It Becomes An Obsession..

[amberella618]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and actually pretty new to orchid growing- well, successful orchid growing anyway. I've been enamored with orchids for many years now but it wasn't until recently I decided to get serious about growing.

I currently grow in a "Semi-Hydro" double pot wick system. It wasn't having much success until I started the double pot wick system with hydroton media. The plants get indirect sunlight during the day and alternate a few hours a day under either compact florescence or high pressure sodium. The also have a couple LED spotlights mostly for the visual effect. Them temp never gets above 86 degrees and stays in the low 80s during the day and drops down about 10 degrees at night.

I have a couple questions someone may be able to help me with..

What kind of lighting systems have you indoor growers had the most success with?

What kind of nutrient solutions have worked out best for orchids in S/H? I have been giving my plants a mixture of Dyna Gro Orchid food 7-8-6, 1/2 dose of Botanicare Cal-Mag, 1/2 dose of Botinicare Liquid Karma... Any thoughts?

Anyway, it is a pleasure to be part of this amazing forum- I'm becoming more obsessed with orchids by the minute!

[SarinahL]

welcome!

I can't help you with the questions, I grow indoors, not in s/h and with no artificial lighting.

However, I'm very curious what kind of setup you have, so maybe you could post a picture..?

[Paul Mc]

First off, welcome to the OB! Lots of great people here, all very helpful. The OB will become your newest obsession right after your orchids, lol...

A few things spring to my mind here. First, we need to know what kind of orchid you are working with. There are thousands of different kinds, and each one has many species and/or hybrids. Without knowing exactly which orchid you are working with it's hard to make any sort of recommendations.

On that note, some orchids need higher temperatures than what you have listed, others need lower and still yet others that would be right on.

I'm not familiar with the double wicking, but it makes me wonder if you're not attempting to grow a cooler growing species or hybrid. Wicking tends to lower the temperature around the base/roots, and double wicking does so even more.

As far as lighting goes, again it depends upon your plant and how many footcandles (light strength) it requires. Some can go as low as 500 footcandles so they can be grown in a shaded area of your house that gets some indirect light, while others need a lot of bright light.

Of course, the fertilizer regimen also depends upon the orchid. Some require a more balanced while others have specific needs. One note about fertilizer though - if your water quality is not optimum to begin with then you won't have much success to start with. Each fertilizer is a little different, and some people have success with their water with one fertilizer while others will not.

[Merlyn]

[Otis226]

Glad to have you aboard the board! Cheers,
Tony

[Bud]

Welcome and Hello !
I grow on S/H method some of my plants that I am scared to overwater... and I use seaweed once a week on them...

[myblue66stang]

All of my phals grow happily in an east facing window, on humidity trays, and in a good quality phal mix (sphag, Monterey bark, hydroton, cork nuggets and sponge rock) I just use FEED ME! MSU fertilizer weakly weekly. Nothing too special or high tech here.

[WhiteRabbit]

Glad you found us!

I don't use lights, or grow in s/h, so can't help you there - sorry - I'm sure there are plenty of members who can tho. If you aren't finding help with those questions in this thread - try posting your questions as a new thread - there are forums for both growing under lights, and s/h. gl!

[Zoi2]

Hello and welcome
Joann

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

I'm afraid I can't help with the questions as I don't grow with lights and my fertiliser is a UK based firm.