How often to water, and when to flush??

[greenpassion]

I am totally new to S/H and have questions... I have just put my phals and oncidiums into S/H, using hydroton. I have them in clear glass vases that I drilled holes about an inch from the bottom. I am reading here about flushing, and am wondering if I should should be doing this. When and how often? Also, do I keep water in the reservior at all times? I can see roots in there, but it looks like no new ones. And what rooting hormone should I get?

[Zoi2]

The reservior needs to have water all the time.
Watering will depend on your specific growing conditions, when the leca is dry, no condensation, it is time to water. (I usually water once a week in the winter). I flush with clear water then fertilize. With S/H you pretty much flush every time you water. If you notice a salty residue on the top layer of the leca, flush with clear water more often or mist the top layer. Good air circulation will cause the leca to dry out sooner.
Joann

[camille1585]

You should be flushing the pots every watering, that's the correct way to water in S/H as it cleans out all the accumulated 'toxic' byproducts that are released by the roots. Plug the holes, fill to the top of the pot (with plain or fertilized water) then let drain.
And as I do remember Ray mentioning that plants seem to do much better with nearly daily flushing (because it removes the byproducts), I water my 2 new (and first) S/H plants every other day and the plants don't care at all. 2 month down the road and they are establishing very nicely. You should never wait for the leca to dry anyway, S/H plants don't need that at all, and letting it dry just accelerates mineral deposition on the pellets.

As to the lack of new roots on the plants you just potted, you should have waited to see new roots before potting them. Definitely get a heat mat at least for the Phals to encourage root growth (they usually don't like the combination of the cool rootzone they get from the evaporative cooling of S/H and being in a cool climate), and for the rooting hormone try KLN.