Orchids in full hydroponics
 

Does anyone have any experience growing orchids in straight-up hydroponics (NOT S/H)? I'm thinking of moving my plants from S/H to a flood-and-drain hydroponic system with a large reservoir to make it easier to keep them watered when I travel.

This is similar to what people are calling water-culture using vases. It should work if you can get the flood interval correct for each kind of orchid you grow. Some species will need to dry out more than others, so their flood interval will need to be longer, I would think.

Just speculation , though, as I know very little about full hydroponics.

A woman at our Orchid Society grows all her orchids in full hydroponics and her orchids are fabulous. A couple of years ago, she did a presentation to our OS about it. It can definitely be done. I do not remember too much of the presentation but I do remember that aeration is very important if the orchid's roots are going to sit in water for any length of time.

If only she had an account on here! I was thinking of still using the LECA pellets I have from S/H.

I have a Phal in Aquaponics. It is growing really well out the back of my fish tank. hydroponics could work for many orchids I bet. I like S/H it is easy and less mess.

Can you share a picture of your set up?

This is the second time this week I've heard of phals in aquarium water. I guess they can work with harder water well enough. Very interesting!

Of course an active hydroponic system would work, but there are a couple of issues that make me wary.

First is that fact that by sharing a large reservoir among several plants, you have the ideal way of sharing plant pathogens. Second is the plants' effect on the recirculated liquid.

With the combination of watering and flushing in a static hydroponic setup, the reservoir contents is replaced every time you water, eliminating plant wastes and minerals. In the active system, you'd either have to monitor and adjust that, or do a wholesale replacement fairly frequently.

Ray, thanks for bringing up your concerns.

1. Do you think a regular application of Physan (or something similar) would help (enough) with the pathogens?
2. I'm not sure how I would measure plant wastes but I was thinking of using EC and pH to determine when to figure out when to top off or replace the solution. Is there anything else you suggest I measure?

Hi Peloric, I looked into hydroponics for orchids, main problem seems to be virus transmission. Physan won't touch that. I have one phal in full water culture, it's doing great, but it's by itself and gets individual attention! Our local hydroponics store has one orchid in a flood/drain system, along with some other plants. The orchid looks healthy, but isn't getting the right conditions to bloom. There aren't any other orchids in with it to share diseases.
I think the orchid virus problem is the limiting factor here. Let us know if you give it a try anyhow!