Hello, repotting and S/H attempts in Idaho

[kkdcalgary]

Hi Orchidboard! I just moved from Hawai'i to Boise Idaho and I managed to bring a bunch of orchids with me (thank you kawamoto orchids for so graciously helping me ship!)

The orchids I currently have are:
# large Blc. Lawless Walkiire "The Ultimate"
# Maxillaria tenuifolia (4N)
# small Brs. Rex "Waiomao spotless"
# large Bc. maikai "mayumi"
# Den. aggregatum
# new small hwra. lava burst "puanini"
# new small Onc. twinkle "red fire"
# Epc Renee Marques "Tyler:"
# Epy. Serena Oneill (whew that's more than i thought i had)

The 'puanani' and 'red fire' I just bought while they finished flowering from a local nursery and the water drained brown when I first watered them. The lava burst 'puanani' (first pic) initially had some small root growth that slowed and the green root tips are now gone. I repotted it in hydroton and sphagnum since the root growth slowed. I was planning to do this quasi-semi-hydrotonically with a half inch of water each week which I assume will dry quickly in the boise climate.

The 'red fire' ended up being two separate plants (second pic), I've only had time to clean the roots and have it sitting in a wad of sphagnum, the left one has two happy new roots, the right, nothing. I was also planning to repot this into hydroton for S/H culture in a starbucks cup with holes in it.

The next two pics are of two coconut 4N orchids that I have potted together in hydroton. I repotted before there was root growth this year, which I'm not sure was wise, but it's been very hard keeping up with the moisture needs in boise and it's now in a S/H setup. The third is very shrivelled and sad, I have it sitting in a big bowl with the 'red fire' while I figure out what to do.. I sphag and bagged it but the roots kept growing mold, does that mean they're all no good??

The last, happily, is my first rebloom of a beautiful magenta cattleya called 'The Ultimate' - the ones at the nursery in hawai'i had multiple flowers on new growths, but I was pretty happy that it enjoyed the move.

My other orchids are doing ok-ish some better than others, but all have had new roots and new growths since I moved last fall luckily. The more I grow them the more I think it's not messing with them and dumb luck! I think the orchids are actually happier here because they were overly wet in honolulu and had poorer sun exposure. I'm also very type A and have to resist constantly repotting because I don't like how the roots are doing....

Any comments or advice on any of the above super welcome thanks for reading!

[Zoi2]

Hello and welcome to the OB.
Wow, Honolulu to Boise, was that a culture shock?
Joann

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

I'm not sure I can give much advise, other than that I grow some in lecca without it being proper S/H. Those sometimes get some water left in the bottom, other times I do it as a more conventional soak then drain. Both seem to work.

[magicatt]

Welcome to OB! Why would you leave Hawaii for Boise? If I made it to Hawaii I would NEVER leave!!

Well, if they are blooming you must be doing something right.

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by magicatt

Welcome to OB! Why would you leave Hawaii for Boise? If I made it to Hawaii I would NEVER leave!!

Well, if they are blooming you must be doing something right.

Living on an island presents unique but very real challenges. I looooooove Hawaii, been deployed to Guam and Diego Garcia... All were wonderful in their own right but wow, expensive and if the plane or ship doesn't come in, you go without.

Anyway, welcome to the mainland! I don't know how high Boise is, but as a fellow grower in Colorado, I imagine you're faced with some challenging conditions. What you're doing seems to be fine. Remember that humidity will be difficult for you. This isn't the dewy sweet air of Hawaii. Give your plants some time to adjust, and if possible, keep them warm, especially the roots.

[kkdcalgary]

Thanks everyone, I am from Canada actually and though Hawaii was amazing its nice to be back in the 'mainland'

[WhiteRabbit]

glad you found us!

[upnorthorchids]

Hi and welcome. I'm new here, too!

Nice collection you've got. I just have to ask, though ... what does "S/H" stand for? I assumed it might mean "Shade House", like for outdoor culture, but in one sentence I saw it in, I'm thinking maybe I'm wrong.

You're Onc. 'Red Fire' looks like it might do okay ... I only have one Onc, and it's a Sharry Baby -- which I've divided 4 times now. I find in my windowsill climate, they do better when I use a fine grade fir bark, rather than medium grade. (I try to repot more than every 2 years, too)

How does the hydroton seem to work? I've never heard it before, so that's something I'll be researching now. :-)

I'm happy to see you have a maxillaria tenuifolia as well! I sucessfully started a propagation of some "branches" of it without bagging. I think I remember using fine fir bark, mixed with a bit of sphagnum and a dash of perlite.

Bagging has worked the best for me on 2 Paphiopedilums that weren't growing bigger than 2 inch leaf spans. After 2 years in a bag one has bloomed, and the other is considerably bigger (they looked terrible on the upstairs windowsill, but hey... at least they bloomed, right?!) :-)

Cheers to you!
Adam~

[kkdcalgary]

Hi Adam

Hydroton is the same as leca and clay aggregate. It retains a very good amount of moisture but don't stay wet on the surface

S/h stands for semi hydroponic. Basically you get a pot without drain holes and make drain holes above the bottom so there is a bit of standing water at the bottom. There's tons of info abt it around the forum. I'm doing it because I can't keep up with some of the moisture needs of my plants here in Idaho

Karen

[marle]

I also live in Idaho close to Boise a small place called Emmett which is about 30 miles away from Boise.
Just became addicted to Phalea's about 1 year ago.
Now am trying to figure out how to post to this forum and having a heck of a time.
marle