S/H water, condensation question

[VickiC]

Hi,
No, the pot's not leaking.....I just checked to be positive before I replied to you. I have most of my plants on a shelf outside on our covered back porch. Our outside temps lately have been ranging from about 85-95 degrees during the day. It's definitely been hot and some days and nights can get pretty humid. I also have a fan on those outside during the day, but my other orchids that are potted in S/H culture are not drying out near that soon.....maybe every week-10 days or so. The plant is a Phal and I don't have it sitting in quite as much light as some of the others are, either (Catts, Vandas, etc.), so that just adds to my "puzzlement" Anyway, if that particular pot continues to dry out as fast as yesterday-today, I'm gonna do as you suggested and simply water it again. Did you notice the condensation on the inside of the pot in the photo? I may even wait an extra day to water (as you also advised). Hey.....maybe I just have an unusually thirsty Phal. You know....a "water-hog". lol

I didn't water it today after I noticed that the pot was dry, so I'm anxious to see how it looks in the morn.

Thanks for your help!
Vicki

Originally Posted by rtsingleton

I'm semi new to S/H but one day seems very fast for the reservoir to be drying out. Any chance it is leaking somehow? My plants reach temps of 95 degrees in the gh but it is very humid but they retain water in the reservoir for at least two weeks. If they are emptying out this fast I do not believe it would be a bad thing to refill them as they go. If you are a bit nervous just give an extra day after they empty before filling again.

[Swamper]

Originally Posted by VickiC

I see now that your answer ("
I would not wait for the reservoir to become empty before watering") was meant as your reply to Swamper's question....not mine (duh). It all makes better sense now. lol I still have my new "watering concern", though.
Vicki

Ummm I don't think so Vicky, I had not asked my question yet

[VickiC]

Oh gee....what a mess....LOL....I'm always doin' funky stuff....you know ME (well, actually, I don't guess it's really that funny, eh?! )

Originally Posted by Swamper

Ummm I don't think so Vicky, I had not asked my question yet

[Swamper]

LOL you are too funny Vicky, go ahead and laugh, life is too short to take too seriously.

[snow]

vicky i do not see holes on the side of you,re pot. are the holes on the bottom? if so set you,re plant in a plant coaster and fill that up. that then will be you,re water reservoir; and should last a least a week. if the water is gone in less than 1 day; there is something wrong with you,re potting method. i hope i,m making sense

[Ray]

Sorry for not responding - I was away for a while, then got really swamped....

As to the frequency of watering, as far as I can tell, once the plants are fully established - in other words, their root systems are fully developed in the environment of the s/h pot conditions - it is impossible to water too frequently. Think about it: except for the few seconds the pot is full of nutrient solution, the before- and after-watering conditions are basically identical. I watered plants daily for 6 months as an experiment once, and they actually grew faster than the ones receiving a more typical watering frequency.

As to the reservoir seeming to empty too quickly, there are two things that could be affecting that. If the ambient conditions are perfect for rapid evaporation - warm temps, low RH, good air movement, and a pot with a large surface area - it could simply be that. However, the second possibility, and one more likely, is that the medium was not presoaked long enough, so is not fully saturated. Water it very frequently for now, and it will become so, and the apparent rate of liquid loss will diminish.

[VickiC]

Hi snow,
The reason you do not see holes in the pot is simply because the pot is turned around in the picture.....out of view of the camera. The pot does indeed have holes and I took another picture for you (attached).

I do have a couple of plants potted as you suggested.....in plastic containers with holes in the bottom on saucer-type containers which holds water all of the time. I've learned to treat them as I do my S/H pots when watering by flushing but being sure some water remains in the container the pot is sitting in.

You are certainly making sense, and most likely you are absolutely correct. I will try to figure out what I did wrong when I potted it. Hopefully, that will totally solve my problem.

Thank you for your input.....I will do as you have advised.
Vicki

Originally Posted by snow

vicky i do not see holes on the side of you,re pot. are the holes on the bottom? if so set you,re plant in a plant coaster and fill that up. that then will be you,re water reservoir; and should last a least a week. if the water is gone in less than 1 day; there is something wrong with you,re potting method. i hope i,m making sense

[VickiC]

Hi Ray,
No problem about your response time, I should be the one apologizing to you. I believe all of my issues are solved so now I have time to contact you and others who have replied to my questions.

I thought I had read through your site thoroughly, but I see now that I missed a part you said or just failed to comprehend it as I should have. The statement you made that I am speaking of is at: Presoaking Media
and it is:
So let's relate all of that to a couple of often-observed phenomena during the first weeks following potting up the plant, either "the medium doesn't wick well", or "the reservoir empties really quickly". They are actually both symptoms of the same thing - the medium trying to become fully saturated because it was not presoaked sufficiently before use.


I realize now that the problem was most likely me not having soaked the PrimeAgra as long as I should have. Some nights (not often, though) I am not able to get to bed until late but also on some mornings I wake up early.....especially if I have something to take care of that is "orchid related" Anyway, the undersoaking must have happened at one of the times I just mentioned, so it was my mistake. From now on, I plan to pay more attention to how long the PrimeAgra has soaked before I use it.

Thanks so much for your response. I always really appreciate you answering and explaining to me in detail.
Vicki

Originally Posted by Ray

Sorry for not responding - I was away for a while, then got really swamped....

As to the frequency of watering, as far as I can tell, once the plants are fully established - in other words, their root systems are fully developed in the environment of the s/h pot conditions - it is impossible to water too frequently. Think about it: except for the few seconds the pot is full of nutrient solution, the before- and after-watering conditions are basically identical. I watered plants daily for 6 months as an experiment once, and they actually grew faster than the ones receiving a more typical watering frequency.

As to the reservoir seeming to empty too quickly, there are two things that could be affecting that. If the ambient conditions are perfect for rapid evaporation - warm temps, low RH, good air movement, and a pot with a large surface area - it could simply be that. However, the second possibility, and one more likely, is that the medium was not presoaked long enough, so is not fully saturated. Water it very frequently for now, and it will become so, and the apparent rate of liquid loss will diminish.

[quiltergal]

If the PrimeAgra stops floating when you fill the pot it will have reached the saturation point. If it's still floating there is still air inside the medium, and it's not fully saturated. I let some PrimeAgra soak for a week once and I had no floaters when I potted it up.

[Ray]

I have potted up plants with the dry medium, but between the saturation issue and the flushing of residues, it's more hassle to water very frequently than to presoak the medium properly.