New to S/H--wish me luck

[pedidiva]

Hi~~~

Well, I'm going to give the S/H try. I have a masdie hybrid NOID, 3 Phal NOID, & a Paph NOID. Will keep you all informed.

One of the Phal NOID is really on its last legs--it has 2 little stubs of good roots (it was a rescue). I tried the spag/bag dealio for ~ 1 month. Now I'll try this. Its leaves look pretty bad, but the 2 little root stubs look good.

I figure the Masdie hybrid will do well as it likes moisture as well as the Paph. It will be interesting to see how the Phals do--all have goot roots.

Later~~
Pedi

[JaneEyre]

Good luck!
I just started my first S/H too. I potted Beallara Smile 'Eri' last Saturday. I followed Ray's instructions like the bible. Let us know how your progress with S/H.

[RosieC]

Good luck. I like S/H, got some phals and oncidium alliance in it.

[florafan]

Good luck with s/H. I have not had much luck with phals in S/H but I have 3 paphs in S/H and they are doing well.

[pedidiva]

Thanks for the well wishes
Pedi

[Eyebabe]

I have had wonderful luck with s/h for my catts and I really would not use anything else at this point for them.
Phals on the other hand are tough. Over the past year of trying s/h for phals, I have two large plants in s/h that have been ecking along okay. After losing about 7 others in s/h and salvaging 4 back to my preference 2 parts NZsphag 1 part perilite. And yes, I even had them on seedling mats
I believe the most important issue with phals is humidity. The two plants that had been "ecking along" are at this moment in a state of lovely growth with a new leaf each and multiple new roots. One of the two put up double spike buds four days ago.

What happened??? Easy: the greenhouse was ready and they went in with all the other plants four weeks ago...humidity is about 70%

Lessons learned: Culture means the whole package. Whatever media you choose is only part of the package. Nothing is ever as easy or clear as it seems.

The best advice I can give for s/h: make sure all the other previous media is off even if you have to sacrifice decent roots to do it. The cleaner the plant the better it will do.

[Ray]

Well-stated "Babe".

I would disagree about the humidity being the key factor with phals though: it's temperature.

Most phals - despite their willingness to tolerate household conditions - are really warm-to-hot growers. When you put them in semi-hydroponics, the added evaporation from the open, airy medium can result in cooling the root systems to undesirable lows. That is particularly an issue in dry environments (and how one might conclude high humidity is key) and ones in which we push the thermostats down to conserve energy.

If you can keep them warm, they thrive in S/H. I have sold a ton of heating mats to folks specifically for their phals, and now even have some long strips that work on windowsills.

[Eyebabe]

Originally Posted by Ray

Well-stated "Babe".

I would disagree about the humidity being the key factor with phals though: it's temperature.

Most phals - despite their willingness to tolerate household conditions - are really warm-to-hot growers. When you put them in semi-hydroponics, the added evaporation from the open, airy medium can result in cooling the root systems to undesirable lows. That is particularly an issue in dry environments (and how one might conclude high humidity is key) and ones in which we push the thermostats down to conserve energy.

If you can keep them warm, they thrive in S/H. I have sold a ton of heating mats to folks specifically for their phals, and now even have some long strips that work on windowsills.

Well, the gh IS definitely warmer too

[RJSquirrel]

you can toss paphs on the countertop and they would grow...

I have a few in S/H type program and well I'm going to put them back in moss...too much trouble for me personally. I like to play with my plants and the pots with the holes in the sides dripping water all over me doesn't suit my style.

but good luck all the same, tryin new things helps you zero in on what you're good at and what you want to do

[pedidiva]

UPDATE~~~~

Well everybody is doing well. New growths on the dens, flowers on the paphs, phals, DTPS are growing, too. Lost the maside, but the plant was on its last legs.So, it was not due to the S/H.

The oncs, psychopsis, & Zygo seem happy & are making new growths. The onc flowered!

Got a RO filter from HD & fitted it in sequence to charcoal flter that I have on the hose for the sunroom.

I read where trichoglottis likes to be evenly moist--so put that in S/H as well as a Vandirea as it said to grow like a phal.

Would like to experiment with a Vanda--with leaving only 1/4" water in the "reservoir". Has anyone else done this?

For me with my conditions--S/H as done really well for my collection. I have half in S/H, the other half in bark.

Pedi