Off a cliff? Opinions?

[Ray]

When I began visiting orchid societies to present what I knew then about S/H culture, a lot of growers decided to give it a try, but several added their own “twist”.

I think it is important to always flood the pots when you water. One, really good grower I know immediately switched over all of her phrags, with apparently great success. About three years in, she noticed several of them were declining - “going over a cliff”, I suppose.

That had not been my experience at all, so we compared notes, and it turns out she had merely been refilling the reservoir, not flooding (hence flushing) the pot, so the in-pot chemistry had become toxic.

Another thing a lot of growers don’t seem to grasp is that, despite how dilute the fertilizer solution, how frequently it is flooded, and how constantly-moist you can keep the medium, it still builds up minerals, wastes and biofilm. LECA may have a much longer lifespan than most other media, but it’s still finite and should be changed out periodically.

[WaterWitchin]

Well said, Ray.

[Grim Tuesday]

Michael seems like a really nice guy and I like his orchid videos. From my amateur eye there are two things he does that are not in the "standard" semihydro playbook. First, he only flushes "once or twice" a month and tops up the rest of the time. Which Ray often cautions against. Second, he uses a lot of containers with small top openings like jars. When he went through his plants that were doing worst it seemed to me that they were predominately the ones that were choking up the space at the top of his container. I wonder if him moving to new pots where the plants aren't so choked up could be contributing to his new success with organic media.

[early]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

Michael seems like a really nice guy and I like his orchid videos. From my amateur eye there are two things he does that are not in the "standard" semihydro playbook. First, he only flushes "once or twice" a month and tops up the rest of the time. Which Ray often cautions against. Second, he uses a lot of containers with small top openings like jars. When he went through his plants that were doing worst it seemed to me that they were predominately the ones that were choking up the space at the top of his container. I wonder if him moving to new pots where the plants aren't so choked up could be contributing to his new success with organic media.

I have not looked at Michaels video in about three years, but if I remember correctly, he was using all glass and drilling holes in it for S/H. too much trouble for me to start a new way to grow.

[Bamanana]

I started out in glass too. Couldn’t bear to look at all that algae and switched my containers out. Glad I discovered that early in my collection or that would have been a monumental task.

---------- Post added at 12:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

When I began visiting orchid societies to present what I knew then about S/H culture, a lot of growers decided to give it a try, but several added their own “twist”.

I think it is important to always flood the pots when you water. One, really good grower I know immediately switched over all of her phrags, with apparently great success. About three years in, she noticed several of them were declining - “going over a cliff”, I suppose.

That had not been my experience at all, so we compared notes, and it turns out she had merely been refilling the reservoir, not flooding (hence flushing) the pot, so the in-pot chemistry had become toxic.

Another thing a lot of growers don’t seem to grasp is that, despite how dilute the fertilizer solution, how frequently it is flooded, and how constantly-moist you can keep the medium, it still builds up minerals, wastes and biofilm. LECA may have a much longer lifespan than most other media, but it’s still finite and should be changed out periodically.

Ray: This is the very first time I’ve heard this about having to change out LECA eventually. Fore warned is fore armed (with knowledge) and I thank you!

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by Bamanana

I started out in glass too. Couldn’t bear to look at all that algae and switched my containers out. Glad I discovered that early in my collection or that would have been a monumental task.

I have noticed in my clear containers that the recent addition of Inocucor seems to have reduced the algae growth in the pot. Is this related? I don't know, but I like the results.

[SADE2020]

Whatever Dustin does, Michael follows and then Mss Orchid Girl...

Ummmh

For videos I'll probably stick with Denis and Anabel fron orchid room, at least they collect some data and test a lot with acceptable report.

Obviously Ray always help around here, and that is final words after all.