hoping for good results. When I repotted the phrag the medium smelled bad (coco chunks). It loves sitting in water and has grown well up to this point. The phals have been slower to grow, and this seemed like a good time to try the new medium. I'll post pics periodically to document.

[patlee]

Hera, I'm see-sawing between S/H and just mounting my orchids. I loooove phals and they comprise the majority of my collection. Lately, though, I have been steering away from the larger phals and have moved to the minis or compact growers. Since you have a couple of phals going,both in S/H and also in bark, I'd be very interested in following you experiments. Please post pics and let us know how your phals are doing... Good growing!!

BTW, my husband has couple of phrags and I'd also like to see updates on how yours is coming along...

[hera]

Update of my chids in s/h. Check out the root growth! The first one is den Cathy Beck. The light green growth is new just since I transfered it to s/h.

[jay]

Congrats and great growing. It seems like you like S/H.

[Tom F]

Looks like very good results.

[englandfx]

Your orchids do look very satisfied being in S/H.

I think I might try that..... if only I had LECA.
I wonder if there is anything other than LECA you can use to do S/H

[LouisW]

I have also seen large perlite used but that breaks down eventualy. Hydroton is the way to go I think.

[hulaorchid]

I am going to try S/H, Just can't find my stinking dremel tool! lol

[Blueszz]

Originally Posted by hera

Update of my chids in s/h. Check out the root growth! The first one is den Cathy Beck. The light green growth is new just since I transfered it to s/h.

I want to say to you, despite the new growth, be careful and keep watching the roots! I transfered a few Phal's too and lucikly after three weeks I decided to look at the roots in the pot. Despite new green root tips what I saw was shocking. One plant I transfered had massive healthy roots when I transfered it to s/h. Three weeks later I had to remove half the of roots to cut away rot.
Remember, I too saw a lot of new growth on the roots!

I hadn't the guts to wait and see what would happen without interfering and cut away bad spots/roots and put it back in the medium I used before.
Keep watching it!

Nicole

[hera]

These have been in the medium for just under a year. One is spiking and both phals have shown tremendous growth. I've been slowly moving more of my collection to s/h, there are a few that I won't because of specific needs. I found that my phrags like a coco peat mix the best and did not do well in s/h. Could be due to the hard water we have here. I try to water the phrags with distilled water most of the time. My paphs are in bark and I won't transfer them even though I heard that they love it. If it ain't broke don't fix it.... The s/h has been good for the chids that I was overwatering or that I couldn't keep moist enough. I'm now trying it on my oncidium hybrids. So far looks promising. I usually do sphag for them.

One thing, I do flush the pots at least once a month. So far that has been suficient. I use a weak solution of MSU for tap water to fertilize.

[jay]

Bluezz - I had a problem like this with a Phal and an Oncidium type orchid. What I found was my problem was lack of air circulation. Without the constant air movement, the air in the pot will go stale and allow for anaerobic bacteria which is rot.

Airflow, Airflow, Airflow.

[hera]

I do have a small fan blowing through the orchid area. I do think it has benefited them. I noticed a general perkup since I added it. I always read about air circulation, and having added it, I think it is beneficial. When the plants are respirating at night it keeps the air fresh.

[Ray]

Air access to the root system is usually only a problem if the medium is too small, allowing roots to block the channels too easily, if if the plant has simply filled the pot with roots.

I really don't think bacteria causes rot - there has to be tissue death before microorganisms can begin to decompose the tissue.

Two comments about the phal root issues mentioned above:

• Just because a root is showing active growth at the tip, does not mean that root will successfully become adapted to the new environment. The older part of the root might simply be adapted to conditions too different from the new one, and will not change, so may bite the dust. That's why I recommend looking for the growth of new rots, not just new growth on the existing ones.

• Even though this may apply to all plants, phals are particularly sensitive to having their roots be too cool, and folks often underestimate the amount of evaporative cooling that may occur from the moist LECA with such an airy environment. That is particularly the case with plants grown in a dry home, where the RH accelerates the evaporation. I followed the advice of another grower on another forum, and began using bottom heat for all new transplants, and they get established a lot faster.

[hera]

Ray

Have you determined an optimum temp for the heat mat?