Phals in SH

[AnonYMouse]

Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong with Phals in SH.

I have two Catts doing great!

I did the same for two Phals. One died (NoID "Equestris") with roots looking like a bundle of mini-sausage casings. The other, a hybrid (admittedly was not robust looking with various lengths of roots and a few root stubs-borderline juvenile/fledgeling) I just repotted conventionally. On both plants, switching to SH seems to have disrupted the root stubs from growing.

Actually, it may be monpodials thing because a Neo failed the same way.

I'm liking how the Catts are doing in SH and would like to do the same of many others. What am I doing wrong?

[billc]

Is the top of the media getting too dry? I find here in the northeast US I have to water every 2-3 days to keep the leca moist enough for phals.
I've had some phals that for whatever reason just never took to it. They don't die, but they really don't grow either.

Bill

[ALToronto]

I just took two mini phals out of s/h and into damp sphagnum. They weren't dying, but not growing either, and many new roots would start and then shrivel up. I still have 3 catts in s/h, and they're doing ok, but I keep them on the dry side, and I may just drill bottom holes in their pots so that the LECA drains.

[Phalguy]

Hello,

I have been growing mostly Phal in SH for years now with great success but...

Always always always... transfert your plant when they are actively growing...

for the first few days, I water frequently and don't leave any water in the reservoir

Claude

[AnonYMouse]

The two phals had root nubbins started when I transfered them along with others of varying lengths. They stopped growing. As the older roots died off (as they are expected to) and the new roots stopped, the plants started to dehydrate. The NoID "Equistris" died with the leaves shriveling and falling off and hopefully, the young hybrid was rescued in time.

I tried to keep the tops of the LECA moist but it ultimately didn't work.

I'm going to go pick up a couple of inexpensive phals and try again.

I want this to work! After seeing how well the catts did, I told a brown-thumbed friend I may have found a way for her to grow orchids!

---------- Post added at 02:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 PM ----------

Phalguy, if you were in the states, I'd send plants to you to establish in SH!

---------- Post added at 02:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:40 PM ----------

To Ray and others who can do this, consider starting a SH orchid business. Its better than the "Just Add Ice" method and look how many people buy those!

[Ray]

If the LECA is dry, or hasn't been properly washed before use, new roots coming in contact with it will simply quit growing.

[RosieC]

What temperatures are you growing in.

I found phals did fine in the summer for me in S/H but in the winter went down hill with dying roots. A heat mat helped halt the problem but I stopped growing them as S/H the next winter and just left them in Lecca as a standard medium. I've left them like that every since with good success both summer and winter.

My Catts and Oncidium types didn't mind the cool down when in S/H but the phals really did.

[Ray]

Good point, Rosie.

Phals are really HOT-growing plants, which fortunately, are reasonably tolerant to the temperatures we prefer. They really dislike cold, wet roots.

Unlike most other media, LECA is SO open and airy, and holds so much moisture, that the evaporation can cool the root zone to temperatures the phals don't like.

That is most often the case in the winter, when folks lower the thermostat to save money, and the air is naturally drier, but I have seen it in air conditioned offices too, as the A/C dries the air.

[AnonYMouse]

I know I washed the LECA and the nubbins stopped growing before they got anywhere near the LECA. They might have dried out since I wash in bulk.

Ambient temps were mid 65-80° during this time and the younger plant was sitting on top of my ancient TV's cable box (cable box has no "off") the whole time. The bigger one spent some time on the box when it started to shrivel with plastic baggie mittens.

If its a matter of the top LECA getting dry, should Phals be planted closer to the waterline?

[Ray]

That is one reason I stock lower-profile pots.

Look at it from the overall perspective - wicking of moisture up is a fixed function of the brand of LECA used. Loss of moisture due to evaporation, on the other hand, is a variable, related to pay number of cultural parameters.

If your humidity is very high, it doesn't matter how tall the pot is (i.e., the distance from the reservoir to the top), but in some households, lower RH, air movement, temperatures and lighting can accelerate the evaporation, leading to the top of the medium being too dry. If that's the case, you really should try to remedy that by improving the conditions - if it's affecting the medium, it's affecting the plant, too - but you may compensate a bit by reducing the reservoir-top distance.


Ray Barkalow
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