would Maxillaria tenufolia work well with s/h

[MICKEY]

I just ordered a few Maxillaria tenufolia and was wondering if this is a plant that does good with
s/h or is there a better method to grow this plant

[raybark]

As I have stated on probably every forum in which I participate - Whether a plant will do well in semi-hydroponics is less determined by the plant, and more determined by the rest of your growing conditions, and how well they work with the constant moisture of the S/H environment to meet the needs of the plant. ANY plant CAN be grown in S/H, but that doesn't mean that anybody can grow any plant that way.

In my greenhouse conditions, they do extremely well, but that has absolutely no bearing on whether they will do well for you.

Also, keep in mind that a plant's root system will have to undergo a complete adaptation to the new conditions, so it is best to move a plant to different culture just as new roots are emerging from the base of the plant. That applies to ANY change - moss to bark, bark to moss, bark to S/H, etc. - with the "degree of difficulty" determined by the degree of difference between old and new pot conditions.

[MICKEY]

the plants are bare root so I can only guess bark or moss , it will be grown in a house under lights and 50% or higher humidity during the winter and outside under tall trees the rest of the year , I grow brugmansias which are a tropical under growth plant in the same area and they do great

[ksriramkumar]

Just to add, Maxillaria tenufolia has a vertical growing habit and hence it would do better mounted. All the best and do let us know how it goes

[MICKEY]

I CAN TRY putting one on a tree branch with moss around it
I thought MATALA filter materiel would work but it is to expensive

[raybark]

Several years ago, when I was developing the S/H technique, I split a Max. tenuifolia in half. One piece went into my standard bark mix, and the other into S/H. Sitting next to each other on the bench, and watered by the frequency demanded by the bark, they developed entirely different growth habits: the "normal" one developed the sprawling rhizomes I was used to seeing with the species, while the one in S/H stayed very compact, giving the appearance of a well-groomed mum, but with spikes.

[Yug]

I've had one in s/h for years with no problems. It seems to like a wetter environment than my other 'chids.

[MICKEY]

Rayback it seems to adapt to its conditions

[GreyThumb]

Mickey, I was just curious if you tried this plant in s/h. I have one now and I was thinking about propagating it. I've just received my leca and seramis and was thinking about putting the new ones in this media.

Also, one poster said what I've heard in several places about waiting for new roots to come from the base before repotting. That makes sense, because they are adaptable at that stage. However, from what I understand this plant grows vertically, but it's like a bunch of separate plants, because the roots from one bulb grow down the main "stem" and are hidden inside the paper like wrapping, so I'm not sure how you'd tell if it had "new" roots developing, as they could be fairly long and established by the time the got to the media level.