Benefit of water on Phals.(Cornell)

[jowben1]

I was wandering through the forum the other night,(into the next morning), and there was a link to a site that featured a study by Cornell University on the benefit on a lot of water for Phals. The results were pretty outstanding, but contradicted everything I have read here, and other sites. How would I go about retrieving this again? I'm sorry I didn't print it out at the time. Thanks, John

[lambelkip]

here's the old thread
and here's a direct link to the study. note that the study does not apply to leafless phals (such as braceana or wilsonii)
you may also want to check the semi-hydroponics forum.

and please do not post the same question twice

[orchidsamore]

I originally posted the study.

I pointed out that they used osmondo fiber in the study. This is hard and does not decompose. You would be fighting decaying medium with many other types.

S/H works wonders for Phals.

The problem with what you read here and other sites is that much is from hobbyist with limited numbers of plants for comparison and many just repeat what they have read.

I usually say to ask why the advice is given and like the use of Osmondo fiber in this study, you need to determine if it will work for you.

Most forum members recommend removing sphag on Phals. Most people have had a Phal die on them and it is an easy one parargraph answer. But I find most die from lack of water, shutting off the intake of water and then the next watering only wets the medium.

Most commercial growers use sphag exclusively, not so they die on you but because they grow better this way. I will not grow Phals any other way.

Phals do not like to dry out. A week dry can offset months of growth. Sphagnum has natural anti-fungal properties in long fiber sphag. However, the effect dissipates after about 6-9 months.

Phals grow extremely fast in sphag. I can take a seedling from a flask and flower it in 6-9 months. My losses are almost zero.

If you do not change the sphag as it ages you might have problems.

There are many factors behind why orchids are grown in a specific manner. Short one paragraph answers in a forum usually leaves something out that was assumed. Then the reader assumes something else and problems start.

Even when reasons are given it is easy to forget like here that the medium may not work when it is changed.

OrchidsAmore will be a vendor at your orchid society show in March. I probably can not be there personally since I have a major international show at Fairchild Gardens that weekend, but stop by and say hello to my team.

[RosieC]

One problem in places like this is that 'make sure it dries out between waterings' is a good way (in the vast majority of circumstances) for beginners to avoid killing their Phals, but for best growth there are other ways.

Problem is that those other ways generally need the grower to have more of a 'feel' for what is good and what is not.

It's something almost impossible to describe to someone... 'well you need to keep it moist, but don't water too much or leave the roots wet all the time'.

What! How on earth do I judge that?!... well now after a few years growing, and just over a year getting addicted, I am only just getting a grip on that, only just getting a feel for how much water is right.

As a beginner (and in my enviroment) the advise to always allow the medium to dry out has served me well. All my Phals are still alive (I'm unusual in not having killed any ... yet).

But now I'm starting to adapt what I do with them, and water more often... but I'm not sure how I would descibe how to judge that, even to the me of six months ago.

Add on to all that the fact that different mediums suit different watering habits and different enviroments, getting the balance right for you is something you can only learn with experience.

This means that the advice which is most useful to help people to avoid killing their Phals as they start out, is not necessarily the same as the way to get the best out of them.

[RosieC]

Another thing I have just realised.

Those of my phals which are still in the medium they came in are always alowed to dry out. I don't really trust the medium so I go on the cautious side to make sure they don't rot.

Once they have gone into my choice of medium, the one I trust and am comfortable with, and know how old it is, then I keep them more moist. I know the medium is airy enough, I know it's new enough, therefore I'm reasonably confident the roots will get enough air and won't rot.

[jowben1]

Thanks for the link, I printed it this time.And, thanks also for the detailed explanations. I think I understand the idea better now.Are more people leaning towards the SH method ?

[RosieC]

I've not tried SH myself but a lot of people here have had great success with it. Just take a look at our SH sub-forum and you will see lots of success stories. It's really tempting to give it a try.

[Ray]

If the medium is too compact for your growing environment, water is held in the gaps between the medium particles and fibers (the "macropores"), and blocks the air flow, potentially suffocating the roots. That's why we were all taught to "let the medium dry between waterings" - so those blockages are removed.

In fact, the key to growing orchids is maintaining a fresh air supply to the roots. If you can achieve that, how wet a medium is, is of no consequence.

[jowben1]

I potted up about 65 C.Jenmanni 'Joe's Babe' x self (from flask), the other day,(in compots). I have about 30 to 40 tiny plantlets left over that were too small for my fat fingers to work with. I placed them on Sphag. in a plastic bag. When they get larger I would like to try to start them in SH. Would I just place them on top of the SH medium, or use a thin layer of sphag, for a foothold. Or. am I crazy to do this in the first place???