my result of semi hydro orchid growing

[daniel]

i have tried this s/h for 3 year now on 35 orchid and what i got is lot of root rot and small black fly :-( so i change water level a year ago that was at 1/2 inch to 0 inch (no water at all at the bottom ).by drilling a drain hole at the bottom. that did save them I'm glad i did that :-). and i did a experience on 1 phal a year ago that was reported from bark to hydroton whit no water at all at the bottom and i inspected the root by removing it out of the pot and was amaze of the result there was lot of roots in very good health no root rot at all. after doing lot of reading on the net they say that the new roots adapted to this s/h after my experience thet do not adapted at all. (when you think about it why do they grow on tree maybe to stay aways from that water)

[Cjcorner]

I gave up on s/h as well. I'm not sure why but I had the same problem with rotting roots as you. I transferred all survivors back to bark and they are much better. I have seen pictures of plants that thrive with this method, i'm not sure what the difference is. Maybe it is too hot where you and I live, for that type of growing method??

[cdayinflorida]

I've never had the guts to try it. I have seen amazing results, as well.

[daniel]

no the weather here is very cold and very dry -10 Celsius but i keep them inside , i think the hydrotron is good but leave no water inside is the way to go

[tucker85]

I know some people have excellent results with S/H but it didn't work for me. Everyone has their own mini-environment and culture habits so whatever works for you, keep doing it.

[Kmac]

I gave up on s/h as well. I'm not sure why but I had the same problem with rotting roots as you. I transferred all survivors back to bark and they are much better. I have seen pictures of plants that thrive with this method, i'm not sure what the difference is. Maybe it is too hot where you and I live, for that type of growing method??

Me too...my experiment was a big fail. Oh well...

[mauraec]

Yikes! I hope I'm the exception to all these sad outcomes - I'm in the process of transferring most of my orchids to semi-hydro, both to avoid root rot, and to cut down on watering time (100 orchids = 7-8 hours every other day or so - at least it does in my living room). One thing I'm being really careful about doing before I repot them is to disinfect, fungicide and insecticide them, removing all dead and/or rotting roots and other plant parts. I'm hoping this will make it work, because it is taking me HOURS to prep and repot them. Wish me luck - looks like I'll need it!

[daniel]

Yikes! I hope I'm the exception to all these sad outcomes - I'm in the process of transferring most of my orchids to semi-hydro, both to avoid root rot, and to cut down on watering time (100 orchids = 7-8 hours every other day or so - at least it does in my living room). One thing I'm being really careful about doing before I report them is to disinfect, fungicide and insecticide them, removing all dead and/or rotting roots and other plant parts. I'm hoping this will make it work, because it is taking me HOURS to prep and report them. Wish me luck - looks like I'll need it!

good luck on all that work
i have about 40 and it was lots of work to clean
that what i do on every Sunday 4 to 5 hour for watering and inspection for bug
beside the time that i just spent about 15 hour cutting the rotting root and cleaning pot

[bumpman]

I'm wondering for those whose s/h didn't work, what is your watering schedule? I am having good results with a variety of genera with two thorough soakings a week, one of them with dilute fert. I soak for 30min to one hour then let the hydroton plastic pot drain to their reservoir holes. My reasoning is that any fert accumulation might result in toxic conditions for the roots. I'm also going to start flushing with dilute worm compost, after learning of it's antibacterial and anti fungal properties.

[mauraec]

I'm wondering for those whose s/h didn't work, what is your watering schedule? I am having good results with a variety of genera with two thorough soakings a week, one of them with dilute fert. I soak for 30min to one hour then let the hydroton plastic pot drain to their reservoir holes. My reasoning is that any fert accumulation might result in toxic conditions for the roots. I'm also going to start flushing with dilute worm compost, after learning of it's antibacterial and anti fungal properties.

It sounds like you're doing the right thing, from what I've read - mine are still in post-repotting mode, but I'll start them on a more regular schedule next week. Worm compost???? Sounds yucky - but can't be too much worse than fish fertilizer! Thanks for the tips!