do you use broken pieces of Primeagra?

[RosieC]

The key difference is that with S/H you have a resevoir of water in the bottom keeping it wet. Using Primeagra as a standard medium there is no resevoir, just water as though it was in bark (possibly more frequently but otherwise the same).

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Minda

What do you do differently when you use Primeagra for standard orchid growing.

I was going to order some PA, but I not sure now. I like the way the whole pieces look, but I don't know if I would like it as well if the pieces are broken up.

Minda,

Being a ceramic product, it can be brittle, and some pieces will break. It's usually a small percentage of the overall, so nothing to be concerned about.

When using LECA as a medium in traditional orchid culture, you may have to adjust your watering schedule to compensate for the greater degree of airiness, but beyond that, not much else changes.

A word of warning to folks doing that, though: as the medium never decomposes, one can get "sucked into" a feeling of permanence. Even though you don't have to repot because of decomposition or the medium becoming too compact, it does build up minerals, so will need to be changed out every few years (depending upon your water supply, and watering and fertilization regimen. The stuff can be reused after proper treatment.

In S/H culture, the buildup is a lot slower - assuming you water it properly. I have plants in the same pot and medium for at least 8 years.

[Cewal]

Thanks, Rosie and Ray. I think I'll try a paph in some PA, but I think I'm going to use the SH method. I had a beautiful paph for 2 years that I'm losing to a mealybug infestation. The rest of my plants are fine - they just went after the paph. I'm thinking about replacing it with a new one and trying SH.

[Cewal]

I ordered PrimeAgra from Ray and I love working with it. There are very few broken pieces so they aren't even noticeable in the pot, unless you're looking for them. As Ray suggested in a previous post, I just use them and don't sweat it. I'm very glad I decided to try it, and I'm going to be changing more orchids over to s/h.

[Brotherly Monkey]

Originally Posted by Ray

Minda,

Being a ceramic product, it can be brittle, and some pieces will break. It's usually a small percentage of the overall, so nothing to be concerned about.

When using LECA as a medium in traditional orchid culture, you may have to adjust your watering schedule to compensate for the greater degree of airiness, but beyond that, not much else changes.

A word of warning to folks doing that, though: as the medium never decomposes, one can get "sucked into" a feeling of permanence. Even though you don't have to repot because of decomposition or the medium becoming too compact, it does build up minerals, so will need to be changed out every few years (depending upon your water supply, and watering and fertilization regimen. The stuff can be reused after proper treatment.

In S/H culture, the buildup is a lot slower - assuming you water it properly. I have plants in the same pot and medium for at least 8 years.

Ray, do you think those hydroponic flushing agents might be able to help with the above build-up?

[Ray]

Probably not. The only ones I've seen are meant to reduce biological issues, not minerals.