Growing Phalaenopsis in Water Gel Beads

[Wynn Dee13]

Yeah but marbles are different than those gel beads. The gel beads are soaked with water and when they touch each other they are too wet for enough air circulation. Growing them in glass marbles would be way different.

If the plant gets stressed it could drop its buds and flowers. If you want the plant to live long term I don't think you should grow them in those beads. I had a house plant in those beads once and they rotted the roots of that plant and house plants don't need so much air flow to their roots like orchids do. The gel beads are meant for decoration in flower arrangements not for growing plants.

I still recommend growing your Phals in something else.

[Bud]

I have repotted Phalaenopsis even while in bloom. If you repot now to the sphagnum moss that you have ready; then your blooms will be saved.
If you still have this plant in gel for another week....you will discover a rotting smell of stagnance without air circulation of the roots....just as I have smelled in flower shops who have this kind of set up....the gel set up is only for a week tops or you rearrange the flowers again on fresh water and chemical mix. Sometimes algae will form around the roots and the acidity of the gel at 6 is disturbing; you usually have it near 7 + or -

[RosieC]

Actually I once tried using glass marbles at the base of the pot under the medium to reduce the amount of medium and improve drying. It didn't work water clung in all the gaps even though the gaps were quite big.

The same is not the case with the same size mecca because the water sucks in to the beeds. I don't know the science though I remember Ray describing an affect that I think relates to this years ago.

Anyway my worry would be that the wet beads would leak there water to fill the gaps and that is indeed what I saw when I saw these in the shop.

[Crucifx]

Yup some green roots are showing signs of rot.......some tips are blackening..........transferring to sphagnum moss now......So much for my little experiment.

I hope I'm not too late to save them. Thank you very much guys for educating an orchid newbie like.

[Wynn Dee13]

Make sure you don't pack the moss too tight. Also put something like styrofoam packing peanuts in the bottom of the pot for drainage. Pick a pot that just fits the healthy root system and has a lot of drainage. Don't over pot otherwise you will get root rot again. Good luck.

[nenella]

I agree with above! on some of my phals I have a layer of leca at the bottom of my plastic pots (with lots of air holes or slats) then top up with very loose spagh & bark. some don't have bark.... but this was not the case when I first potted. You need to watch your root growth carefully and adapt to your conditions. The ones I have in a terrarium get watered every 10/14 days... ones outside once a week in general but I just look at the root growth/colour of roots primarily to judge when to water.

[orchids3]

Not a Philipino but have grown orchids including phaleonopsis in the Philippines. My advise is find an orchid society (I am sure there is one in Manila) and attend or join. There are several vendors in Queson city that would give good advise. In a country where they grow Vanda's and Phaleonopsis in the front yeard like we Cano's (Americans) grow petunias - just walk down a street in a good neighborhood and see what others are doing. If you see someone in the yeard, they would probably give you good advise. Orchid growers all over the world love their hobby and are usually more than willing to give help. Growing orchids in your country is a pleasure but there are a lot of differances in the way you grow the plants. I would ask one of my neighbors.

[Bud]

Im from New York and I wouldnt ask my neighbors about orchids....they will call the police lol....

I admire the Philippines if you can go around a neighborhood and ask how they grow their orchids....
sellers in a third world place cant give good advice, only growers can....unless the grower is also the seller....usually sidewalk sellers are poachers and all they know is to make a profit; chances are they will kill the plant because they dont know how to care for it; better buy it from them immediately

[orchids3]

Bud
Not sure what your point is - have also spent some time in Manhattan. I felt safer in the Philippines actually, also felt safer in Viet Nam. The people in the PI are great people - many very poor and desperate - just be cautious. There are some poachers I am sure but there are also many who grow and love orchids. I visited several nice orchid nurserys and was able to get the necessary documentation to bring some plants back with me. I am sure there are people in Manhattan that know how to keep an orchid alive (I attended Judging sessions at the Bronx Botanical Gardens) but would rather talk to an old Philippino person about the Vandas and Phaleonopsis they have growing on the Mango tree or the kakawatte (sp) stump they have in their yeard.

[KultureShock]

ok this thread is full of misinformation... Phalaenopsis is the ONLY orchid that CAN be grown in water crystals it is the same thing a semi hydroponics. I have had one of my phals in these crystals for the last 2 years and it has been growing and flowering perfectly. All i do is add 1/3 strength fertilizer and a tiny bit of rooting hormone to the water i use to hydrate them with and i have never run into any problems at all except for one run in with algae but(edit: i might have done this differently i cant remember 100% i only had an algae problem the one time) simply rinsing the beads took care of that. You only need to water your plants around once a month with this method and it allows your plant to fully utilize it's photosynthetic roots. The round shape of the beads allows for plenty of air pockets in the growing medium and the way the beads hold water there is practically no chance for root rot especially if you use a slitted pot.(edit: a general purpose fungicide/bactericide to hydrate the beads can increase the time between washing the beads) Just figured i would share my experience because anyone reading this thread is going to figure its a horrible idea when in all actuality it works wonderfully and im not sure but i doubt anyone who replied to the original question had ever actually tried it.The most important thing (which is probably why this person succumbed to root rot) is that you put a few unhydrated beads on the bottom of the container to suck up excess moisture and wait until the beads are almost to their original size before watering at which point the phal should be removed from the pot very gently and the beads washed thoroughly in warm water and rehydrated. Hope this information was of use to some of you.

Oh and heres a link to someone else who swears by water crystals theirs pictures on this post as well