A little Test on new plants going S/H

[Bob2741]

I tried a test on 4 orchids that I wasChanging To S/H

I used PA in 2 as media and another product that was cheaper and suppose to be Close to P/A
1 I prepared both using Rays web site as a guide ( the other media was not suppose to need prep but I thought it did)
2 I planted the cats in the media's and placed them on a bottom heat mat maintained at 79 degrees. I kept the 02 at 1200 to 1250 ppm during the day. The plants were subjected to daylite T-5 bulbs 14 hours a day. They were Misted automaticlly 2 times a day for 50 seconds the mist contained a 50 % MSU and 50% orchid Pro.
Every 3rd day I would flush with plain water and KLN Root Grow.

PA out wickes the other sightly but the other has a good ph

Below are the results of three week on this experiment.

1 The roots in the PA go down toward the water.

2 The roots in the other come on the surface and seem to take the path of least resistance. ( Pa has more air space the other seems to pack more)

3 I think the 02 and the bottom heat are a substantual help in establishing in S/H . The mats are the heat mats used for starting seeds with thermostats on them. The probes were put in a pot of each media about halfway down and treated as they were plants.
Picture 1 surface roots the other The roots you see at the bottom of this pot are old roots that have so far survived
Picture 2 & 3 Deep roots P/A

Im not naming the other I don't want to get in a contest between both MFG's I just wanted to see if the bottom heat and O2 help development and what the 2 mediums responded to. Would I buy the other again yes I would I see a definately use for it in some other orchid species, would I use P/A again Ive got 2 50lb bags ordered.

Im think I'm going to put circulating hot water system in on the starter benches I think I would have better Temp control and would be cheaper to operate in the long run

I have a friend (believe it or not) that has the system under all his benches and he just gets amazing results and cut down on heating bills in the winter with the closed loop system. I know it will be hard to believe he dosent do orchids which I find hard to believe he does bonzi and other things..
I think a small system like they use under concrete floors using a small 110v hot water heater would do it But I think I'll tweek this for awhile and see what I get. I was tempted to raise the heat to about 82 or 83 but I'll try that next and see if there is a difference. I like to take small steps and see what happens.

[entropy82]

thanks for your little experiment.