Aqua globes? Yay or nay?
 

I saw these things called aqua globes advertised on TV... Amazon.com: Colored Watering Globe and PlantNanny (TM) Set of 3: Patio, Lawn & Garden... said they keep a perfect water level in plants... but I'm wondering if anything like that would work on orchids... because I think the principle of that mechanism keeps the soil of the plant pretty much saturated... and if anyone who uses bark used it it would probably just run right through... but I could be wrong...

What do you guys think?


-Kat

I have seen them in garden shops and stuff and I think they are very pretty. However, I think I would be afraid to use them on my orchids.
Just my habit but I like checking all my plants daily, and this occurs mostly because of my need to check if they need water or misting.
If they self-watered, I might get lazy and not check them as often as I do. ;)
Also, allot of orchids benefit from being a little on the drier side of things rather then wet.
I would really be cautious of anything that took my ability to judge how much water to give away.

Those rely on capillarity to move the water throughout the potting medium. That can be by a wet particle passing on its moisture to a dry one in contact with it, or by surface tension, which moves the liquid from space to space between particles.

In soil, both processes occur readily, but especially the latter one, as the spaces between particles are really small. In orchid-growing media, it hardly occurs at all, as the open spaces are too large.

Likewise, many orchid media components don't absorb really well, so I would think that they would be slow to absorb, then pass on water, too.

On the other hand, if you grow in sphagnum, something like those water globes might be a great way too keep it moist without compressing it.

Good points, you guys. Ray, I agree with you about the sphag. But I would make sure that there was a deep layer of sphag at the bottom with no roots in it.. and that's where the aquaglobe's end would sit. because I wouldn't want to risk letting the ends of the roots sit in water like that--disaster!

But I think maybe if someone were going on a trip or something, they could repot to sphag and use the aquaglobe thing. :hmm

aqua globes
 

I've been reading about them in forums and on the web, there are some who love them and some who hate them?
Some claim they work, some are upset with them, and the prices are all over the place, from $14.95 for 4 to $36.95 for 2, lol.

Oncids and the like should love them,

Harry

Aquaglobes
 

I seen those things on infommericals also, like Ray mention it would be pretty difficult for coarse medium ( i.e. bark) to utilize the capillary action that would draw water out of the aquaglode as the plant's roots release oxygen. Another idea to keep the sphragnum moss from compressing would be too use volcanic rocks or hydroton mix in the moss to keep it from compressing on the roots.

I've seen those ads, too. While I can't give a good, scientific answer it would seem to me that their use promotes a constant moisture level in the soil/growing medium. Thus, in theory at least, orchid roots would never dry out. To me this seems like an invitation to root rot. They look kind of nice, but I don't think I'd use them for orchids or just basic house plants.

I always laugh at this commercial cause they say it works on "finnicky exotic plants" and then they show a phaleanopsis potted in what appears to be SOIL?? I think this would work if your orchids are in soil but.. since this is a big no-no then i wouldn't use it on traditonal bark mixes:twocents:

Pro's and Con's
 

I have used Aqua Globes with great success on a variety of my houseplants. From ivy to ferns to yucca. I HIGHLY recommend them for those easy-to-grow, low-maintenance potted plants.
The price differences are due to sizes in the Aqua Globe, I always get the smaller sets of 4 because the bulbs are easy to hide behind the greenery of an arrangement.
They work (FYI) because as a planting medium dries out, it releases gasses. Those gasses enter the tube, pushing water down and out into the soil. As has already been mentioned in this thread, the water moves away from the globe's stem to the surrounding dry soil.
I have never had a problem with over-watering, or with root rot in any plant.
HOWEVER, I have NOT used them in my Orchids as of yet. If I do, I will post pics and results here to see what you guys think.

I have a couple of ideas of how to use an AquaGlobe with bark, so I will run a few experiments and get back with you guys here!

I think Ray was right and they work by capillary action. You can test this theory but sticking a sponge to the tip. As the water moves out of the globe, suction does indeed pull air into the globe to equalize the pressure. But, this is just my opinion.

They might work well for Pleurothallids in sphagnum since most like evenly moist moss at almost all time.