Aloe Vera in S/H

[Gin]

I have a Maiden Hair fern in s/h by accident it grew out of one of the holes in a Phal s/h pot . I finally gave it a s/h pot of it's own . I have not had a maiden hair fern in the green house for 5 years maybe the spore came in with something else don't know what tho . Gin

[razka3]

Well, I stopped watering it for a while and let it completely dry out, then I watered again and dumped out the reservoir... and it seems to be doing quite well now, the new growth is nice and plump and green! That seems to be the trick - the watering.

[Ray]

I just picked up this thread after a long time, and want to clarify something: semi-hydroponics is the whole culture method, NOT the medium!

Growing something (like an aloe) in the medium, but letting it dry out is NOT growing it in s/h culture, it is merely the use of an inert medium for "normal" culture.

[snow]

i was just going to say the same
why go s/h if you are keeping it dry?
also potting medium is a lot cheaper. save the s/h stuff for some orchids

[Ray]

Actually Snow, as you never have to replace LECA, it is still less expensive to use in the long run, although I will agree that the payback period is a lot longer with potting soil than with orchid-growing media.

Just another comment on tropicals/houseplants in S/H - most take to it really well, and it really cuts down on the maintenance.

I have a friend who runs a business that provides foliage plants to offices and (rich folks') homes, and he has converted all of his stock to S/H using the Luwassa-type pot. The lady that manages the field workforce claims they have been able to nearly double their bookings without increasing the staff level, as they have to water far less frequently, and as the plants are never under undue stress, they see fewer ailments that require swap-outs. They bill $60k/month, so it must be doing well.