Quote:
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?
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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!
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