I've heard a lot of conflicting watering info regarding phals and was just wondering how everyone waters theirs.
Mine are in bark and I water them once a week by putting them under the tap for about 30 seconds and letting the water run through. I see other people dunk their pots in water for anywhere from 10-30 minutes per week, mist the roots, etc.
I have mine in bark, in plastic pots with water drainage, sitting in a prettier non-draining vase. So, yeah, I leave the pots intact as they are, fill to the top with water and let it sit, usually for about 30 minutes. Sometimes, I walk away and forget about it for an hour. Then, I drain and dump the water. I usually water about once a week, give or take. If they seem like they're drying out faster, more. I don't really mist the air roots.
The reason I will soak them rather than run the water through is because I'm never quite sure at what point the bark will be fully saturated with water and it just feels wasteful to let water run through the pot for a while.
First of all, let me preface this by saying the adage of "if you ask 10 gardeners how to grow something, you will get 10 different responses." Haha. This doubly applies to orchid-growing.
I personally am a fan of having my phals in large bark mix with charcoal and perlite. I almost always grow my phals in clear containers (sometimes I raid the recycling to make a new "pot" without having to buy one- college budget, you know). This being said, I wait until the roots get a silver color and the container gets lighter in weight. Then I have a bucket that I soak them in for 10-30 min (depending on when I remember to get them again). I mix whatever fertilizer or supplement into that soaking water. I don't tend to change the water between plants because I try to get as much use out of the water as I can and am not too worried about disease transmission- I can see when roots are going funky or if one is questionable, then I isolate it. I don't worry too much about it. This is only a hobby of mine, not my life's work, y'know?
Then if I think that the roots on the very top of the mix are silver and shriveling but the bottom is still green and damp, I will spray the tops of the containers to try and keep the top from drying out too much while waiting for the bottom to need watering.
When I had a dozen or so plants I had about pots that I'd take turns soaking them in for 20-30 minutes (often longer because I too would forget). But then my addiction took over and allowing each plant to soak on their own time is no longer practical. So for now - as it's winter - I spend 2-3 hours dragging them all to the bathroom and pouring water through them in the tub. When I fertilize I mix the solution using 4-6 gallon jugs, and like I said all of this takes several hours. I do this once a week, well okay I try but usually it's longer than that and yes some of my plants are suffering from my underwatering.
That said, come late spring - fall most of them will be going outside on the back deck. Once there I'll be able to water them with the hose. And I'm going to invest in one of those 3 gallon sprayers to use with fertilizer. Of course once outside there's also the rain and natural outdoor humidity.
I never used to worry too much about disease either. In fact last summer I used a bit storage tub to soak my Chids in especially when I fertilized. But then I had a scare with potential brown rot - didn't turn out to be - and I quickly regretted my soaking practices. Before I brought them all inside I treated them all with Physan 20, I'd rather avoid having to do that. Anywho those are my practices.
Some of my plants are on trays or resting in decorative none-draining pots so in between waterings I try to remember to add water to them. Should help.
I water them once per week, sometimes a little more in summer, but it doesn't get super hot here. I think that you don't have to be as paranoid about water as I am, but I'd rather err on the side of caution! I think I am overly worried, though.
I keep my phals in glass vases with no soil at all. I fill each vase once a week, let soak for an hour, then pour the solution into jugs. I use this water for my other plants. Jack
I keep my phals in glass vases with no soil at all. I fill each vase once a week, let soak for an hour, then pour the solution into jugs. I use this water for my other plants. Jack
Well this is different watering style. It's called semi-hydroponic, right? Or are you doing them totally bare root? Interesting!!
I don't think my oncidiums or paphs would enjoy that too much, though!!
I used to be the kind of person who would soak each plant for 30min to an hour in a bucket, about once a week on average. But it got to be too time consuming to fit in my busy schedule (about 3 hours to water everyone), and I was watering the orchids less and less. Needles to say they suffered, and between that and my mealie bug problems, I lost quite a few.
So now I water with a very frowned upon method but it works for me. Each plant sits in it's own saucer and to water I simply pour water through the top of the pot until there's a good half cm of water in the saucer. I adjust the amount depending on the season, so that it's taken up/evaporated in no more than 2-3 days. So yes my plants are sitting in water for an extended period of time, but they're quite happy this way, and so am I because watering now takes 20-30min a week!
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrid
Well this is different watering style. It's called semi-hydroponic, right? Or are you doing them totally bare root? Interesting!!
I don't think my oncidiums or paphs would enjoy that too much, though!!
No, that's not what's known as semi-hydroponic. It's just a way of growing plants bare root. I've usually heard of it to grow Vandas, so interesting to hear about it for other orchids.
__________________ Camille
Completely orchid obsessed and loving every minute of it....
I typically do the either the bucket soak for 30 minute method, or if it's a small pot, I just fill the saucer it's setting in and allow a couple of hours for the water/fertilizer to wick up the bark, before draining it.
Once every couple weeks, I take them to the sink and flush clean water through them.
Mine one phal is starting to get floppy leaves (well, actually both of them are) so I started watering them every 5-6 days instead of every 7, and I leave them sit in the sink full of water for about 10-30 mins, depending how much time I have.
Also I have read some conflicting info about watering them. some people say to let the roots/media dry out between watering, others say to water while it's still a bit moist. Thoughts?
How do you water your phals?
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