S/H and cold winters

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Ray

Is the reservoir 1/4 of the way from the bottom to the top or 1/4" deep?

Good question. I guess it can be read many ways.

[Fredmax]

My temps during the Winter challenge are 14c - 4c (54f - 40f), during this period I resort to a spray nozzle to trickle down the roots every 7 days and attempt to dry out the reservoir, having the leca constantly wet will kill the plants in short time.

My only real strategy in these conditions are to 'see them through' to the warmer weather and then re-establish the reservoir 1/4 from the bottom that gave such good results in Summer. I understood the wicking of this keeps the roots in constant moisture as the principal, which turns out to be the opposite of what I'm after in Winter.

[camille1585]

With such cool temps (do you mean in your growing area or outside??) S/H may not be the best choice for your environment. It sounds to me that you are trying very hard to force the method to work in the winter, when ideally S/H reservoirs shouldn't dry out at all. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to go back to (and stay with) organic media, unless you buy heating mats for all.

[Fredmax]

Originally Posted by camille1585

With such cool temps (do you mean in your growing area or outside??) S/H may not be the best choice for your environment. It sounds to me that you are trying very hard to force the method to work in the winter, when ideally S/H reservoirs shouldn't dry out at all. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to go back to (and stay with) organic media, unless you buy heating mats for all.

Thanks I think you've answered my question. I wasn't sure if there was something I was missing but these temps look to be a limiting factor without a fleet of heating mats, any moisture is tricky let alone constant moisture.

The temps are reflective of the lowest in my sunroom (when raining), it does improve but have learnt to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. When it becomes 33c (91f) at night the s/h is a godsend though.

I read a good article on a Canadian growers experience (herebutnot blog) who encountered challenges in their cold. He also brought my attention to the aerial roots growing away from the media which I wondered about as became the case on many of mine.

[Ray]

Be careful relying on info from the herebutnot blog. He’s real good at making and sharing misinterpretations that become misinformation.

For example, aerial roots in phalaenopsis are not “growing away” from the medium. In fact, they are “reaching” for a place to grab and anchor the plant to provide mechanical stability. When I grew phals in S/H (I don’t any longer due to winters without a greenhouse), I often put them into pots having a diameter equal to-, or greater than their leaf spans. Those aerial roots soon grew into the medium, farther out from the plant, reminding me of guy wires on an antenna tower.

[inga]

Fredmax, I grow all of my orchids in s/h. My summer temperatures are 30-40c and my winter temperatures sometimes are as low as 10-12c. I empty the reservoirs when the night temperatures drop to 16c and resume watering/flushing in Spring. I do give them a splash of water on sunny days (once or twice a month). So far so good, definitely not giving up s/h