Advice for growing in opaque pots?
 

I'm transferring a cym to s/h soon. Finding a suitable tall, clear pot is proving to be impossible on the ground. I have the orginal, bottom draining plastic pot it came in and might have to wind up using it if finding a clear pot doesn't work out. (I've checked the food storage and office supply sections of WalMart for containers that could be repurposed. No luck there.)

My concern with the opaque pot is that I won't be able to see how the PrimeAgra is wicking or if there are any root problems beginning. :nailbite:

Have any of you used s/h culture with opaque pots? Is it a challenge to do versus the clear pots? Your advice would be of great help.

First Rays (board member) stock all your SH supplies. Check him out

Once the plant is acclimated to S/H culture, there is no fear of overwatering, so it simply isn't an issue. Observe the plant and water it when you water the others. If you find that the plant is shriveling, water more often. You'll find a balance pretty quickly.

I don't understand your concern about whether the PrimeAgra is wicking or not. Of course it will wick. There is nothing you can do to affect that, anyway.

I have plants in plastic florists cooler buckets - those tall things they keep cut flowers in. All I do, since they are quite tall, is drill the drainage holes 3"-4" up from the bottom, to provide a larger reservoir.

Ray,

I should have been more specific about my concern. I grow my orchids outside with air and humidity bringing their set of challenges. I was concerned I wouldn't see how far down the pot "dry line" was if I use an opaque pot, resulting in feritlizer salt build on the top layers of PA.

You can just water/flush more frequently if that's a concern. Believe me, you can't over water a plant in S/H once it's established. I have 2 Neofinetias in S/H that got over 20 inches of rain in 2 weeks during Hurricane Irene and TS Lee. They never skipped a beat.

Cheers.
Jim

I also grow a lot of my orchids in LECA ( bought from Ray ) and water exactly like I water the others. I do try to stay with clear containers...even to cutting down empty gallon milk containers, and using them! I never have an "overwatering" problem. BettyE.

Unless you grow in elevated humidity, or water very frequently as Jim suggested, keeping the medium 100% saturated, you will ALWAYS see some mineral buildup, and as most of the evaporation is from the top, that's where it'll be.

I think you're worrying too much.

I found large, clear storage containers at restockit.com like this Rubbermaid-Clear Round Storage Container; 22 Quart Capacity (SKU: 5728-24CL) brand new at Restockit.com. (Category: Food Storage Round Containers)