Pot question (no not that kind )

[larryt]

Hi All,

As a newbie I have a question that I hope you veterans can help me with.

Today I added five new distressed orchids to my collection, 4 phals and 1 cat.
The eight that I bought 4 weeks ago seem to all be doing just fine.

To get to the point, my question is:

Two of the orchids came is pots with a reservoir in the bottom. The orchids are from better-gro. The tag says self watering orchids. There is a rubber drain plug that you can install and it tells you to add about one cup of water every two weeks. Other the the orchids loosing their blooms the plant and roots look really great.

My real question is would these be good pots to use LECA or sh

I have no idea what the pots look like inside and I would like to try LECA I thought these pots might work.

Has anyone seen or used this type of pot?

Best Regards,
Larry

[BGGraham1]

Can you get a pic of the pots, that might help a little. Although it sounds like the pots that African violets at the grocery store come in...

[larryt]

The pot has a better-gro tag on it. I believe they are something new that they are using. We received a few about two mos ago.

[larryt]

Dolce Planters

this is the mfg web site

[BGGraham1]

Interesting. They do have those cache pots that you get with the orchids at Hone Depot there, too.

I would say this is a question for Ray. With s/h, you do need a reservoir, but it seems that these may only have a small hole in the middle of the pot for the roots to soak up the water with.

Maybe if you re-post and use something like "s/h pot question" it will get Ray's attention and he can take a look.

[bearded orchid]

Originally Posted by BGGraham1

Interesting. They do have those cache pots that you get with the orchids at Hone Depot there, too.

I would say this is a question for Ray. With s/h, you do need a reservoir, but it seems that these may only have a small hole in the middle of the pot for the roots to soak up the water with.

Maybe if you re-post and use something like "s/h pot question" it will get Ray's attention and he can take a look.

Definitely check with Ray. You might give him a PM

[orchidea]

I can only say what I have learned from my own mistakes.....
I would NOT put a stressed plant into S/H.
I had much better results with S/H when I placed a healthy chid with new developing roots and growth into it.
We can always wait and see what Ray has to say, of course.....

[squire]

i use s/h... the only reason i wouldn't use these pots. Is because they are not see through.
If your new to s/h it is very helpful to have clear pots. this way if your plant looks unhealthy you cansee the condition of the roots(root ro0 can be an issue if your not careful)
otherwise it should be fine.
again ray is a demigod. PM him

[Ray]

ANY pot can be used for S/H culture, as long as there is a way to create a reservoir. A standard, bottom-draining pot standing in a tray of liquid can work.

Opaque pots don't offer you the ability to check the water level, as squire's comment suggested, and without knowing the internal working of that pot, it's hard to say how you'd control the liquid depth. One potential problem is that the instructions appear to want you to only "top up" the reservoir periodically, and with no way to adequately flush the medium, you'll accelerate the fertilizer mineral and plant waste buildup.

I also agree 100% with orchidea's comment about trying to use S/H to "save" a plant. ANY repotting process is stressful to a plant; S/H can - in some cases - be even more so. Putting a stressed plant into s/h culture for the first time can be fatal. Not always, but it's ac asking for trouble.