Quick Semi- Hydroponic Course

[Ray]

Actually, my phals are not in sphagnum any longer. They are in a mix of LECA and rock wool cubes, some in "traditional" culture and others in S/H pots with reservoirs.

Fact: semihydro failed after me trying many different things for literally years.

That does not mean that semi-hydro is bad. it means it's a bad fit for your growing conditions and tending habits.

There are lots of people who are quite successful with phals in S/H. There are plants I can grow in S/H that some others cannot, and there are plants others grow in S/H that I fail miserably at.

The fact that you have screencaps of all of these various conversations screams of paranoia.

Anyways, thanks to those who have said kind things about the blog and experience I've shared. I won't be replying to this thread because half of it has already been people making digs at my character and I've wasted too much time on this growing method as is.

Bye bye.

[Clawhammer]

If you want to grow a phal in S/H in anything less than very warm conditions use a heating matt.

There, debate solved. No reason to throw out a method that works wonderfully for most people and plants.

My favorite thing about my s/h plants? I never worry the plant sitter will mess up watering while I'm traveling.

[WaterWitchin]

Most of my phals are ones given to me by a friend who wanted them salvaged after being repeatedly given them. I salvage, grow them, and when they reach either spike or full bloom stage I send them to her house. She enjoys, then brings them back when she's finished. I have a couple mounted, around four or five that I bought that are more "special" type rather than grocery store/florist hybrid stuff. I don't use heat mats, and they do fine with winter temps around 68F and RH around 60%. Probably just difference in whatever little "tweaks" we do with them. Could they do better if warmer? Probably so... but every orchid I grow has to live in the same space; they either like it or go elsewhere.

I'd be very fine with you sticking around HereButNot. I think you add something to the conversation, and I like the Google spreadsheet you provided. It's fun to me that straight Orchiata follows along the path of LECA... it's about the only medium I had any success with when doing a different medium. That probably means something to me, but not sure what...need to think about that one. You could probably give some good advice/opinion to the many that come here having gotten the orchid bug via the Phal gateway.

I don't agree that the top of LECA in SH is dry within 24 hours. Unless it's a pretty low humidity environment, with a low-placed reservoir. Then, maybe so, but I don't grow that way. There's a lot of work-arounds for that issue IF it's the way you want to grow.

I think we're giving our OP Sade a lot of constructive things to think about, other than the misnomer of it being a "quick" study on doing SH.

Maybe you, HereButNow, could stick around and talk about how you grow and not knock other methods other than to say it doesn't work for you? Maybe you and Ray could carry on the sling-fest privately, if y'all desire. I think there's about enough "setting the record straight" that needs saying, other than continuing a p*ssing match which doesn't get us anywhere. I sure get it... y'all don't play well in the sandbox. Maybe both of you could contribute with how you grow, and leave the rest of it for a non-public venue? Just a thought.

[Shadeflower]

Hi HerebutNot,
I'm surprised to see you join. You have clearly felt wronged by the orchid community and overall I think the community can be quite hurtful at times. I've seen it too much myself which is a shame. We all like to grow orchids, what rubs me up the wrong way is someone telling someone they are not experienced enough to know what they are talking about. Even if it is true, first of all to an orchid grower, no matter who, that is quite hurtful. It gets thrown around too much. So what if someone gives out a bit of wrong info ( I mean yeah if someone recommends ice cubes then just give the right info, no need to tell them they are a beginner because of it...)
Secondly what is worse, that some wrong info gets posted which notoriously on a forum should be classed as "someone's opinion" and not necessarily "a fact" or to point out that someone's opinion is flawed thus making said person feel bad and not want to participate as much. Someone who has a higher reputation on a forum already holds more cred so just posting the right info is enough to steer everyone in the right direction without resorting to making said person feel bad.
And thirdly, in order to be able to tell someone they are not experienced enough, the person saying it would have to be the best orchid grower in the world but so far the people that do tend to say it I find are the people that at best seem a bit insecure about their abilities themselves. Again, this is something people can easily work out themselves over time and it doesn't need to be pointed out with arguments although it probably will always be a bit of a repeating cycle. Ie, someone calls someone a beginner and that person starts to think, who is he to call me a beginner and it just ends in resentments forming.
I know trolls do come along posting wrong info for the fun of it but honestly, in the time I have been registered here I have seen nobody post something intentionally bad. Sure there are plenty of things I think are wrong and I do question some members whether they even grow orchids sometimes but if I can figure that out then others can figure these things out easily for themselves too. People do not need to be spoon fed information. The great thing is that there has never been a time with more valid information about growing orchids. Before one needed an expensive lab to grow seeds. Now one can do it with a glove box and I recently saw a method that doesn't even need the glove box either that had great results.

