Will My Semi-Hydro Orchids Grow Just As Well As Those In Traditional Media?

[Edew]

Hi all!
I am about 2 years into growing orchids in Semi-Hydro. So far, it has been a life-saver. I live in the Northeastern US where winters are cold and indoors have practically 0% humidity. Before, I used to keep my orchids in bark or moss and when winter came, I constantly had to run to the sink to water the thirsty babies. Now with semi-hydro, I can go a week! It allowed me to keep more orchids hehe 😎

I have 3 Phals spiking now that are in semi-hydro with tons of roots. All the orchids I put into semi-hydro have taken off. Catts, Dens, you name it! I do regular flushes, use heating mats for Phals in winter, and try to abide by all the rules of semi-hydro.

However, I got nervous after stumbling upon a post by a Canadian grower:

The Down Side to Semi Hydro (S/H) and Full Water Culture (FWC) for Orchid Care >> Here—But Not

He claims that orchids grown in semi-hydro do not perform as well as their organic media counterparts. He says the wet/dry cycle they receive in nature is not available in semi-hydro. (I do let my leca dry out a bit, so I think mine technically still get a slight wet/dry cycle)

He also says that orchids in traditional media will always outperform those in semi-hydro. They will have more leaves and roots. (It does sound like he tried semi-hydro when he was new to orchid growing so perhaps that caused the issue?)

So my question is:
How have your orchids done after being grown in semi-hydro for awhile? Are they just as strong as traditional media orchids? Do they produce a lot of flowers, leaves, roots?

I know it sounds silly, but he sowed a small seed of doubt and I am seeking some reassurance 😅 Thanks!

[Subrosa]

Most of my 150+ orchids are in s/h, and many have been for about 5 years. For my conditions it has proven a better way for all but a very few types, namely Gongora and Vanda. I wish I had screen shotted some of the conversations I've had after telling people that I kept a Cattleya nobilior in a standard pot full of leca in a tray with about 2" of water in it 24/7/365! About a year and a half ago I finally got it into a standard s/h pot, but it and the others I've obtained are still watered regularly all winter long. In case you aren't aware, everyone "knows" that nobilior requires a dry winter rest or they rot.

[Ray]

I've read some of his musings on Facebook, and he seems to totally disregard the "minor detail" that his growing conditions and watering habits may not be appropriate for the plants he tried in the technique.

He also made several assumptions that are just plain incorrect, another indicator that his knowledge on the subject is limited.

My oldest plant in S/H has been growing that way about 20 years - a phragmipedium that I have divided into 3 or 4 good-size plants every 2-3 years in that time period. I'd have some longer, except for a greenhouse heater failure on a 7°F night.

[WaterWitchin]

I've read that guy's stuff. Meh. What Ray says.

I slowly switched over everything I grow to S/H. Is there a transition period? Sure. I even had a few I switched over, switched back to bark, then back to S/H. Did that delay my success? Of course it did. I'm not a fussy over plants kind of person. The easier watering, less worrying about watering, etc., were lifesavers for me.

When one has grown orchids for years on a bark-based medium, there's certainly a learning curve for success in S/H. It's a matter of re-learning how to culture one's plants. Everything I grow, sometimes 100 plus, sometimes around 75, are in S/H for over six years for the most part. I've forgotten how to grow in bark medium... when I try, it's a real PITA.

I would expand more on this, but my beloved husband would like dinner in the near future. Would be happy to come back and expound more later.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Ray

I've read some of his musings on Facebook, and he seems to totally disregard the "minor detail" that his growing conditions and watering habits may not be appropriate for the plants he tried in the technique.

He also made several assumptions that are just plain incorrect, another indicator that his knowledge on the subject is limited.

My oldest plant in S/H has been growing that way about 20 years - a phragmipedium that I have divided into 3 or 4 good-size plants every 2-3 years in that time period. I'd have some longer, except for a greenhouse heater failure on a 7°F night.

The bright red Encyclia bracteata that used to be your logo.....I remember!

[Orchidking]

When it comes to semi-hydro the term could mean so many things and what it actually seems to refer to when you google it on youtube is certainly not semi-hydro to me so the name is not very accurate to describe just placing roots in water.

