Deep Water Culture (with pics)

[Becky Jo]

Hi and welcome. This is very interesting. I hope you keep us updated so we can learn from your experiment. Thanks

[CTB]

Welcome to the board. You will be a great member for your devotion already to just two orchids, is qppreciated. Can't wait for you to get more. Thanks for joining, and contributing to our knowledge of an idea that just might work Gentle One!

[KatieVL]

Originally Posted by TheGentleOne

Greetings Orchid Board members,

I have been silently stalking this board for a few months, greedily consuming all of the wonderful advise posted. But now in my first post, I shall relate my experience to you.

Two orchids are now under my unlikely care. I say unlikely because I am hardly a plant enthusiast. Really, the only reason I own orchids is because my green thumbed mother gifted them to me.

Keeping my orchids alive in this environment has been a struggle from day one. My office is as dry as a bone and almost as dark as a moonlit night. My first phal struggled mainly due to the low light; its leaves were deep forest green as it struggled to soak up as much light as it could from the indirect roof mounted florescent light. Thanks to this forum, i recognized the signs and remedied the problem by placing two 100 watt equivalent 5000k CFL with reflectors on either side of the plant. ($15 total)

However, the phal, now with two sources of light each a foot away, now received too much light. The leaves gradually started developing red spots. Again, i stalked this forum and a suggestion of an electronic timer was found. The lights now operated on a 12/12 day/night cycle and the leaf color improved. ($7)

Everything went well for a time, then I noticed that the leaves were slowly beginning to become flaccid and wilt. I repotted to fresh bark and the roots were in bad condition. Most were rotted but repotting helped alot. It slowly improved and the root structure regrew only to deteriorate again. Apparently I suck at watering orchids so I investigated Deep Water Culture.

The results with DWC have been excellent. The phal was removed from the bark and placed in a glass vase full of water. I used a small aquarium pump with an air stone to aerate the water and kept the water level to just above the base of the lowest leaf by topping it off every 3 days or so. Within a week, the leaves became turgid. The new leaf forming looks very healthy and is growing faster than any leaf before it. Today i moved my second orchid into the same vase with hopes of similar success. ($8)

Here are some pics:



Feel free to ask any questions. I thank all of you for helping my with my plants.

Regards,
-TheGentleOne

It has been a few months and I am wondering how your phals are doing now. Are they still thriving? Do you have any pics of how they are doing?

[Lady Tottington]

Originally Posted by Tindomul

Phals must have an aquatic plant ancestor, hehe. I have a Phal hybrid NOID that was never happy until I put it in my betta fish bowl. The roots are surrounded by algae and new roots are constantly growing in the water. Half the root mass is not in the water though, so that may be how the plant is aerating its roots. As for fertilizer, I can not add chemicals to my betta fish, so the only ferts it gets are betta food and betta poops.

I WOULD LOVE LOVE LOVE to see a pic of this if possible!!

[tucker85]

there is a hydroponics technique that I read about that is very much like that. Plants are suspended over the water with their roots in air and a fine mist of moisture is sprayed on the roots. How do you get nutrients to your plant?

[Tindomul]

Hi guys, I went ahead and took some pics. The plant has put on two new leaves since I put it in this water culture, and lots of roots. The algae covered roots that tend to stay wet all the time are actually growing as seen in the next to last picture.

[Lady Tottington]

Originally Posted by Tindomul

Hi guys, I went ahead and took some pics. The plant has put on two new leaves since I put it in this water culture, and lots of roots. The algae covered roots that tend to stay wet all the time are actually growing as seen in the next to last picture.

Those are awesome roots! How was the plant when you first put into water culture and how long ago was this? Just curious? How often do you change this water too? I may just have to get a beta fish for fun to try this out. What kind of phal is this too?

Thanks for all the photos... great share! Beautiful phal! Good growing! LOVE the roots!

[flantas]

Hello everyone i came across your website browsing the www. I don't have any experience with orchids specifically but i have done a bunch of dwc with tomatoes and bell peppers. In my experience light is VERY bad for root systems. I think that the explosive root growth is from the roots trying to "dig" to get away from the light. like a tree root you see that has topped out of dirt the roots will bark over and quit taking water or nutrients after a few days. if you block the light from the roots they will start to push all those nuets toward leaves and flowers(in tomatoes anyway).

On another note, any water soluble fertilizer will work with dwc. I use miracle grow tomato fertilizer made for their yard sprayer and mix per the watering can instructions.

I hope this helps you to produce the flowers your looking for Flantas

[Tindomul]

Hi Flantas, nice observations/thoughts. Orchid roots often are always in the air exposed to light, so I don't know how your ideas would affect orchids.

Lady T.
I think it has been there for well over a year and a half. No less. The roots were mostly shrively and scrawny, white ofcourse. I had it in bark mix, which I could tell it really didn't like. It took months for it get used to the bark mix when I took it out of the sphag, and didn't do anything for years.
As to the name. uhmmm Phalaenopsis homedepotensis.

[Lady Tottington]

Originally Posted by Tindomul

Lady T.
I think it has been there for well over a year and a half. No less. The roots were mostly shrively and scrawny, white of course. I had it in bark mix, which I could tell it really didn't like. It took months for it get used to the bark mix when I took it out of the sphag, and didn't do anything for years.
As to the name. uhmmm Phalaenopsis homedepotensis.

first of all, phal. homedepotensis, love it. I realized after I posted, as I reread your first post you said it was noid

Anyway, regarding the roots, thanks for the info. I have four new to me Lowe's rescues that I got on sale for $4 and they were packed in sphag and a couple are in sad shape with root loss, and I replanted in bark, but they are now pouting with the smallest and lowest leaf or two dying back. I did trim off all poor roots, however, I didn't dust with cinnamon , stupid I know.

I've never really gotten along with phals, so if I could manage to do something right and rescue these and get off on the right foot again, I'd forever be thankful, as they are such pretty plants and I want them to forgive me

I'm just wondering if I should go your rout of water culture and experiment? After all, I'd only be out $4 if I fail.

how often do you change the water?