Anyway just like lots of people don't really like to talk about politics, these discussions feel like a political debate, one candidate trying to impress with better lies than his opponent. It's just politics and there is a reason people are not that interested when it turns to politics.

Lets keep it with orchids. I for one would like to hear as many opinions as possible, to be able to make an informed decision. For that we need as many people who can contribute to the subject.

Ps: Justin, I just wanted to add that your phalaenopsis mariae was so impressive I have not been able to forget it since seeing it. That plant really stood out from your collection.

[here_butnot]

@WaterWitchin - yes, agreed. Would love to not actually talk about semihydro ever again. But...what brought this about was a post on this site calling me out about a post on my blog about my experience. SO...what ensued was me defending something I had written, along with all of the things that led up to my frustration on that topic. I wasn't the one who started this thread. I wasn't the one calling names. I truly don't care what other people do with their orchids. But for my audience, I share my experience and that got called under fire, here. SO... life goes on. They are just plants, but a fully-rounded view of their care, includes the opposition.


@Shadeflower - I don't actually have any issue with the orchid community. Obviously I'm not a fan of Ray at this point, but so what, he thinks I'm some fame chaser for the adoration of the millions of orchid people out there. lol. If I really felt wronged by this community I probably wouldn't have devoted so much time and effort writing about how I care for my plants, including flasking, sharing how I grow the seedlings, talking about pH and generally helping others grow their plants. If people don't want to talk about the politics of Semihydro...then...they should not go to my site, I guess? In my home I can talk about whatever I want, you know?

@Ray - given that you have stopped growing phals in sphagnum, I've removed that note from my article.

[SouthPark]

HBN's articles are really good. He did put a lot of work and nice effort into the articles.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by here_butnot

@WaterWitchin - yes, agreed. Would love to not actually talk about semihydro ever again. But...what brought this about was a post on this site calling me out about a post on my blog about my experience. SO...what ensued was me defending something I had written, along with all of the things that led up to my frustration on that topic. I wasn't the one who started this thread. I wasn't the one calling names. I truly don't care what other people do with their orchids. But for my audience, I share my experience and that got called under fire, here. SO... life goes on. They are just plants, but a fully-rounded view of their care, includes the opposition.


@Shadeflower - I don't actually have any issue with the orchid community. Obviously I'm not a fan of Ray at this point, but so what, he thinks I'm some fame chaser for the adoration of the millions of orchid people out there. lol. If I really felt wronged by this community I probably wouldn't have devoted so much time and effort writing about how I care for my plants, including flasking, sharing how I grow the seedlings, talking about pH and generally helping others grow their plants. If people don't want to talk about the politics of Semihydro...then...they should not go to my site, I guess? In my home I can talk about whatever I want, you know?

@Ray - given that you have stopped growing phals in sphagnum, I've removed that note from my article.

Dustin- Did you previously post here on OB fairly frequently under another handle, or did I make that up in my head?

[Ray]

Originally Posted by here_butnot

@Ray - given that you have stopped growing phals in sphagnum, I've removed that note from my article.

Thank you Justin.

I think that, overall, your postings and information are pretty good, but you might stress a bit more that orchid-growing is anything but "one size fits all" - as conditions vary so greatly from grower to grower, what works for one might not for another.

[here_butnot]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Dustin- Did you previously post here on OB fairly frequently under another handle, or did I make that up in my head?

Not on this forum. I used to be very active on the Orchid Geeks Forum back in 2011 - 2013, but I think that site has since been taken down, like many other forums.

[WaterWitchin]

So is your name Dustin or Justin, herebutnot? I'm confused.

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PS I thought it was Dustin...

---------- Post added at 10:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 AM ----------

Steve... It's called dementia. My daughter tests me all the time...