New to semi-hydro

[dawn_green]

Hello, i've been lurking for sometimes in s/h things. Recently i could acquire some hydroton and got my new orchids sent , so they all go to s/h. Could you tell me which will not do well in s/h, so i can pull them out before anything bad happens. Here the list :
1. Coelogyne foerstermanii
2. Coelogyne massangeana
3. Coelogyne rochusenii
4. Cym. ensifolium
5. Cym. bicolor
6. Cym finlaysonianum
7. Paraphalaenopsis serpentilingua
8. Phalaenopsis floresensis (seedling)
9. Noid cattleyas
10. Onc. sharry baby

I used ordinary plastic pots in a shallow bowl as reservoir, is that ok ?? (i'll post some pics later, just too excited that i forget about taking pics )

Thanks before for any suggestion and advice

[GiovannaD]

One thing is for sure...I keep all my pahls in s/h and last summer I switched my cymbidium to s/h as well. It loves it! As long as you have the conditions to bloom it, it drowns the s/h medium in roots. Phals are a bit more conserverative, but like it as well. The seedlings are difficult to find the proper place for them, ie somewhere between wet and dry, because there is less medium and the water evaporates more quickly. I'm waiting for an oncidium and a belleara to finish blooming, then they'll go s/h too.
If you repot now (in the winter)...let's just say it's going to be a test of patience for you.

[Becky15349]

to the above, phals, oncids and catts love it! I think you will really like SH, but make sure your recentlly transplanted chids are kept out of sun that is too strong for a while, as they will be growing new roots suitable for the new media
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[Brutal_Dreamer]

Sound like you got good advice from Giovanna & Becky, so I will just add - Show us the photos! Best of luck!

Cheers,
BD

[dawn_green]

Thanks you all for the advices
after a week, i can tell that the phal, catts and oncid loves s/h, just like a frog jump into the pond, new root sprouting and the dormant shoot start growing .
The Coelogynes and cymbidiums show no declines nor growth, but thats ok, they can take their time to adapt
To Giovanna, we have no winter here (I live in tropical Jakarta, indonesia), just shower of rain everyday, the humidity is high and the temp is low (25-27 oC, low enough for us ), so its best time to do anything you like ( i mean splitting, repotting, prunning etc) with the orchid
here's the pic, plus the mess when i repott another orchid, wish me luck ya

[Ron-NY]

I make my S/H pots out of cups and containers. I drill holes to make a self reservoir.

Glad you found the Hydroton...where did you locate it?

[dawn_green]

I "found" hydroton in an electronic shopping mall in jakarta .
Last weekend, i had to pull the cymbidium ensifolium out because one of its shoot got rotten, maybe bcause the reservoir was too high and i planted it too deep. But everybody else seems to be happy in its new home
Thank you Ron and everybody else here

[Ron-NY]

best of luck with it! Keep us informed of their progress.

[Quakerbogey6918]

I have been keeping my catts in S/H for 3years. I make my container out of 13cm clear pots and plug up the bottom holes with small plastic golf tees coverered with a small amount of aquatic airline --forms a perfect seal. Two holes are drilled 1.5 inches from the bottom and the only substrate is hydroleca ( clay balls about 10mm in diameter ). I can recommend this as my catts do exceptionally well. I only water when the clay is dry at the top--the catts seem to like the dry period. Any comments would be appreciated.
Ed

[Louise_9954]

I had quite a few plants in semihydro several years ago (grown outside). Phals, oncidiums, catts, all warm to intermediate growers as it gets at least to the high 90s in the summer. They did fine outside in warm weather; however when we had an unexpected cold night (40s) I lost all of these (the roots were just mush) where the plants in bark showed no damage (even phals). So be extra vigilant about temps with semihydro.