Using Hygrolon for wick watering

[birdybrain]

I'm not sure if this is really the right spot for this subject, but most of what I've done was originally inspired by Mossman's post here
Hygrolon prototype setup
With a hefty dose of inspiration from Pilot in this thread
Orchid Keeping Innovations

I had avoided pleuros due to their humidity requirements, but then I received one as a "free bonus plant" when ordering another orchid on ebay. Additionally, I received a couple different shipments of orchids (bulbos, onc twinkles & a den kingianum) not long before going out of town on a 4-5 day trip. So I decided to try some set ups with wick watering. Thus far the results have been excellent!

First my set up for the pleuro sclerophylla: I used a globe and inserted a cylinder of plastic canvas surrounded by Hydroton for aesthetics. I inserted a couple of hygrolon wicks through a medium sized Pot Filler (somewhat similar to ecoweb or a scouring pad), then covered the Pot Filler with hygrolon and set it on top of the Hydroton. I've never mounted a plant and I had absolutely no idea how to do it. The pleuro has about half it's roots sewn on to the top of the hygrolon with fishing line and the other half of the roots inserted into a slit between the hygrolon & the Pot Filler. The hygrolon stays nice & moist. It's been a few weeks since I set this up and the leaves still look as nice as when I received the plant.

All of this comes apart very easily, so I have yet to drill holes in the glass globe for it to drain like one of Ray's semi-hydro pots, but I intend to do this soon. Before going out of town I put in water up to the bottom of the Pot Filler and one of the photos shows that after a 4-5 day trip there was still plenty of water in the globe. That's one plant I won't have to worry about when I go on vacation

I had a little trouble finding info on how fast this orchid grows. It seems like I have a lot of room to fill and I'd like to add another moisture loving plant if the pleuro will leave room for it. If anyone has suggestions I'd be grateful.

[birdybrain]

Here are the other set ups where I used hygrolon as a wick.

I received the three bulbophyllum lasiochilum (dark) just a few days before my trip and wanted to insure they would stay moist while I was gone. They are simply laying on a bed of sphagnum in a tray with a sliver of hygrolon that extends from a separate tray of water & under the sphagnum. The sphagnum was still moist when I returned from my trip even though the water reservoir tray had run dry. Obviously longer trips will require a larger reservoir.

When potting up an Onc Twinkle a couple of the older psuedo bulbs separated from the rest. I wasn't sure if these would produce more bulbs for me, but wanted to try and wanted them to stay well hydrated while I was gone. I used a 16 oz deli container with slits cut in the side for 2 hygrolon wicks. I filled the deli container with hydroton and hygrolon, then covered with hygrolon that comes in contact with the top of the wicks. The roots of the pseudobulbs are inserted through slits in the hygrolon and this deli container is set into a 32 oz deli container that acts as the water reservior. The whole thing can be placed into a tall cover pot if it needs to look nice. It's been a few weeks and so far I have a total of 3 new growths from these 2 tiny, old psuedobulbs.

I read that Den Kingianum likes to stay moist, so I used a similar concept as above. Instead of hydroton I used sphagnum & large bark with a single long hygrolon wick that goes through both sides of the smaller deli container. This has stayed nicely moist without being overly wet and the keikis are continuing to grow nicely. Hopefully this set up will suit the kingianum.

You can also see that after filling the water reservoirs to the bottom of the smaller deli container that the hydroton/hygrolon and sphag/bark used about the same amount of water while I was away for 4-5 days. The water I put in before my trip actually lasted a total of 10 days, so set ups like this could really come in handy for people who aren't able to give frequent attention to moisture loving orchids.

Since I love the look of mounted orchids, but fear I won't be able to give them the frequent watering they need, my next experiment will be a self-watering hygrolon mount.

I'm seriously considering moving more of my orchids to hygrolon wick set ups just to make things easier, since my collection is fast approaching 100! My main concern is about fertilizing in a set up like this. I was thinking of misting the plants with fertilizer after reading that RJSquirrel does that with the orchids in RJars. If anyone has any suggestions or comments on how best to fertilize these guys, I'd love to hear them.

I hope these posts are as helpful to others as they have been fun for me to experiment with!

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[Ray]

I am conducting a few experiments too, using AquaWeb - a thicker version:

1) I wrapped a plastic container in the AquaWeb, with strips continuing over the top and into it. It is hung up in the greenhouse, with a plant mounted on the outside. Whenever I water, not only does the fabric get saturated, but the container fills, and wicking from it keeps the fabric moist longer.

2) In S/H pots, I have interspersed vertical strips of AquaWeb and EcoWeb, creating a moist, yet very open environment. So far, the paph in it seems to be doing well.

[Island Girl]

Birdybrain, and Ray, how has the mounting experiment worked out? This is really cool, thanks for sharing! Lol, wish I'd come across this before I left my chids for a week in this heat! lol

[Bud]

Very ingenious.
But you must religiously flush it out monthly or the algae will form and you also get rid of fertilizer crystal deposits and plant debris.

[Pilot]

Intriguing. Subscribing to this so please keep us updated! Ray do you sell this stuff?

[Island Girl]

Yea, he does, it's AquaWeb, and it's thicker (than Hygrolon)... He has a comparison test btwn the two products on his website as well. I haven't tried this material yet (either Rays, or the Hygrolon), but it looks cool, and I will definitely be getting some at some point.

[Tindomul]

Would love to see an update on this, great experiments!

[Ray]

The paph in the S/H pot is growing in vertical pieces of 1" square x 5" tall Ecobeb, interspersed with 5" tall, rolled up pieces of AquaMat. Some of the rolls have unrolled a bit.

The plant continues to grow well, and is putting out a spike.

The wrapped container was a failure, because I'm an idiot, and where I had it in the greenhouse did not allow it to get refilled..... Bone dry plants don't do so well. I will try again when I have the time to monitor it better, or build a version with a larger reservoir.