Beallara/aliceara orchid, what am i doing wrong?

[SundayGardener]

I can post pictures of mine in semi hydro tonight. It has new growth and new roots, so it seems to be transitioning well. Before semi hydro, I had it in a bark/perlite mix with moss on top.

Another thing that worked for me was using a fast draining medium, but then having essentially a reservoir below the root mass. This was for plants that had a wide but short root mass, and I had taller pots, so I put an inch or so of clay balls or lava rock on the bottom of the pot, then the orchid in its bark/perlite mix. I would keep water in a tray or saucer so that the clay would stay moist. The roots would also reach for the reservoir.

I've been getting hydroton locally, and small chunk lava rock at Home Depot. I don't know that lava rock is a good substitute for the clay, I'm using it with cattleyas. I know it retains some water, but I'm not seeing a lot of wicking action with lava rock. For one plant, unless it is a monster, you wouldn't need that much. I think that just sponge rock or perlite on its own is too wet? I also get the impression that growers in warm, humid climates use chunked coconut husk quite a bit because it can soak up and retain a lot of water. Kelly's sells a lot of mixes with coconut in them and by looking at the website, you might get ideas on a moisture retaining mix other than moss, if you don't like the moss.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by lauraeli

but are ypu suggesting i leave the pot standing in water? i think the moss would stay too wet that way.

Not at all. The business that "orchids must dry out between waterings" or that "water causes root rot" are myths.

Orchid roots need air flow around them to stay alive and functioning. If they have that air flow, being constantly wet is not an issue at all. If it was, most orchids would be extinct in the wild, where their habitats can be saturated for months.

Sphagnum, if watered from the top, will eventually compress and suffocate the roots. If allowed to wick up water from below, on the other hand, it will last a while and be a great medium for the plant.

Not really famiiliar with semihydro. Is that with the clay balls? i cant get those

You can't order online?

[Dollythehun]

If you soak the moss it compacts. If you dribble the water on top, it will soak into the moss without compacting, as it will with Ray's suggestion to stand it in water. I use moss for my Oncidium tribe, I often stand mine in water with no Ill effects. I also use clay pots, which keep the plants aerated and cool. Your problem, remember, is underwatering. With his solution, you cut the chances of forgetting to water.

[Puja]

This year, I started misting my oncidiums when the weather is hot and/or dry and they like it a lot. I've also switched one from pure bark to bark mixed with smaller (but not easily degradable) wood chips which seems to retain more water without getting soggy and it started throwing out two new growths at once.
But if your problem is forgetting to water, misting is probably not going to help.

As for the water causing root rot issue mentioned above, actually most plants can survive for weeks with their roots submerged in water (probably anything aside from succulents and some other exceptional categories, but speaking from personal experience; oak, pine, birch, elder, avocado, olive, rosemary) as long as the water is and remains clear, free of dead organic material that decomposes in it and kept at a suitable temperature. In the case of stagnant water the water needs to refreshed periodically. What causes root rot is 1. when organic matter in the water starts to decompose and the bacteria or fungus involved in the rotting process either release toxic material or propagate to a point where they damage your healthy plant too or 2. when anaerobic (= grow without oxygen) bacteria that live in the water get plenty of time to make themselves comfortable while the oxygen-requiring competition gets crowded out (such as your plant's roots) and then the same as above happens. Additionally stagnant water heats up easily which other types of dangerous organisms like to propagate in, though that is unlikely to be relevant in your situation.
Hence if you make sure not to meet those conditions above, like providing plenty of air flow, checking if the water in the saucer/tray is clear and making sure dead roots are not constantly hanging in water, there should be no problem having the roots submerged.

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[lauraeli]

thank you for all the replies everyone. I unpotted it and tried to replace the old moss with new moss and very quickly remembered why i didnt do that when i first got it. With this orchid its impossible to remove the moss without also removing the plants roots. I replaced some of it and moved it to a plastic pot. But theres just no way to replace even half of the moss without ripping most of the roots out with it.

However i did notice that the level of moisture was very even from the top of the pot all the way through to the center and bottom of the pot so knowing that, i do feel more comfortable watering it more than i was previously.

[SundayGardener]

Oh yes! Every oncidium I ever got was packed in moss and it takes forever to extricate them from the moss. I've used tweezers in the past, and I really soak the orchids to help separate the roots from the moss.

Originally Posted by lauraeli

thank you for all the replies everyone. I unpotted it and tried to replace the old moss with new moss and very quickly remembered why i didnt do that when i first got it. With this orchid its impossible to remove the moss without also removing the plants roots. I replaced some of it and moved it to a plastic pot. But theres just no way to replace even half of the moss without ripping most of the roots out with it.

However i did notice that the level of moisture was very even from the top of the pot all the way through to the center and bottom of the pot so knowing that, i do feel more comfortable watering it more than i was previously.

[Dollythehun]

You can also use your sink sprayer to dislodge moss. You don't have the remove every speck either.

[estación seca]

I don't remove the old moss that doesn't come out very easily. Old growths have old roots, which don't do much. They are locked in the old moss. New growths will make new roots into the new medium. I think ripping up the roots and potentially damaging the rhizome is more risky than leaving the old moss.

[aliceinwl]

I’ve also come to realize that completely extricating them from the old moss can do more harm than good. I have a Zygopetalum circling the drain due to an over enthusiastic extrication.

I likewise have trouble with the thirstier orchids. I don’t know if this is heresy, but I decided to overpot some of mine (including an Aliceara, a Beallara, and a couple Miltoniopsis). I’m coming up on a year with some of them and they’re doing great and happy with mostly getting watered weekly.

[Dollythehun]

I've done the same and I let some stand in water🤯. They grow well and bloom. So, whatever works for you (and gasp!) I also use moss and unglazed clay pots.