Some people on here say they have been using semi-hydro for years but when interpreting this most likely they have been using a wicking semi hydro method with clay pebbles, not a pure semi-hydro method which is basically just plain unfertilized tap water.
The reason I say this is because I have not seen anyone successfully use the traditional semi-hydro method for longer than 2 years. The video's all mention that the roots will rot initially when placed in water and new roots will grow adapted to growing in water. That is one way to look at it - the other is that roots eventually rot in water and new ones will grow and the cycle will repeat over and over.

It does work - the plants stay alive and it is such an easy system. For that reason if it makes things easier then why not use it.

I personally won't want to risk my plants rotting away completely eventually - with cheap phals it doesn't matter too much if they need to be replaced every 2 years but some plants are more expensive - take ages to grow and are not worth risking bad conditions.

That said I do use the semi hydro wicking method which ensures roots are in constantly damp clay pebbles but never directly in water. These pots can go a whole month without watering and no issue with rotting roots so best of both worlds.

I have not found a dry/wet cycle to be needed - constantly wet without rotting has provided the fastest growth for me - the tricky part is the not rotting - that is the main and most beneficial reason for letting roots dry out between waterings for me.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Orchidking

When it comes to semi-hydro the term could mean so many things and what it actually seems to refer to when you google it on youtube is certainly not semi-hydro to me so the name is not very accurate to describe just placing roots in water.

Some people on here say they have been using semi-hydro for years but when interpreting this most likely they have been using a wicking semi hydro method with clay pebbles, not a pure semi-hydro method which is basically just plain unfertilized tap water.
The reason I say this is because I have not seen anyone successfully use the traditional semi-hydro method for longer than 2 years. The video's all mention that the roots will rot initially when placed in water and new roots will grow adapted to growing in water. That is one way to look at it - the other is that roots eventually rot in water and new ones will grow and the cycle will repeat over and over.

It does work - the plants stay alive and it is such an easy system. For that reason if it makes things easier then why not use it.

I personally won't want to risk my plants rotting away completely eventually - with cheap phals it doesn't matter too much if they need to be replaced every 2 years but some plants are more expensive - take ages to grow and are not worth risking bad conditions.

That said I do use the semi hydro wicking method which ensures roots are in constantly damp clay pebbles but never directly in water. These pots can go a whole month without watering and no issue with rotting roots so best of both worlds.

I have not found a dry/wet cycle to be needed - constantly wet without rotting has provided the fastest growth for me - the tricky part is the not rotting - that is the main and most beneficial reason for letting roots dry out between waterings for me.

I believe you're confusing semi-hydroponic culture with water culture.

[Clawhammer]

I am pretty sure the term semi hydroponics was coined by Ray over 20 years ago. Not trying to argue semantics but giving credit where credit is due.

[Roberta]

Ray did coin the term, and it refers to some specific conditions. There's a detailed explanation on Ray's website - go to the source for authoritative information, rather than taking other people's interpretation of the concepts:
Semi-Hydroponics™ >> First Rays LLC

[Ray]

Back in early 1982, my job changed and I began traveling in the US & Canada 6-7 days a week. It is quite difficult taking care of plants when you're not there, and automated watering with traditional media is hit-and-miss. 3.5 years and an average of 13 flights per week later I was transferred to corporate HQ and my job changed again, requiring several 3- to 4-week trips per year to Central and South America, Japan & China, with Australia or Europe thrown in periodically.

There was an AOS Buletin article about sprouting cymbidium back-bulbs in perlite with a standing reservoir that got me to thinking about modifying the technique for regular culture. After several experiments, my current setup of LECA in a converted plastic container came to be.

Besides sharing the results of a lot of experimentation and know-how, my two biggest contributions to the culture technique were the pot design and the name, which I coined as an attempt to differentiate it from active hydroponic techniques. That was abut 30 years ago, and since then I have had to continually fight the claims by some that S/H is "the best", or "only" way to grow, and that "it won't work for [this particular] plant".

Folks seem to forget that the rest of your cultural parameters and how well they fit with the S/H environment to meet the needs of the plant are far more significant than the S/H setup, itself. Most of the naysayers fall into that category, have never actually tried it at all, or show themselves to be less knowledgeable than they think by equating it with water culture.

The fact that others put out YouTube videos or explain the process differently is out of my control. I have tried to fight it, but what can one man do?