Easy care setup for present

[tokyo]

Well I ordered the orchid. Its shipping monday and should be here on wednesday.

Any suggestions on what sort of sytstem I could setup that would make upkeep minimal?

Would a wick system work to keep the potting medium cnostantly moist but not wet?

[Undergrounder]

Originally Posted by tokyo

Well I ordered the orchid. Its shipping monday and should be here on wednesday.

Any suggestions on what sort of sytstem I could setup that would make upkeep minimal?

Would a wick system work to keep the potting medium cnostantly moist but not wet?

Hi tokyo, the kind of system you want is called semi-hydroponics, there's a whole part of the forum here dedicated to the subject. You get a pot that has no drainage holes except for a single hole on the side of the pot about an inch from the bottom.

You use a growing mix (media) called Hydroton, aka LECA (Light Expanded Clay Aggregate) - little balls of clay.

You fill up the pot with water up until the level of the drainage hole, leaving an inch or so of water constantly in the bottom of the pot.

The LECA wicks up the water to the root zone. It's basically automatic, you just refill the pot occasionally. There is no such thing as 'too wet' in semi-hydroponics (S/H). The roots can take a while to adapt, and it's possible to get shocked roots and some die back if the old root system is used to very dry conditions. But any new growth will love the medium and even grow completely underwater.

First Rays' "Semi-Hydroponic - TM" Culture

Long-term, this is the solution, the only problem is that orchids put in S/H for the first time often go backwards for a while before stabilising and then thriving. This might be a bit stressful on you for a plant that obviously means a lot!

[tokyo]

Originally Posted by Undergrounder

Hi tokyo, the kind of system you want is called semi-hydroponics, there's a whole part of the forum here dedicated to the subject.

Didn't I post in the S/H section? Why is it called semi hydroponics? It sounds like full hydroponics to me, just a simpler version than what alot of people are accustomed to. Maybe if you used regular potting mix instead of LECA I could see why it would be called semi-hydroponics, but even then it would be a stretch. Sorry, I'm just not getting how the line is being distinguished.

Originally Posted by Undergrounder

You get a pot that has no drainage holes except for a single hole on the side of the pot about an inch from the bottom.

What does the drainage hole drain into? Wouldn't the roots grow through the hole? Why is the hole necessary? If the goal is to keep a max of one inch at the bottom of the pot why couldn't you just only fill it up to about an inch?

Originally Posted by Undergrounder

You fill up the pot with water up until the level of the drainage hole, leaving an inch or so of water constantly in the bottom of the pot.

Would it be possible to keep more than just an inch on the bottom? Or maybe use an automatic refilling system(upside down 2liter bottle or something similar) so that refilling would only be needed once every couple months?

Is there a reason a wick system into regular orchid potting mix wouldn't work?

Thanks!

I don't mean to nitpick, I know S/H is an established and effective method. I'm just trying to understand the reasoning behind it.