Interested in growing in s/h culture - Page 5 - Orchid Board

Tindomul · #41 05-20-2007, 02:56 PM

I didn't know you could mix the two. Good idea.

quiltergal · #42 05-21-2007, 01:11 PM

Thanks Ray. I watered yesterday and gave them both another dose of KLN. I'll hit them with fertilizer next week with a drop of KLN mixed in. Would that also be of benefit to my other plants even the ones that are already showing new root growth?

Marco · #43 05-21-2007, 01:20 PM

most of my paphs are sand hybrids and they didnt take to much of a liking to it. Almost all, if i recall correctly, of thmy sand hybrids suffered massive root loss in several months. Some seedlings never fully recovered and i had to toss em. I do have an one lone paph an eva weigner in s/h thats growing nice roots. Results for paphs in s/h are to variable for me and i like to have a particular genera in the same medium so its less guess work.

Jorge · #44 05-22-2007, 12:45 AM

Hi,
I also live in Boise and have about 20 various plants (Phal/Phrag/Cats/Dend/Oncidium etc) in S/H prime agra medium that I bought from Ray Barkalow. They have been there now happily growing and flowering for over 1 year. I am a believer in the efficacy of S/H. Though I am sure it is not optimal for all orchids, it certainly works well for most. I believe Ray has a list on his site of those whivh do not typically do well in S/H. Hope this helps

Jorge Martinez
jorgem@spro.net

Becca · #45 05-22-2007, 11:24 AM

Hi Jorge! I am glad to hear from some one else who is growing in s/h in the same city as me! I was starting to think I was alone here w/ growing in s/h! What kind of a set up do you have? I don't have anything special but I do use a fan to circulate the air and when it isn't to cold out I leave my windows open during the day for fresh air. I know we are very dry here, but I decided to see how the plants do in s/h before providing extra humidity with humidity trays. I have found so far that when I convert my plants to s/h culture that some of the roots rot and and some don't on the same plant. I haven't seen any negative signs so far so until then I am not going to stress over it. I do have a plant that I received from someone who grows in s/h and I re potted the plant in it but the leaves are turning yellow so I am not sure what that is all about...perhaps stress? Anyways....keep in touch, it is good to hear from others in the same area!

quiltergal · #46 05-23-2007, 12:59 PM

Yesterday I noticed that the blooming phal I moved to s/h last week is going to drop it's flowers. They are starting to fold up. I pretty much expected this to happen. The leaves are still looking good with no signs of shrivel or drooping. The Lc looks exactly the same as it did last week. I'm going to look at that as a positive given it's condition.

So far I really like this method of growing. It's easy to see what your plants are doing/not doing, and I know when it's time to water without guessing.

I'm hoping this will eliminate some of my root rot problems.

Tindomul · #47 05-30-2007, 01:21 PM

Yes, I also like the ease of watering. I often water even when they don't need it simply because the drainage holes in an S/H pot won't let it get over watered.

Becca · #48 05-30-2007, 01:54 PM

I have found that if I water more then once a week, or not let the water reservoir dry up that I get a white fungus growing on the top layer and just under it, not sure if it goes down much further or on the roots below, but I just spray with a Physan 20 solution. I am surprised at having fungus problems since it is very dry where I live and at the moment I am not using humidity trays and I use a fan for air circulation. Maybe I need to move the plants out of the corner they are on?

quiltergal · #49 05-30-2007, 02:06 PM

Here's another update on my s/h project. The Lc looks pretty much the same. I figure no change is a good thing. I'm a little more concerned about the phal. The spike has completely dried up, (no surpise there), and it's showing signs of root rot (also no surprise), however, it's also not showing any signs of growing new roots. It was kind of an emergency transplant. It was in peat, and beginning to show signs of root rot. There were no new roots growing, so I new it would be risky putting it in s/h. The leaves still look OK though not as perky as they were a week ago. I'm hoping it will pull itself out of this. Keep your fingers crossed for it.

This will be week three in s/h and I don't have any fungus growing on mine. I soaked my PrimeAgra for over 24 hours. Are you sure it's a fungus and not salt buildup?

Becca · #50 05-30-2007, 02:21 PM

I soaked my PrimeAgra for 24 hours or more before using it. I have only been using the s/h method for about the last 3 weeks as well. I do see in some containers a white residue on the PrimeAgra so I just flush well with water the next time watering and not use any fertilizers although I usually use a pretty diluted solution if I do use it. But yes, on a few of the plants I have seen a white fungus, it looks allot different, very fuzzy looking and looks like a wet spider web if I get it wet with the Physan 20 solution. Mostly the problem occurs in the sphag-n-bag technique and I am using the s/h with it as recommended off of Ray's website, but I have also found the fungus in a couple of my pots that I am using s/h with.