S/H, just flush/water when needed and that's it?

[nogreenthumbs]

I've moved several/most of my plants over to S/H. Just to make sure I've got it straight, once you've got them there, you just monitor them for health, and water/flush when needed (before the reservoir runs dry), and that's pretty much it, right? It seems too simple. (famous last words, I suspect)

[fishmom]

Don't forget fertilizer on occasion. I like to fill the container to the top with plain water, let it drain and tip it for the flush, and then fill to the holes with fertilizer solution. If I'm not using fertilizer that time around, I just fill the second time with plain water (to the holes).

[AnonYMouse]

Old roots vs. new roots.

Did you notice new roots starting before switching?

[estación seca]

Ray has recommended using dilute fertilizer solution to fill and drain at every watering, 25 ppm nitrogen or so, and pure water once a month to remove salts. This is what I do.

[Subrosa]

Once the plant has transitioned and grown sufficient new roots that's it. The process of getting the plant established can get more complicated depending upon the plant.

[nogreenthumbs]

Originally Posted by fishmom

Don't forget fertilizer on occasion. I like to fill the container to the top with plain water, let it drain and tip it for the flush, and then fill to the holes with fertilizer solution. If I'm not using fertilizer that time around, I just fill the second time with plain water (to the holes).

^
| -- This. It gets fertilized at 25ppm at every watering.
v

Originally Posted by estación seca

Ray has recommended using dilute fertilizer solution to fill and drain at every watering, 25 ppm nitrogen or so, and pure water once a month to remove salts. This is what I do.

Yes

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Old roots vs. new roots.

Did you notice new roots starting before switching?

Yes and no. I've got 2 Oncidiums. I haven't noticed any new growth in them at all since all of the blooms dropped. I repotted one into bark a while back (it was new and in packed sphag), when I repotted into S/H it had new root tips branching off of old roots. The other was also new and packed into sphag. I had repotted it into bark about 2 weeks prior and then decided to move to S/H so no real change in the roots then, but both needed to be repotted and hadn't "taken" to the bark yet. I also have 3 other new orchids that don't seem to be doing anything, but were also new and needed a repot. So far, everything seems reasonably happy, but it's early days.

Originally Posted by Subrosa

Once the plant has transitioned and grown sufficient new roots that's it. The process of getting the plant established can get more complicated depending upon the plant.

Yeah, that's the stage that I'm in. I'm hoping that most of the stuff that I've got is hardy enough for it to not be much of a problem.

Thanks, everyone.

[Ellen H]

Your Oncidiums might struggle a bit. I believe they should be repotted when there are new roots appearing on new growth, which is opposite of other orchids. The new growth can get pretty big before any roots on that growth appear.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Ellen H

Your Oncidiums might struggle a bit. I believe they should be repotted when there are new roots appearing on new growth, which is opposite of other orchids. The new growth can get pretty big before any roots on that growth appear.

I think (hope) Ellen meant that the oncidium growth pattern is a tad different from some others, as the best time to move ANY plant to S/H futures is just as new roots are emerging from the base of the plant.

In my experience, oncidium-types to very well in S/H, but do experience a great deal of loss with those fine roots. Flush the daylights out of the pot frequently, and the decaying matter will be removed over time.

[Ellen H]

Yes, that is what I meant. I see quite a bit of growth on my Onc before I see any new roots emerge from that new growth.

[nogreenthumbs]

Originally Posted by Ellen H

Your Oncidiums might struggle a bit. I believe they should be repotted when there are new roots appearing on new growth, which is opposite of other orchids. The new growth can get pretty big before any roots on that growth appear.

Yeah, that wasn't really an option, they were in hard packed sphagnum that was old and rotting and growing mold.