Quote:
Originally Posted by armin
I did it...
I'm planning it for a long time... now I truly did it....
So I took my old masdevallia schroederiana (from her Chilean Moss I guess) and repoted it in semi-hydroponics media.
I was looking for s/h products in London, Ontario but...it was a fail... no s/h pots, no s/h knowledge in stores....
I found only Hydroton, I pre-soaked it 24 hours and than I just used some root hormone...in the picture is the only one I could get....
Now, You can see in the picture my Phals (yesterday they bloomed) and Lycaste Skinnery, they bloomed 3 days ago and the other 2 phals are in spike.
But, my concern is the s/h masdevallia schroederiana... I made the pot myself (it's a food container from 1$ store)... it has 2 holes and a reservoir on the bottom... is this correct or I should adjust something? I didn't feed the orchid because I think is better to wait at least 1 week till feeding it... what do you guys think about it?
I appreciate any comments... thanks....
Armin
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Hi Armin,
I use hydroton for semi-hydro too as it is available locally. I hate how if you knock a pot over with it in it the balls go everywhere
but I have been using it by itself for many plants, some in semi-hydro and also
as part of a bark mix.
It wicks very well.
As to Masdevallia's in semi-hydro in hydroton in particular I would say it can be a very good way to grow them, with some careful tweaking, attention needed.
I struggled with Masdevallias in sphag and other assorted mixes- they were slowly getting worse
and eventually I decided to repot them all into hydroton and I moved them inside to keep them cooler with more humidity.
They are in my standard translucent pots with side slits and bottom dome and drainage, sitting in containers of water- in a 3ft fishtank with a fan and 75 watts of fluroescent lighting.
The good is: the hydroton wicks up the water giving the roots a constant moist atmosphere but not wet and you can water it the semi-hydro way as opposed to the
"has the mix dried out enough yet?" way which I hate.
The bad is: well I don't think the plants in my tank have enough room, or adequate light and despite having 80-99% humidity levels and a big computer fan circulating air, while they are growing new shoots and roots there has also been some leaf dieback.
With plants that were in moss already that I couldn't get off the root ball, the moss is staying too moist.
I'm moving them out to my temporary Winter GH [a little lean to/attached garden shed] where they won't be enclosed in such a small space and hopefully the better air circulation, natural light and overall atmosphere will allow them to grow much better.
I also have a Dracula vampira in hydroton in a container of water too- but in a net pot, and another D. vampira mounted on a terracotta tile sitting in a container of water..
I'm keen to try out mounting more orchids on things that slowly absorb water and give off moisture- like terracotta pipes etc.
Yikes long post
- sorry!
masdevallia schroederiana S/H
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