Back to Bark?

[greenpassion]

Just curious. Has anyone ever had plants in S/H and decided (for what ever reason) to go back to a bark mix? I have a friend who finds S/H so much more work than just simply watering regularly.

[brn_thmbs]

I took a Catt hybrid out of S/H this summer. It's about to flower now.

[LovePhals]

So far I don't like it much either. I just took an oncidium out of the s&h. I have others in an oncidium mix and they seem much happier than the one that was in s&h so I repotted it today. The roots get algae and it seems they can't breath. They also were not growing well. I have another plant I may remove from it also. I also think it is more work.

[Ray]

Semi-Hydroponics is not a panacea, and in fact, the rest of your growing conditions play far more of a role in the health of your plants than do the medium and water-delivery mechanism, but they do all have to "play well" together.

Algae plays no role in the health of the plants. It will grow on the pot wall only (where there is light), so has no impact on the roots buried down in the medium. Use opaque pots and the issue is no more.

As to the "more work" subject, I suppose that has to do with your setup. In the greenhouse, where I don't have to worry about containing the drainage, it's an effort minimizer. Heck, I even have an overhead system on a remote control, so I can stand in my kitchen window at 5 am before going to work, push one button, and for the next 20 minutes, it's a monsoon.

Folks who have to cart plants to the sink may have a different opinion, but there are ways to control that in the home, too.

[Paul]

I tried S/H with a couple plants years back with abysmal results. Went back to bark and later to CHC.

That said, I know many folks, like Ray, who use S/H with great success.

[Joseia]

I tried it myself with a handful of plants, and they all ended up back in bark about 4 months later. There is no doubt that some people have phenomenal success with S/H, but not me. I think my problem was with the very poor quality of my tap water, with a TDS value between 180-220 ppm average throughout the year. I'm now using an RO system and am seeing TDS values under 20 ppm, so I think I am going to try again using the better water. My plants in S/H kept putting out new roots, but they all shriveled and died when they came into contact with the Primagra. I could see ALOT of mineral crystals precipitating out of the media. I think I might have better results with the better water I now have available for the plants.

[MissOrchidGirl]

I didn't experiment much with S/H but this summer I did try it with a Miltoniopsis, since they like more moisture. The result was the loss of the orchid, so at least for me and my environment it didn't work. Call me crazy but the roots just seemed confused, grew to a certain length, not too long, then just stop. The outcome was a very stressed Milt. that was impossible to resuscitate. All the other Milts are doing fantastic in bark or a mixture of bark and coconut husk. Maybe my environment is just not suited or I tried it with the wrong orchid, but for now everything works ok with my usual bark mix.

[nenella]

I grow in the house and I have a couple phals in S/H and oncidium alliance ones as well... The Oncs are great growers in S/h in my home conditions...
I also admit that - I'm quite C*** at looking after plants in S/H.. & tend to 'forget them' which is IMO Why my oncs are ok and flower, but not the 3 phals (keikies) I put into s/h yrs ago.. they grow and have roots but nothing special.... I know it's my fault...

[Ray]

Folks need to understand - and separate - two aspects: conversion to-, and growing in semi-hydroponics.

Conversion REQUIRES new root growth. It is such a drastic change from almost any other culture method that the roots from the old conditions are essentially worthless. Unless new roots are growing that will tailor themselves to the new conditions, the poor plant is in deep trouble.

Then there is how the "operating parameters" of a semi-hydro pot interacts with your growing conditions.

Most folks who have S/H failures either repot at the wrong time, or grow their plants in too dry and/or too cold conditions for that combination.

[greenpassion]

As far as my experience goes, I have never lost a phal or - well, the only orchid I have lost was a milt, and I've no doubt that it's due to, as Ray stated, no new root growth at the time of conversion. Actually, I have also had success with keikis-cutting them from Mom, and putting them right into S/H, with a heat mat, good water, and as much necessary growing conditions as possible. Right now I have 3 mini phals, (NOIDS, but one looks like it could be an Equestris) that were smothering in moss in non-slit pots, that I just put into S/H, + heat mat etc., and so far so good. But the question of the set up, and the amount of work if one had to manually bring all the orchids one by one to the sink each week, is still open. Ray, you said that there is a way around that. My co-worker does not have a greenhouse, (neither do I!) so how can it be made easier, other than reducing the number of orchids in S/H, or, going back to 'bark'?

---------- Post added at 05:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:34 PM ----------

Oh-I almost forgot. Can orchids that have been acclimated to S/H be put back into a different (dryer?) potting medium?