Hello IM, and welcome. I have one phal (of 5 total) in vase culture (or full water culture, I'm not sure what the right term is), and it's doing very well. When I first heard of this method I was incredulous, so had to run out and buy a cheap phal with a nice flower to try it out. This one was healthy to start with, so it might be a bit of a different situation. Here's how I've done it, I know there are different methods.
I removed all the potting medium, of course, then set the roots down into a pint jar, with the leaves resting on the rim. I had to prop the leaves up with chopsticks across the top (thanks Estacion Seca) for about the first six months. I started out filling the jar with water, up to the base of the leaves, every day, leaving it soak for about an hour, then draining it almost completely. Ambient humidity here is exceedingly dry. The roots quickly grew down to the bottom of the jar, and we graduated to a quart jar. When I got tired of looking at that it went into a 1+ liter vase with a narrow neck. That actually has been working great. Then I noticed that the roots seem quite happy resting in the bit of water in the bottom, so after the plant had grown a lot of roots that were accustomed to the water culture, I started leaving an inch or two of water in the bottom of the vase, and only doing the full soak and drain once a week. (Besides, I was getting a little tired and forgetful about the daily routine.) The stem is not anywhere close to this remaining water. I fertilize weekly/weakly, just fill the vase for an hour with the same solution the other phals are getting. I can highly recommend the addition of some of Ray's Kelpmax to encourage vigorous root growth.
I've had no problems with mold or fungus, but I keep the crown of the plant out of the soak, plus I water in the morning and everything here dries really fast. I wouldn't treat anything with a fungicide, I find that using any chemicals, especially on the roots, can do enough damage to the growth tip to stop it dead. I do get algae--constantly. About once a month I take the whole plant out of the vase, rinse it (the plant) well in plain water, and wash the vase with soap and water and a bottle brush before replacing the plant. The algae doesn't seem to hurt anything, it just gets unsightly. It also seems to be the blue-green type algae (maybe a bacterium?), a reminder of some of the first life on this miraculous planet of ours.
I don't know how this would work with more than a plant or two, or without a sink handy, but this plant is doing very well. It's bloomed every year, gets at least two new and nicely sized leaves each year, and keeps putting out new roots. It just generally does everything the phals in bark are doing, and it's fun to see those roots out where you can watch them. So yes, this can work, I'm now a believer!
Oh by the way, I'm one of those little old ladies, thank you for keeping language respectable here.
Happy gardening!
Well there you go!
Hybrid Mode
