dehydration in lava rock and aliflor

[AnonYMouse]

Originally Posted by bethmarie

Most of mine came potted the same way, with large below and small on top. Are you growing indoors? Curious what plants you grow in lava/LECA and what your watering frequency looks like in these mediums.

I don't have any B, L, C nor any in the alliance potted up this way so not sure how helpful my experience will be for you.

I grow indoors with some under lights. Watering generally is me with a squirt or spray bottle, pointed onto the media.

My Neofinetias are in slotted/net pots and get watered 7-14 days apart this time of year. If they go long without, I soak them. They often sit on a large piece of lava and have smaller media (0.5 to 1.0cm) fill. In the Summer, they get squirted every couple of days and soaked once a week.

My Phals are mostly in LECA in two styles of ghetto plastic pots:

• The smaller species are in plastic stemless wine glasses with holes drilled in the bottom. They sit in bowls that are snug/fitted (I got lucky on the fit). I think the shape of the glass helps limit evaporation.

• The larger plants are in nested plastic beakers (16 oz.). The inner beaker has holes drilled in the bottom. I originally did this anticipating I was going to grow them S/H. When my cheap guinea chids failed, I went with conventional growing. The outer beaker functions as a drip catch and humidity tray now.

Both styles of pot get squirted every couple of days and soaked/filled one to two weeks apart (no condensation visible).

My Cyms are in LECA and pumice; 3 in taller plastic pots, one is rockin the nested beakers. They get a soak every 3-7 days and a passing squirt.

I have a Neo hybrid in chunky (3+cm) lava on top with smaller filler below in terra cotta and a Sedirea japonica in LECA in terra cotta. They get treated pretty much like the rest.

Disclaimer: I'm not very methodical, I don't keep logs or schedules, I don't have hard and fast rules I stick to. I do think that I've got to a state where I'm NOT having to react to anything all the time but I probably still have to react on occasion.

Your milage WILL vary.

[ALToronto]

Originally Posted by bethmarie

What genera do you have in lava, Al?

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Catts, oncidiums and mature phals. Phal seedlings don't do well in it.

I also keep phrags in lava rock in less wet semi-hydro, with drainage at 10-15 mm from the inside bottom of the pots. I also water them every day, until water comes out of the drainage hole.

[bethmarie]

Thank you all for your feedback.

I think the bottom line is I need to water more frequently. The grower that most of my lava-grown plants are in recommended once a week, but I think that's greenhouse-speak, since that's where all his growing takes place. In growing under lights-speak, it probably means more like every 5 days at a minimum.

[tucker85]

It's always a balance between water holding capacity and watering frequency. If you can water more often, that's usually the better choice. If your schedule doesn't allow for more frequent watering, you can increase the water holding capacity in several different ways. You can add a little bit of coconut husk chips or sphagnum moss to your mix. Another way to retain water is to stay with the same mix but to use a plastic pot instead of clay. Whichever culture practice you alter, do it gradually. Water a little more often or add a small amount of water retaining material. It takes time for orchids to adjust so it takes a while to know if the changes are achieving your goal. Good luck.