my result of semi hydro orchid growing

[k_andreev]

Maura.i switch this 2 around last month.it took really short time to recovery(compare with hydroponic that too dry for me),after that i switch all cattleyas .they're looking good now because i keep my eyes on them every day.

here's one more mini-catts that i switch to s/h after another one(don't laugh for this because i don't like to jump everything at once)



all of my collections



i also pot up all sick Catts in S/H




good luck for you also Maura,let me know how all your plants are doing.

[k_andreev]

i went out to make more picture for you Maura and look for the tag.it said 01/09/2012.here's the result,any hope for me?

[mauraec]

Thank you so much for your input, Kitty! I love your S/H "garden", too - reminds me of my own collection! And thank you for the photos. Your plants look really good to me - very healthy. I'd say this last one does show good hope - it has at least 2 new green roots coming - and that means those roots can adapt even more quickly to S/H - at least that's what I've read! I'm not home yet, so I don't know how my orchids are faring during my vacation. I should be home at least by Tuesday, though, so we'll see what happened then. I'm a little nervous about it, but I did the best I could, so.....

[TwoStems]

Hmm after seeing other's set ups I'm considering just buying the LECA from now on and ditching the fancy pots the supplier I use sells. Then again, I like the water gauges
Anyway, most of my orchids of many varieties are in s/h and I've had much better luck with healthy roots then I did in bark or sphag. The only ones not in s/h are my two paphs and one zygo, and they do really great in what they're in so I'm afraid to change it haha! I wonder if the reason most of my plants aren't blooming is because of the s/h though. Geoff is full of awesome advice - I'm going to have go read more of his posts on the subject

[mauraec]

Hmm after seeing other's set ups I'm considering just buying the LECA from now on and ditching the fancy pots the supplier I use sells. Then again, I like the water gauges
Anyway, most of my orchids of many varieties are in s/h and I've had much better luck with healthy roots then I did in bark or sphag. The only ones not in s/h are my two paphs and one zygo, and they do really great in what they're in so I'm afraid to change it haha! I wonder if the reason most of my plants aren't blooming is because of the s/h though. Geoff is full of awesome advice - I'm going to have go read more of his posts on the subject

Good call, Ali - I've read as many of Geoff's posts as I could find - several times over. Be forewarned, however read the thread all the way through because he sometimes will say he was wrong about something he posted earlier, and is now doing something totally different! Always fascinating and always instructive. And he knows his S/H - in fact he wrote an article about it, which you can find if you google his full name - I refer to it fairly often.

By the way, the only plants I left in their bark-based medium were (are, hopefully) my two zygos, which, I was advised on another website, are very tricky to grow in S/H. Go to it!

[TwoStems]

Thanks for the heads up about the zygo! It seems to love whatever it's planted in (haven't repotted yet since I bought it last year) so I'll have to look into specific potting mix/size for that. I'll definitely read through Geoff's stuff when I have a free afternoon

[k_andreev]

you're welcome Maura. yesterday i ordered lady slipper to try in S/h (don't tell my husband about this secret).hope it'll success like another one.it's good idea to move them outside now,the weather here reach 80 degree in the day and around 60 degree during the night.

[bronco]

Hi Geoff,
when you mix up your physan 20 what do you wear?
I'm reading reccomendations of using gloves and face shield. Is Physan really that toxic and dangerous?
Also you say ratio of 1:5000 is good. What would that equate to,1 teaspoon per gallon or what?
Thanks for your input
Denny

[Dorsetman]

Hi Geoff,
when you mix up your physan 20 what do you wear?
I'm reading reccomendations of using gloves and face shield. Is Physan really that toxic and dangerous?
Also you say ratio of 1:5000 is good. What would that equate to,1 teaspoon per gallon or what?
Thanks for your input
Denny

I have never taken the slightest precautions when mixing Physan - unless you count wearing "rubber" gloves - actually the thin virtually disposable latex ones, which I wear primarily because my hands get chapped if in water a lot. So I slap on a good layer of hand cream - the one all the gardeners swear by in UK is called Atrixo - maybe quite different for you ! and then put the gloves on - for all, absolutely all, my greenhouse work . I often do that in the garden too , but they soon get torn and I take them off for weeding , and at the end of the day in the open garden my hands are rather like sandpaper with dry skin etc - so I really "need" to spend some time in the greenhouse again , so that the Arrixo can do its good work ....

[mauraec]

I have never taken the slightest precautions when mixing Physan - unless you count wearing "rubber" gloves - actually the thin virtually disposable latex ones, which I wear primarily because my hands get chapped if in water a lot. So I slap on a good layer of hand cream - the one all the gardeners swear by in UK is called Atrixo - maybe quite different for you ! and then put the gloves on - for all, absolutely all, my greenhouse work . I often do that in the garden too , but they soon get torn and I take them off for weeding , and at the end of the day in the open garden my hands are rather like sandpaper with dry skin etc - so I really "need" to spend some time in the greenhouse again , so that the Arrixo can do its good work ....

I absolutely second that about wearing latex or vinyl disposable gloves - I wear them whenever I am working with my plants - it's for the sake of the plants (keeps you from possibly transferring diseases from one to another if you change them with each new plant), as well as to keep your hands from disintegrating. I work with Physan all the time, using just a few drops in say 1-2 gallons of water. And I add a drop of it to my weekly watering, just for preventive measures (tip from Geoff). Of course, I've never splashed it all over me, or tried to drink it, but I've never encountered any problems, and as far as I know, I have sustained no genetic mutations....