Plants that work in s/h

[ScottMcC]

So far I've tried the following things in s/h:

Miltonia
Phals
Laeliocattleya
Brassia
Oncidioda

And they're all doing well! Of course, it hasn't been too long so I guess time will tell if this is a better way of doing things. It's certainly easier to know when to water!

I know Ray says just about anything except Tolumnia can grow in s/h, but I'd like to hear about what other people have tried, what has worked, and what has failed.

[Tindomul]

I agree on the Lc.'s becuase I've got two of them in S/H and they are doing well. I'll post updates on them in their own threads tonight. I haven't tried phals yet, but I will.

[BettyE]

I grow in the LECA that Ray sells, and have a question. Since I do have ALL sizes of orchids ( and containers ) Must the two holes always be two inches from the bottom? If the container is small...say only tree inches tall, should the holes be further down toward the bottom? Also, if the plant is very large, & the container large...should there be more than two holes? I'm confused by this, and need some kind of clarity! Does anyone know the answers to the "size" thing? BettyE

[Zoi2]

I pretty much grow all my plants in S/H. All of my pots, from small seedling to large cattleya have two holes an inch from the bottom.
Joann

[BettyE]

Thanks for the information, Joann...I really appreciate it. BettyE.

[Ray]

Betty, the important thing is not the distance from the holes to the bottom of the pot, but from the holes to the top of the medium.

The wicking rate of the medium is fixed - it absorbs at a certain rate, and it hands off to its neighbors at a certain rate, and they hand off to theirs, etc., etc. Each stage of that is a little slower, so the farther you are from the liquid, the longer it will take for the pellet to become saturated. There is necessarily a moisture gradient bottom-to-top.

Then there is evaporation. The rate of evaporation is determined by the temperature, humidity, light intensity, and the amount of air flow, so it varies location to location, and even day to day.

The two compete with each other, and excessive evaporation means the moisture gradient from the wicking is outstripped, and the upper levels never get wet. In those situations, it might pay to shorten the reservoir-to-top distance.

If, on the other hand, your environment does NOT favor evaporation (like my very moist greenhouse), then the entire pot full of medium stays pretty much saturated, so the depth/distance is meaningless.

[BettyE]

Thanks for explaining that to me, Ray. My greenhouse stays fairly humid, but I do watch my orchids very carefully...Thanks again...BettyE.

[mtorchid]

Originally Posted by ScottMcC

So far I've tried the following things in s/h:

Miltonia
Phals
Laeliocattleya
Brassia
Oncidioda

And they're all doing well! Of course, it hasn't been too long so I guess time will tell if this is a better way of doing things. It's certainly easier to know when to water!

I know Ray says just about anything except Tolumnia can grow in s/h, but I'd like to hear about what other people have tried, what has worked, and what has failed.

Paphiopedilum
Dendrobium (evergreen and deciduous)
Masdevallia
Zygopetalum
Brassidium
Cattleya
Sophrolaeliocattleya
Potinara
Maxillaria
Oncidium (various)
Phals (six)

Also non orchids:
avocado
hen and chicks
bougainvillia
cactus

My Tolumnia and Neofinetia falcata are so happy in moss I plan on just leaving well enough alone - for now!

---------- Post added at 03:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 AM ----------

<<The two compete with each other, and excessive evaporation means the moisture gradient from the wicking is outstripped, and the upper levels never get wet. In those situations, it might pay to shorten the reservoir-to-top distance.>>

In mostly arid E. Montana (at 3,500 ft ASL) there are wild temp and humidity changes on a weekly (sometimes daily!) basis. I do try to modify that by micromanaging areas in the house- humidifier, heater, swamp cooler. I do have to occasionally mist the top of the LECA when, as Ray put it, the wicking action is outstripped by the evaporation. I recently got some larger (8") two-hole containers from firstrays and will plug up the exisiting holes with aquarium sealant and will drill two more an inch or two toward the top of the container. I have some phals that are in need of a bigger "home" so I will try them first. Since I will be almost doubling the size of the container, there won't be any roots actually touching the water - for a while anyway. In nature, the whole forest is the container so I'm not concerned with the roots having extra room to spread out in large containers.

[Ray]

Marc - rather than plugging and redrilling, you can slow the evaporation. Some folks put sphagnum on top of the medium, but I don't like that as it eventually clogs up the works. One customer in Europe took some thin, semi-rigid plastic (Mylar) and cut round discs the size of the pot, plus a hole in the middle for the plant, and a slit to allow its placement around it. The water that has evaporated condenses on the plastic and drips back into the medium.

Shifting gears............................................. .......

I met a grower in Ohio that has tolumnias in S/H...

The simple fact is that it is not the plant alone that determines whether it is good for any particular cultural method, but it's the overall cultural conditions that do.

.................................................. ....................

An observation: Even though it is the very same scenario, folks who cannot manage sphagnum well will say "I kill everything I put in sphagnum.", but will claim it is semi-hydroponics' fault when they don't do well with that.

[mtorchid]

[QUOTE=Ray;692391]Marc - rather than plugging and redrilling, you can slow the evaporation. Some folks put sphagnum on top of the medium, but I don't like that as it eventually clogs up the works. One customer in Europe took some thin, semi-rigid plastic (Mylar) and cut round discs the size of the pot, plus a hole in the middle for the plant, and a slit to allow its placement around it. The water that has evaporated condenses on the plastic and drips back into the medium.

((That's an interesting idea! Should be easy to find some Mylar locally, I will give it try- thanks!)))

Shifting gears............................................. .......

I met a grower in Ohio that has tolumnias in S/H...

The simple fact is that it is not the plant alone that determines whether it is good for any particular cultural method, but it's the overall cultural conditions that do.

(((Yes, since I can successfully grow plants ranging from Paphiopedalum to cacti in LECA, it shows the range of possibilities as long as the cultural conditions are thought through.)))
.................................................. ....................

An observation: Even though it is the very same scenario, folks who cannot manage sphagnum well will say "I kill everything I put in sphagnum.", but will claim it is semi-hydroponics' fault when they don't do well with that.

(((Good point! Quite often I read posts that either blame or put too much faith in s/h when that's just part of the overall system/environment. Since orchids don't like their roots disturbed, LECA pellets with s/h is the perfect way to prolong repotting and it just makes sense not to unnecessarily disturb the orchid unless it becomes overgrown in the container. Besides habit or tradition/nostalgia, I can't imagine why people continue to use traditional orchid mediums- but I'm the first to admit I'm completely biased in that opinion!)))