Orchid Water Culture!!!!

[raybark]

Here's another suggestion that boggles my mind. There's an internet site where they advocate the use of ICE CUBES for watering your Phals. SERIOUSLY? A little shock treatment anyone?

Actually, there is SOME logic to that. A nursery in Ohio jumped on the mass-market phalaenopsis band wagon, and as is the norm, they are planted in sphagnum. By placing an ice cube on top of the moss, it will slowly melt, just moistening the moss, without totally saturating it, which can suffocate the root system.

Granted, the "ice" part is bothersome, and if folks could learn to barely trickle lukewarm water on their plants in sphagnum, it would be a lot better, but most of those plants are purchased to enjoy and toss, so...

[Traci]

Actually, there is SOME logic to that. A nursery in Ohio jumped on the mass-market phalaenopsis band wagon, and as is the norm, they are planted in sphagnum. By placing an ice cube on top of the moss, it will slowly melt, just moistening the moss, without totally saturating it, which can suffocate the root system.

Granted, the "ice" part is bothersome, and if folks could learn to barely trickle lukewarm water on their plants in sphagnum, it would be a lot better, but most of those plants are purchased to enjoy and toss, so...

They have actually started to plant them in bark. Also there is now guidance that says the ice must melt to 1/4 cup of water. Not sure what happens in the meantime if you start using fertilizer and never flush the pot but as you said most people toss them. At my friend's law firm there is a designated orchid waterer who takes care of watering everyone's orchids each week. She used crushed ice and has apparently rebloomed everyone's orchids for the past three years at least. And what's strange is that the orchid I purchased for her died despite my careful watering instructions. She has another one now she turns over to the crushed ice lady and it is thriving.

[Usaklein]

Hi.

I am a newbie to the group. Just joined today!
Would like to convert to full water culture asap (before this 2016 Fall)!

Saw pictures you have posted, seemed you cover the crown and all?
I saw on Facebook, most mentioned that only 1/3 of the root should be in water?

Yours looked very healthy indeed.

Also when winter arroved, did it have any impact on the growth?
What I meant is, the water temperature would be quite cold?

So water and light can produce the blooms with no problem right?

Thank you very much.

Really like the water culture idea.

[wizz]

been a while since i was on here last asking about water culture as i had a phal with virtually no roots or leaves. put it in a little pot with water and its never looked back. i used to change the water to start with but now i dont. just top it up. bless it, its throwing up a spike. about 4ins long at the moment. was very surprised as, although it now has roots, not a lot but good strong ones, it only has 2-3 new little leaves. wish i could upload a photo, but never been successful getting it small enough.

[sciencegal]

I spent the last few weeks converting all of my orchids except the paphs into full or semi water culture. I've been watching all the utube videos and decided it made sense for my conditions. I have even seen new root growth in just a short time. The only reason I didn't convert the paphs is because they are doing extremely well in a semi terrestrial mix I made up. I even purchased new orchids for the first time in months. I will keep you updated on how it goes.
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[raybark]

been a while since i was on here last asking about water culture as i had a phal with virtually no roots or leaves. put it in a little pot with water and its never looked back. i used to change the water to start with but now i dont. just top it up. bless it, its throwing up a spike. about 4ins long at the moment. was very surprised as, although it now has roots, not a lot but good strong ones, it only has 2-3 new little leaves. wish i could upload a photo, but never been successful getting it small enough.

You really do need to change that water periodically.

Whenever a plant takes up a nutrient ion, it dumps a compensatory one, and that is going into the medium - in this case, the water. Add to that the various metabolic wastes the plant produces, and you've basically got the plant sitting in its own ****! Eventually, it will poison itself.

[sciencegal]

If a root picks up a cation (mag, calcium for example) then it will release a hydrogen ion. Too much hydrogen in the water will make it acidic.

The people successfully growing in water culture are using distilled water so there isn't going to be much ion exchange. I am using rain water since I can collect it easily. The water needs to be clear all the time. About 1/4 to 1/3 of the roots are in water for full water culture. Once a week I cover all the roots with water for about 15 minutes then dump it and add fresh water to the 1/3 to 1/4 level. I check daily and if the water becomes cloudy I check the roots for any that are rotting, cut them off, treat with 3% hydrogen peroxide, let them dry then place them back in clean water. This happens for a while when starting them in water culture. For those orchids that like their roots to dry out such as the catt types, get a day of soaking, then two or three days dry.

[wizz]

the phal i spoke about last march that was to all intents and purposes gone. no roots and 2 leaves, now has a lovely flowering spike on it with flowers equally either side of the stem. it likes in a tiny jar/vase, which gets topped up with water when it needs it. gets sprayed with orchid myst every now and then and occasionally receives a bit of fertilizer. it lives in my polytunnel and only has one small heater. i may put more into water culture. save me some room. i posted photo of it on another thread tonight wanting ID.

[empiref]

Some questions please for all the experts here especially Ray;

1. If a phal is moved from S/H to full water culture; what will happen to the roots? (I am referring to the roots that were already established in S/H)

2. will it harm the plant if it is sitting in a diluted solution of fertilizer, again only 1/4 to 1/3 of the roots are fully submerged in the water.

3. when a rootless phal starts developing new roots in FWC, should the water levels be dropped as the roots grow? (following the rule of 1/4 or 1/3 of the root mass to be submerged in water)

4. Is it better to introduce algae into the medium?

Thank you all in advance for your help.

God bless!

[sciencegal]

I am about 9 months into water culture. I have never tried S/H so I don't know about that but I think there wouldn't be any more problem than going from media to water culture - it might be easier even.

I don't let the roots sit in fertilized water partly because it causes overgrowths of algae. About once a month I will fill the jar with very dilute fertilizer and let the entire length of the roots soak for a few hours or overnight. Then I rinse off the roots with rain water and put them back in rain water. As the new roots grow you let them grow into the water. They will adjust to being submerged in water as the tip grows.

Algae shows up after a while especially if the roots are getting a lot of sun and sometimes I get lazy and let it build up. When it gets thick and starts to smell I clean everything spray the roots with hydrogen peroxide then put them back in clean water. Algae won't hurt but it seems that bacteria starts to colonize the algae and without fresh water always flushing the roots I think it could get bad. In fact, if I kind of ignore one of them, it's an encyclia, I sometimes find gray fungi threads all over the roots. It never seems to hurt anything but I don't think it is a good thing.

This is just where I am right now with it. It's all an experiment that - so far - has been much more successful than my experiences with using media. I judge by how the plant is doing overall. If it is starting to look dehydrated then I add more water or do more overnight soaks. Some phals have very long roots. If you only have 1/4 of the roots in water the upper parts of the roots start to look too dehydrated. I soak those with a full jar of water overnight more often to keep the roots looking fat and healthy.

Catt types I now soak for two days then leave dry for 5 days. Some of them seem to like a little water all of the time, others get unhappy looking root tips if they can't dry out completely between soaks. Most of the time I leave a little water in the bottom for Dens, and a few got a slight winter dry period. I judge what they need by the look of the roots.