s/h question

[exasperatus2002]

I had asked my local nursery earlier in the year, if they carried leca in stock since I didnt see it on their website so I can try to convert some of my collection over s/h. They said that they dont carry s/h supplies & dont recommend it. From their experience, the orchids seem to stall out after 1 year in the stuff. I had my only experience with s/h from a Psychopsis I bought in a 2" pot at a show. I had to repot it in bark since it outgrew the pot.

1. Has anyone had similar experiences like this while growing in s/h?
2. Do you notice a quicker growth rate using s/h over standard orchid mixes?
3. Do you tend to have less fungal problems with s/h since you can control the moisture levels better then with bark mixes?
4. Is there anything I should have asked that I didnt? there was something else I wanted to add but cant remember it at the moment.

[jay]

Well, I have only been using S/H for nearly a year. I have all of my orchids (except seedlings) in S/H. My first plants to go into S/H nearly a year ago are all in growth. My phal just finished flowering and is growing a new leaf. My Oncidium is putting it's 5th and 6th growths of the year out. And my 2 Catts are both in sheath, producing new growths and new roots.

I guess I will let you know at the end of the summer, or maybe next year. I know this doesn't help you now, but that is as far back as I have been using S/H.

[exasperatus2002]

*bump* How are your Catts doing in S/H?

[mehitabel]

Many of my catts in s/h went downhill over the winter. If they revived in the summer outdoors, they went back downhill the following winter. This happened for three winters.

My own opinion (may be worthless) is that summer, especially outdoors, is a forgiving time of year for orchids, while winters, especially indoor winters, are another matter entirely.

If you are going to switch over, I would wait til next spring, to give them longer to adapt to the s/h before they have to face a PA winter. We are very close to the end of summer right now.

[Ray]

I have had some of my plants in S/H for about 10 years. The keys to success are, at a minimum, threefold:

1. Water correctly so you flush thoroughly at each watering.
2. Water relatively frequently. In winter, with cooler temperatures, it may not look like you need to water as often, but the reservoir chemistry gets worse with time.
3. Be sure to compensate for (dry weather) evaporation by increasing the temperature. Some plants - notably phals - really dislike cold roots.

[elitebettas]

I'm experimenting with it and am amazed. I have a Neofinetia in it, a cymbidium in it, and a phal in it. ALL have started new roots right away. May be a coincidence with their growing season but i'm very pleased.

[grandmapenguin]

I am using S/H on about ten different Orchids. How long do you continue to use the same LECA
Do you throw it away like you would Bark when you repot? Do you repot
Terry

[Ray]

EB - when they are growing new roots is EXACTLY the right time to move a plant to S/H.

Root cells are "tailored" to the environment into which they grow, and once grown, do not change. Any time you repot a plant (s/h or otherwise) the new root zone environment is going to be different from the old one. If the two are similar - sphagnum to fresher, more airy sphagnum, but still fairly moist, for example - the plant just resumes where it left off. Sometimes, going from a soppy environment to S/H is a "step up" and the plants kick up their growth a notch as thje stressful situation was alleviated.

If the conditions are drastically different however - a cattleya moving from straight bark into S/H, for example - the roots that have grown in the "dry" conditions will be poorly suited to function well in the "wet" environment. In that case, those roots might begin to be stressed, the plant can produce phenols to "fight" whatever is "attacking" and causing the stress, and unfortunately, that kills the roots as well.

If the plant is growing new roots, they take over and support the plant (they are growing tailored to that environment, so there is no stress on them), while the old roots fade away. If the plants doesn't have an emerging root system, the plant will appear to go downhill for quite a while, until is does. Keeping such a plant in a warm, shady, very humid environment keeps it in minimal stress until that happens.

Those are basically the two ends of the repotting scenario spectrum, and everything in-between happens, as well. If you plan ahead, or when you cannot (the current medium is so bad it threatens to take out the existing roots), you react accordingly, you can deal with all situations.

One caveat: DO NOT think of semi-hydroponics as a means of saving a badly deteriorated plant (I hear that myth a lot). Chances are that one will pot up the sickly creature and apply the low-stress conditions I described above, and THAT is likely what gave the plant the opportunity to recover. Folks who don't do that, then lose the plant, blame it on S/H, which demonstrates a lack of understanding about plants and culture (and S/H).

[Ray]

Grandma,

You need to repot when the plant outgrows its current container, at a minimum.

All potting materials build up minerals over time, but the degree of buildup depends upon the particular brand of LECA you use, and your watering and feeding regimen. LECA doesn't ever decompose, so that's really the only thing you have to consider. If a plant that has been in S/H for a long time is declining, that's the first thing I'd consider.

I have some plants that have been in S/H for about 10 years. When moving up to a larger pot, I lift the root ball, medium and all, from the old pot, plop it into a larger one and fill in with fresh medium. I have a paph that has been in the same pot and LECA for 8 years.

Yes, you can reuse the stuff. My preparation technique is as follows:

1. Dump the medium into a tray, removing any organic materials you can easily see.
2. When it is fully dry, I "winnow" it by slowly dumping it from one container to another in a breeze, or through the blast of a fan. That usually gets rid of any tiny bits of dried, dead roots and the like.
3. I soak the material for a day in an excess of water (about 2-3 gallons of water per gallon of medium) containing about an ounce per 5 gallons Physan or a cup of chlorine bleach.
4. Soak for another day, but use about a tablespoon per gallon of Epsom Salts and/or calcium nitrate to help extract any mineral buildup.
5. I then resoak for about a day in plain water as a "final rinse", then it's ready to be reused.

Quite frankly, that might be "overkill", but it works for me.