Anyone growing in straight hydroton balls?

[NYCorchidman]

I saw a large bag of small grade (pea size or slightly larger) hydroton balls at a local garden shop. It was cheap and I thought I could use that for some of my plants. don't even have to pay for shipping.

So I'm thinking of using straight hydroton balls for cattleyas and maybe phals also.
This is not going to be s/h, just regular watering.

How much water does hydroton hold? or will I have to be watering everyday?

Anyone with experience please give some advice.

Thanks in advance!

[ALToronto]

I have 3 catts growing in small hydroton. I started growing them s/h style, but they didn't like it, so I drilled holes at the bottom of the pots, and I'm letting them dry out between waterings.

I do water every day, using a spray bottle on stream setting, and I alternate fertilizer and plain RO water, every other day. They have perked up since I started letting them dry out.

[Silje]

I grow most of my cattleya alliance plants in leca/hydroton as well. I'm going to try a couple of NOID phals as well. My greenhouse is fairly wet and I need something fast draining. For me it's the easiest way to keep cattleya roots happy. I don't water every day, but the misting system in the greenhouse still provide them with some moisture, without soaking them. And like ALtoronto I find that the catts are happier this way than they were in s/h with leca.

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[stefpix]

I am too. Mostly LECA in net pots inserted in a clay or plastic pot. works best for me. I used hydroton but recently i found another brand at a store in Bay Ridge Brooklyn and I think it is better than hydroton. It is more dark brown than reddish brown and it is faster at absorbing water when I soak it the first time

[tucker85]

I've grown cattleyas and encyclias in straight Hydroton (LECA), with very good results. My phals didn't seem to like it and I moved them back to bark or coconut husk. The company that made Hydroton has gone out of business but there are some other manufacturers. Their products look a little different, not as uniform. I've used several of them and they all seem to work well. Here, in South Florida, most growers use some kind of LECA or rock media because organic mixes break down way too fast in our hot, humid weather and the result is root rot.

[Brooke]

I also use LECA for all of my Catts and usually have to water them every fourth or fifth day depending on the season. If you thoroughly water the container you can tell by the "damp" look to the clay pot. When the pot is a uniform color, I water again.

I know someone who grows their Phals in clear slotted pots and she says in her ESE window, they need watering again every third day.

Brooke

[NYCorchidman]

Thank you so much for your input, everyone! greatly appreciated.

I'm planning to use large plastic pots and buy that large bag of small hydroton. It was like $8 and I think I could use the hole bag for a few of my catts.

All my catts are in large bark mix. They look really dry but when I accidently knocked one pot off and saw how "moist" the center was, I was quite shocked.
Since then, I've been looking for an alternative potting mix for them.

Thanks again!