Plant Gel

[Flowerchildren]

Hi my Orchid friends. Has anybody ever heard of a plant gel that can be mixed in soil or by itself? It supposed to last any wheres from 5-7 years and is nontoxic and biodegradable. It cuts down on watering. Can something like this be used for Orchids? Has anybody used it for theirs? i like the idea that it is good for the roots and adds nutrients to the plants if I understand correctly. My only concern might be over-watering maybe. Has anybody tried this and used just plant gel only? I am thinking about using it for my other house plants. I just wonder how Orchids might fare or not with it.? One more question . What roots are they talking about (aka-air roots?) that do grow over the sides of the pot , for a sign that orchid needs re-potting.? I have a 6 inch orchid with an extremely long air root, but no signs of budding. I know Orchids have lower roots in the planting medium, but so far I had only re-potted one orchid myself , because the crown seemed to raised up and loose. It went back into same sized pot though. Still a novice here feeling her way, as I go. Would love to hear what you think on this and I will heed advice . Thanks in advance too.

[fooferdoggie]

usually orchids want to be watered often and not stay wet. most hose plants want to try out too. so watering less is usually not good idea.

[jkofferdahl]

I would think that such a gel, goo, or additive could do more damage than good. For it to work it would have to adhere itself to the roots, and thus cover the velamin. In doing this, such a gel is going to block air flow to the roots; most orchids depend upon air flow to the roots for them to stay healthy.

[estación seca]

I think you're referring to polyacrylamide gels. These are sold as dry granules, the size of large salt particles. When wet they absorb water, swelling up to many times their dry size. As the plant uses water in the soil the gel particles provide extra water, allowing longer periods of time between watering.

The idea is to add them to potting soil. Some people use them alone as medium for rooting cuttings.

Most epiphytic orchids are potted into coarser things like bark, LECA or cinders. The gel particles might clog the air spaces and lead to problems.

I have used them on other plants, and they work fine. I suspect they could work with terrestrial orchids such as Cymbidium, Habenaria and Phaius, but I haven't tried it. I wouldn't use them with epiphytic orchids in pots except in a controlled experiment.