When to Water Phal. & Onc. in S/H?

[adlemsi]

I have recently transferred a few blooming size Phals. and a 3-4 seedling Onc. Sharry Baby 'Sweet Fragrance' compot into S/H. I was just wondering when I should water them? My regular routine is watering once a week. Should continue my weekly waterings or should I wait for the reservoir to be almost dry (maybe when the water level is about 1/4" high)? I know Oncidiums like to dry out a bit between waterings.

Also, I keep reading conflicting information about lighting when you transfer to S/H...should I put the recently S/H repotted orchids in a shady spot or bright indirect light?

Thanks in advanced

[Ranchnanny]

Adlmesi, I have all my orchids in s/h and I water once a week but you can wait until the res. is almost dry. That's what I like about s/h cause you can't overwater.
Some folks wait longer to water. As Ray says water weekly weakly (fertilizer)


Sheridan

[Ray]

Actually, I water my own collection at least a couple of times a week, no matter what the reservoir status is. I find it is better to water more frequently, as it returns the solution chemistry back to your target.

As the plant takes nutrients from the solution, it's chemistry changes. As the plant's respiration takes place primarily through it's roots, that changes it too.

[adlemsi]

Ranchnanny & Ray!

Ray do you use MSU every time you water or just once a week with plain water in between?

[Ray]

Every time I water.

My plants have been fed at every watering for about 15 years now - the last 5 with the MSU formula, Dyna-Gro before that.

[Learner]

Ray, Each time you water, do you close the S/H holes, flood the container, and then let it run out to reservoir level or do you just cap off the fluid loss to bring up the reservoir level?

[adlemsi]

Good question, Learner!

[Ray]

I just rapidly flood the pot with the solution, filling the pot rapidly to the top, and letting it drain.

I have several hundred plants in my collection, and if I tried to plug the holes of each one, it would take days to water them. Besides, if you plug the holes and fill it up, you are mixing the unknown residual solution with the fresh stuff. If you flood the way I do, most of that is flushed out, giving you a "cleaner" chemistry.