Interested in growing in s/h culture

[dave b]

Originally Posted by quiltergal

Tindo, how long have your plants been in sh?

I really want to try this method. I have a couple of $9 NOID phals that I might be willing to risk. I think only one of them is showing new root growth right now.

I threw a young noid phal in S/H a couple months ago, and it is really taking off. Leaf and root growth rate has increased significantly since the switch. I think using cheap phals is a great way to experiment and build up confidence using S/H.

[Dorothy]

Marco!
Those aren't your phal's roots ...
That's algae!



Dorothy

[Marco]

algea or root i think its a very sexy green

[quiltergal]

As soon as they're done blooming I'm going to switch them to S/H. You've all encouraged me to experiment.

[Oscarman]

Potting into S/H when you see new root growth is the key to success. I have phals, catts, and paphs in S/H, including a paph compot - all is well and everything is doing great.

[Shadow]

I want to try SH too. I hope it will save some time for me. But I don't want to risk any plant, most of them are quite rare and quite expensive. So, I keep postponing...

[Ray]

The very first plants I ever experimented with in the development of s/h culture were paphs, and they took to it like pigs in... Had they not, I might not have "pushed the envelope" to other plants.

However, my own experience has shown that sometimes paphs are simply stubborn - and I am not referring to "in s/h culture" either - and just "fail to thrive". I had a discussion about that with Joe Kunische (Bloomfield Orchids, one of the better slipper growers out there), and in the middle of my description of the issue, he simply stated "trash can". He also claims that paphs don't care about timing when being repotted into s/h culture - in bud, in bloom, it doesn't matter.

Further caveats:

• All semi-hydroponic conditions are not created equal. Consider the in-pot effects of temperature, localized air movement, relative humidity, light levels, water conditions, etc., etc.
• Semi-hydroponics, by itself, does not fully define the cultural conditions and treatment the plants are getting.
• S/H is not a "rescue" methodology. (People often put ailing plants - ones they grew poorly - in S/H culture in hopes they can save it. Then, when the already-terminal plant dies, they state that "semi-hydroponics is no good".)

[KEGinMichigan]

I have had successes and failures with s/h. I don't think it was the media to blame, but other factors aided to the demise of those plants. I can say for certain that the failure of most of the Miltonias that I repotted using the s/h method failed due to my lack of understanding of when to repot them. Also, their failure was also contributed to my lack of understanding of their sensitivity to heat, specifically their roots. I learned about these things when visiting Taylor Orchids in December. Ron Ciesinski gave me some very good advice about the Miltonias. So, I'm going try that this summer. I'm not going to repot until the fall and in clay aggregate (s/h).

As for my paphs, I also agree with Ray. They are just plain stubborn. Some of my paphs took to growing in s/h very well. Others failed miserably.

I can say that I'm a lazy repotter and I would rather not have to do it every year with the sheer number of plants that I have. So, if it doesn't grow in s/h, I will figure out why. If I can't plant it in s/h or mount it, I won't grow it.

Kev

[Dorothy]

Hi Kevin
We met in chat recently! .. I would love to talk to you about miltonias as I have one and so far is doing well. I know I have to watch my milt to keep it on the moist side for the conditions here. Is it best to repot after the blooms and stalks have dried? Any other tid bits of info you can add to help a fellow miltonia lover! It would be highly appreciated!
I have picked up some KK (Kelly) mix. It has coco husk instead of bark. I was told it can go up to 3 yrs without repotting depending on the plant, of course. The husk doesn't break down as fast as bark does. This is something new for me as I am going to set some of my catts in this medium. I shall see!

Dorothy

KK special orchid mix contain:
coco husk chips, diatomite, sponge-rock and charcoal.
They say to add a 1/4 teaspoon of KLN per gal of water for the best results. ( to 1/4 cu. ft of mix)

[KEGinMichigan]

Hi Dorothy,

I was told to repot Miltonias in the fall. So, I would cut off any blooming spikes, especially if it really needs repotting and repot in the fall. Otherwise, I leave it alone for another year if repotting isn't necessary. Although I've been growing orchids for over 12 years, I'm still learning.

I summer all my plants outdoors. I've lost quite a few Miltonias to the heat. So, I'm going to try to keep the roots cool by putting the pots in a planter box with sphagnum moss.

I don't want to highjack this subject of the current thread. So, I can repost and continue with this discussion in a new thread.

Kev